A narrative essay alludes to an argument or teaches a lesson from personal experience. They are non-fiction and are kind of autobiographical. Creativity gets applied during the writing process, and they are often a part of high school coursework and in college admissions. Difference between Narrative Essays and Short Stories Narrative essays get accompanied by […]
A narrative essay alludes to an argument or teaches a lesson from personal experience. They are non-fiction and are kind of autobiographical. Creativity gets applied during the writing process, and they are often a part of high school coursework and in college admissions.
Difference between Narrative Essays and Short Stories
Narrative essays get accompanied by clear and vivid descriptions, dialogues, characters, and plot. Here are the differences between the two:
- A narrative aims to present an argument, whereas short stories are open to the reader’s interpretations.
- They strive to leave the reader not jangled in thoughts or hanging, whereas a short recital has a message or abstract moral
- Narratives are in the first person tense and follow up a research paper structure, whereas short stories can be in any format.
Format of a narrative essay
- Introduction: it starts with a hook to glue the reader as it sketches the essay’s theme.
- Body paragraphs: it is where the writer develops the characters, describes the scenes in detail, and makes up dialogues.
- Conclusion: it is a reflection at the essay’s end that sums up the body complement the story.
Most common narrative essay topics
Topics vary widely as the essays get based on personal experiences. Here are some of them:
- Family life stories that shaped you
- Childhood incidents that changed your life
- A moment or time you overcame fear or adversity
- A relationship that taught you something
Tips for writing a narrative essay
- Read many narrative essay examples. They will help you familiarize yourself with the format type and may give you ideas to develop on your own.
- Focus on a point rather than broadening. Focus on one particular event or time that changed you or your perception and hone in on it
- Provide weight to the details. If you have an array of topics to choose from, go with the one you are most likely to expand on details in a captivating way.
- Have an outline of the plot and chronologically stick to the unfolding of events. You can play with your timeline by introducing flashbacks but make sure you stay in the line of the story.
- Look for help. When it seems too hard to write a narrative essay on your own, whatever the reason is, don’t hesitate to look for professional assistance. Visit RankMyService to choose the most appropriate services and avoid the bad ones with poor quality and high prices.
- Look for and find the antagonist. It might be a place, behavior, condition, a person, or something that’s blocking your progress. The struggle between you, the protagonist, and the antagonist are what keeps the fire burning in the narrative.
- Play with the language. Instead of just telling the readers the story, show them in words that describe the noises, smells, and activities.
- Pick a point of view. The most natural P.O.V is the first person point of view, and the tense mostly used is past tense. Whatever you choose, make sure you don’t switch in the middle of the narrative.
- Make sure you draw out your point. Make sure your writing captures your argument. Make the text draw attention and be precise.
- Pay close attention to the introduction. The introductory paragraphs will determine whether your readers will continue reading or giving care. Make sure you give extra attention. Be sure to make your hook as crisp as possible to ensure that you have shed light on the critical theme.
- Proofread. Check your formatting and the sections of dialogue that might contain errors you might have missed. Check the characters and their lines of action to make sure you nail each character’s identity on point.