Chapter VIII. Narration

Chapter VIII. Narration

A. The narrative essay

1. A narrative essay can be written in novel or essay form.

2. The narrative essay makes and supports a point. (Thesis statement).

3. It is told from a particular point of view (often told from the author’s). Narratives are generally written in the first person, that is, using I. However, third person (he, she, or it) can also be used.

4. It is filled with precise details (that are to explain, support, or embellish the story. You can include some sensory details to get the reader involved in the elements.) Narratives rely on concrete, sensory details to convey their point.

5. It relies on personal experiences. It can be based on one of your own experiences, either past or present, or it can be based on the experiences of someone else.

6. If you are writing a story, you must include all the conventions of storytelling: plot, character, setting, climax, and ending.

7. A narrative essay also communicates a main idea or a lesson learned.

B.  Structure

Introduction	1.  The “Hook”: Start your paper with something that catches the reader’s attention, for example: a quotation, question, fact, or definition. 2. Set the Scene: The information the reader will need to understand the story. Who? When? Where? What? 3. Thesis Statement: Here, thesis statement plays a slightly different role than other essays. A narrative thesis can begin the events of the story: “It was cold and windy when I started the journey”; offer a moral or lesson learned: “I’ll never go there alone in winter again”; or identify a theme that connects the story to a universal experience: “The Adventurous Journeys bring both joy and hardship.”
Body	1.    Show, Don’t Tell: Image. 2. Supporting Evidence: Your experience and the significance of the event. 3. Passage of Time: Using time chronologically, from beginning to end. What happened first, next, and last. You can use the words: next, finally, during, after, when, and later.
Conclusion	The Moral of the Story:     a. The closing action of the event.       b. Some reflection or analysis of the event to the writer.

C. Example[1]

Learning something new can be a scary experience. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was learn how to swim. I was always afraid of the water, but I decided that swimming was an important skill that I should learn. I also thought it would be good exercise and help me to become physically stronger. What I didn't realize was that learning to swim would also make me a more confident person.	The sample essay begins with a general statement, "Learning something new can be a scary experience." This statement introduces the subject of the essay, which is a particular learning experience that the author had. The use of "I" in the essay indicates that what is being described is a personal experience.
New situations always make me a bit nervous, and my first swimming lesson was no exception. After I changed into my bathing suit in the locker room, I stood timidly by the side of the pool waiting for the teacher and other students to show up. After a couple of minutes the teacher came over. She smiled and introduced herself, and two more students joined us. Although they were both older than me, they didn't seem to be embarrassed about not knowing how to swim. I began to feel more at ease. We got into the pool, and the teacher had us put on brightly colored water wings to help us stay afloat. One of the other students, May, had already taken the beginning class once before, so she took a kickboard and went splashing off by herself. The other student, Jerry, and I were told to hold on to the side of the pool and shown how to kick for the breaststroke. One by one, the teacher had us hold on to a kickboard while she pulled it through the water and we kicked. Pretty soon Jerry was off doing this by himself, traveling at a fast clip across the short end of the pool. Things were not quite that easy for me, but the teacher was very patient. After a few more weeks, when I seemed to have caught on with my legs, she taught me the arm strokes. Now I had two things to concentrate on, my arms and my legs. I felt hopelessly uncoordinated. Sooner than I imagined, however, things began to feel "right" and I was able to swim! It was a wonderful free feeling - like flying, maybe - to be able to shoot across the water.	The essay is essentially a story about something that happened. The author gives sufficient details about the people, place, and events so that the reader gets a clear idea of how the author feels about them.     In the essay, the author "stood timidly" and the teacher "smiled" and was "patient." These words indicate the author's fears and the sense of security provided by the teacher who helped the author get over her fear.
Learning to swim was not easy for me, but in the end my persistence paid off. Not only did I learn how to swim and to conquer my fear of the water, but I also learned something about learning. Now when I am faced with a new situation I am not so nervous. I may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but I know that as I practice being in that situation and as my skills get better, I will feel more and more comfortable. It is a wonderful, free feeling when you achieve a goal you have set for yourself.	In the final paragraph of the essay, the author reflects on the larger meaning or importance of the experience described. The author concludes that learning to swim has helped her to feel more confident about herself in other new situations. The idea that self-confidence comes from conquering your fears is something that all people can relate to. This is the point of the story.

D. Topic Examples

1. A Childhood Event. 2. The Moment of Success 3. First Day at College 4. Achieving a Goal. 5. The Difficult Decision 6. A Failure. 7. A Good or Bad Deed. 8. A Change in Your Life. 9. A Realization. 10. A Memorable Journey 11. The Biggest Misunderstanding 12. The Trip of Your Dreams

13. The Day You Decided to Change Your Life 14. A Strange Day 15. A Gain or Loss of Something Important 16. A Bad Habit that Got You into Trouble 17. An Event that Led to An Important Decision 18. An Act of Courage or Devotion 19. An Event of Historical Importance

E. Exercise:

I want you to write a narrative essay which is not just a story, but a narration that provide a viewpoint or a lesson. You must have you thesis statement in the first paragraph and a topic sentence in each paragraph. 

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[1] "Homework Center-Writing Skills: Sample Narrative Essay." Fact Monster. © 2000–2006 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. 11 Dec. 2013 <http://www.factmonster.com/ce5/CE047236.html>.