A+ Guide to Narrative Essays
About this ebook
Yet the student stares at a blank screen, uncertain what to write, and it’s far from a fun experience.
The narrative essay -- a personal form of storytelling about true experiences -- requires the writer to abandon familiar tools such as topic sentences, thesis statements, and supporting authority. But this doesn’t mean the writer should just type words until the pages are filled. Rambling freeform narratives are not what most writing instructors hope to see. There is a better method, and it can be found in this short booklet.
This booklet explains everything the writer needs to generate a successful narrative essay in step-by-step fashion. Starting with a story goal, proceeding through a timeline, and finishing with two targeted paragraphs, this booklet will turn a blank screen into a finished paper.
Table of Contents
How to Use This Booklet
What is a narrative essay?
Special Note Regarding Use of the Word “Narrative”
Assignment Analysis: beginning, middle, end: outline the event on a timeline
Thesis: the Goal
Beginning: the Setup
-Premise/Theme
-Characters
-Your point of view
Middle: Events on a timeline
-Action
-Dialogue
-Description
A Special Note About Paragraphing
A Special Note About One Exception to the Timeline
A Special Note About the Second-to-Last Paragraph
End: the Resolution: how you changed/how things changed
Proofreading
Here's what students have said about this method:
"This made it all seem really easy."
"I thought I should just write about what happened. If I had done that, I would have left out some important things. Thanks for showing me what was missing!"
"Whew! I tried this, and wrote my paper in record time!"
About the author
Hi! I’m Alison Plus, and I’ve spent many years editing books for publication, teaching writing at the college level, and tutoring students in junior high, high school, college, and graduate school. You know how they say that our education system “teaches to the test” now? As a practical matter, this means that many schools no longer teach students how to write papers. Oh, they still teach basic grammar and reading comprehension because standardized testing can measure that. But if they take valuable classroom time to show you how to organize different kinds of paragraphs, what to stress in different kinds of papers, and how to set up a thesis and support, they are possibly endangering their entire school’s test scores. Therefore, many schools no longer teach these basic writing and organization skills.
This is why I decided to write a series of booklets addressing different kinds of writing assignments. Each booklet starts by examining the nature of the assignment type – short answer essays have different goals from five-paragraph essays, which are organized differently from literature reviews, which are set up in a way very different from an argument paper. After we understand the basic purpose of the paper type, we move methodically through the different types of sentences and paragraphs, building a template that you can follow to write your own papers. Each booklet also includes proofreading tips designed for the particular assignment type and word processing software, as applicable.
Take your time going through each booklet the first time! You’re not only writing a paper, but you’re also learning a method that you will be able to transfer to future assignments. Allot enough time to absorb each step in the process, and in the end, you’ll have more than just a finished essay. You’ll have skills to make you a better writer going forward.
