If you’re an essay writer or want to become one in the future, you should get excited if your professor assigns a narrative essay to you. You’ll get a chance to let your storytelling skills loose and get creative, developing a story of your choice. Writing a narrative essay can be more fun, but you’ll still need to follow a few guidelines. Before we get to those, let’s first take a look at what a narrative essay actually is.
What Is a Narrative Essay?
The difficulty in defining narrative essays comes from the diversity in the definition. Your lecturer may choose to define specific parameters of a narrative essay, providing a bit more structure. In any account, a narrative essay is a personal story told from a certain point of view. Narratives often take on an inspirational or inspiring tone, gripping at the reader’s emotions as they get the details of your experience from your (or your character’s) point of view.
Guidelines for Narrative Essay Writing
If you’re an undergraduate assigned a narrative essay, follow these guidelines to create a compelling story without all the hassle.
1. Pick a Topic
Just like with most writing assignments, the most important part is picking the topic. Remember, this type of essay is a personal story and should be something that you experienced first-hand. Having said that, it should be something that you are comfortable sharing that could inspire others or help others when they’re dealing with a difficult situation.
2. Create a Draft
Because you’re the one that went through the experience, it’s a great idea to start with an initial draft. Try not to overthink and write about certain feelings, emotions, or thoughts that you remember. Add analysis of all senses and how they evolved during the period you’re writing about.
3. Create a Storyline
After you’ve done a bit of emotional research, it’s time for the technical stuff. Just like other essays and stories, a narrative essay should have some plot and timeline. It’s helpful to draw out a timeline and visually create your story before you start writing. This will get the brain thinking about the things you want to add to your story and the order you’d like to follow.
4. Pick a Point of View
While a narrative essay is something that you have personally experienced, you can choose the point of view. What is your role in the story, and how will you convey it? Were you standing by or directly affected? These are the things you should clarify before you start writing, making sure that your language matched your point of view. Don’t confuse your readers in your narrative, and make sure that you always define your characters so that they can make connections.
5. Feed Off of Your Emotions
If you just start telling your story and don’t answer “why” a few times, your readers could lose interest. An excellent way to break into these juicy details that will make your story irresistible is to discover the reasons behind your emotions. What was it that made you feel scared, excited, sad? Answering this can help you develop the story from different angles, creating an exciting tale of your experience that your readers will love.
6. Write Clearly
A narrative essay is a tale and not full of research or studies. Your language should match the emotions that you felt and your tone of voice when you’re telling it. If the tones and moods change, change your language with it, too. No matter what the tones in your tale bring, you’ll need to write it clearly. You don’t have to use long, technical words unless they’re part of your story. Whether you are turning to reddit essay writing service or writing it yourself, you should avoid any confusing ideas or anything that doesn’t “fit” with the story. Think of it as if you’re telling this story to a friend. What would you say, and how would you tell it? Thinking of this while you’re writing will help you find the perfect language to match your ideas.
7. Make Sure to Edit Your Brainchild
Your final grade depends on a few things: grammar, spelling, and language structure. You may have told a great tale and left your professor baffled, but your assignment could still get a low grade if you don’t edit. Editing takes a bit of patience and a lot of attention to detail; it should be done a few times before you hand the text in. The process generally goes as follows:
- Read
- Mark your mistakes
- Make changes
- Re-read
- Repeat
When editing your paper, start off by reading the whole story yourself. This will give you a sense of your overall story, helping you understand fragments requiring simplification or clarification. If your essay contains potentially sensitive language, it’s better to edit it out. You can use technology for the grammar and spelling parts, taking some of the load off and focusing on the final product.
Check Your Guidelines
Our 6 tips for writing a narrative are general. To make sure that you have checked everything off your professor’s list, check your assignment’s details. If you have limits to your narrative, like talking about college startup ideas or inspirations for studying, you will need to adjust your topic. Your professor will likely provide you with limits to the length and details on things they want to see, such as the essay’s format, language, and maybe even a storyline.
Getting to share details about a personal experience, for instance, how you spent your holiday season, is fun but might be limited. Before you go off and start brainstorming about your favorite memories, check the specifics and make sure they’re in your paper. Just like with any other essay, you need a clear intro and conclusion, giving your readers a clear beginning and end to your tale. If you can show your passions with the written word, a narrative essay is a way to go. So, it’s high time to get creative and share a story that is close to you!