narrative essay

narrative essay

Exploring the Art of Crafting a Compelling Narrative Essay

1. Introduction to Narrative Essays

A customer beckons to me with a wave, a slight nod, or a “Hey, we haven’t seen you here before.” Behind the placid expression and shy half-smile, I resent letting on that I am anything but an average kid, rocking on a third-grade see-saw, wrapped in the familiar, insulated world of the safe and predictable. But if he asks me, I can tell him this: my name is Arianne, and I am 15; my father is a Vienna-born physics professor, music lover. My mom is a devout Catholic and an Austrian emigre of the Sudetenland; Ottawa, Canada, is where I call home. But that’s not the truth of the matter. At least, it is not my truth, the one I have chosen to possess. It’s not a question of imagination, scissored into neat rectangles of television, peace and quiet. I can tell this man a little bit about girl stuff, about band, homework, and shopping. But I won’t tell him what I used to do in my old house, before we moved to Canada. After all, it’s not what he wants to know.

Every time I walk into a diner, I’m struck by a feeling. It’s that scene from all the sweet slideshows of my youth: the dusty, low-hum buzz of the ceiling fans; bright orange swatches of sunlight through the streaked windows; a gymnastic sizzle from the grill (I’ll have a “six-footer”). The worn floor creaks under the candy-striped vinyl booths, and the saucers are always heavy with coffee. There are people at the counter, talking and drinking coffee. The waitress, her hair coiled into a polished bun, calls me “honey,” “sugar,” “baby.” It’s all very familiar, comfortable: a stage for living.

2. Structuring Your Narrative Essay

The most effective essays present both an objective description that depicts a person, place, or thing and a more subjective detail that conveys the author’s sense of reason. Although ultimately about yourself, a narrative essay includes setting, other characters, and therefore requires some use of vivid, sensory details and using concrete, specific language. You’re not only telling a story but also communicating the significance or the purpose of the story. Both the rules and structure are stressed, with particular attention to specific elements like tone, setting, and character. Writing workshop is provided, as is help on making effective use of dialogue and avoiding melodrama.

First and foremost, your narrative essay should tell a story. It’s written in the first person and helps personalize your experiences. If your readers see, hear, feel, taste, or smell while reading your essay, they’ll assume you’ve done a good job. If not, you will have a hard time holding their attention. A narrative essay centers on a personal experience, one that is meaningful and worth sharing. You picture events, people, and scenes with words. Techniques that you need to use are: using the first person, storytelling, and setting scenes. This essay uses the elements of a short story (plot, characters, setting, conflicts, etc.) to communicate its central point.

3. Techniques for Engaging the Reader

When students get feedback on narrative essays, many teachers and professors use the phrase, “Show, don’t tell,” meaning that they should illustrate ideas with dialogue and description to allow the reader to infer the themes and meaning of the composition, instead of just providing summary or exposition. You can replace summarizing prose with dialogue in order to illustrate the point that narrative occupies its own space and is not only the lazy man’s form of persuasive or reflective writing. You certainly see this poor approach to essays when a student writes, “I went shopping with my mom. It was the worst experience ever. Everything she bought was so boring.” This writing tends to make an essay boring and unimaginative. It uses minimum effort to state a point and certainly lacks creativity.

In general, dialogue is a powerful tool in our writing. Someone famous once said that “Dialogue is the DNA of character.” In our narrative work, we want to illustrate, not tell. We want to show, not preach. By using dialogue, we prevent the essay from becoming too preachy and make it more engaging. Readers love to eavesdrop, and good dialogue draws them in and holds their attention. Imagine the positive responses you can elicit with dialogue. Besides utilizing dialogue to make several concrete points in your essay, listen carefully when someone else is speaking. A striking quote, or an awkward inflection of voice can add depth, understanding, and wisdom to the essay that very well might be impossible to generate through simple reflection. Then dialogue can serve as the medium or the filter for your viewpoint, your personal belief system.

4. The Importance of Authenticity and Voice

The value of personal narrative lies with the content of the writing for the simple reason that only you hold this written voice. What truly belongs to us? Our life and our identity, the essence of who we are. These are aspects that cannot be infused into our writing by someone other than ourselves. These are our thoughts and ideas. We capture what it is to be ourselves, to exist and make a mark, however slight, upon the world. Faulkner advised, “All you need is curiosity and you can write a good narrative.” After all, who retains an inkling with what knowledge, love and expertise we are preparing to share with other humans? A narrative replicates the quiet truth about who we are inside that cannot be found outside of us by even those closest to us. If there were perfect, objective emotional surveyors in every home, they would adamantly refuse to take the test of any individual, young or old, faculty or student. Every one of us is morphing.

Voice is as much about the content of our writing as it is about our language, and possibly even more. It is the style, the topics you write about, what you believe, what you, the author, stand for. The measure of voice is not in producing words that sound like portraits of others; rather, it is by the artful transmission of the unique combinations of souls that we embody into our narratives that the true craftsperson is revealed. One way to measure voice is in the originality of the ideas, the thoughts in your writing. Do they sound like you, like no one else? Of course, when authenticity is equated with the thoughts and voice of each writer, it becomes possible to write about the same thing, yet sound so completely different from one another. If through practice we are respectful of the moments of our lives and the power of the voices that already exist and simply refine the sound of our own unique and contributing tone, every practicing writer can truly become unique and original.

5. Concluding Thoughts and Final Tips

At times, the personal narrative essay can feel more pertinent than the majority of essays. Many times, they might be much more stringent with regards to requirements on what should be included in a personal narrative essay than many students are comfortable with. Having said that, I will, however, give you a few college essay final hints. First, make a major effort to remain one hundred percent within the scope of the prompt. It is quite easy to get sidetracked and lost if one does not have a dependable compass to follow. An additional helpful idea is to take advantage of as many action verbs as possible. It is an accepted fact that students have a tendency to overuse what might be referred to as helping verbs such as was, is, are, etc. Also, if at all possible, end on an upbeat note. Make the reader want to meet you. With so many students clamoring for attention, it does provide you with the perfect opportunity to locate a means to end that personal narrative essay on a positive piece of prose. Good luck. Everyone has a story to tell. It might as well be you telling a great story.