The Key Elements Of A Narrative Essay: Useful Advice

A narrative essay can be a great piece of writing. You can use an experience that you or someone else has had. The story should make the readers feel that they're experiencing it themselves. What separates a good story from an essay is that there has to be a meaning; there has to be a purpose to the story, such as a lesson learned.

You need to choose an event or experience you want to write about. Think of the reasons why you feel it's an important story to tell and what people can learn from it.

In the first paragraph, you can introduce your topic and tell the readers its significance. It's better for them to know what to expect when you begin. Think of it as a summary. You want to get your reader's attention. Writing a thesis statement can take care of this part.

When you are writing, you should think of it like a novel. Your readers don't know anything about the event, so you need to describe it for them. Whatever you tell them is what they will know; they don't have the full story in their head like you do.

Whatever event you choose to write about, it shouldn't be an incredibly long one. Choose one short, significant experience. Writing about someone's life story is not suitable; it will take far too long to tell, and it's too broad.

Your essay should focus on actions and senses, not feelings and thoughts. You can describe sounds, sights, smells and tastes, and sometimes touch. You need to describe a feeling rather than state one. Don't say you (or the person you're writing about) felt sad, explain what being sad feels like.

You need to be as descriptive as possible when writing a narrative, but remember to stay on track. When rereading your finished essay you should get rid of anything that distracts the readers from the main focus of the story.

The beginning should introduce the event and what is going to happen, the middle should describe/explain the event, and the end needs to give the reader the conclusion. Your final paragraph should present what lesson was learned, what the point of the story was and why it was important to tell it.

When you're happy with your essay, you should have someone else read it. They will be able to tell you if it makes sense, if you got your point across and what changes – if any – should be made.