The Narrative Essay!

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The Narrative Essay!
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Narrative Essays

• Tell a story or a personal experience
• Teach a lesson or make a specific point, in other
  words to explain how and why the event or
  experience was important to you
• Are NOT short stories
• Are written in 1st person (sometimes 3rd)
• Are told in chronological order
• Have vivid descriptions and sensory details that
  help paint a picture and draw in the reader
• Use figurative language and literary devices
• Need everything a story needs Plot, Characters,
  Conflict, Dialogue

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Narrative Essay Framework
Framework Explanations
Introduction Hook reader attention Set the scene - provide background information Provide lesson learned (thesis statement) Draw readers in story by grabbing their interest. Provide background information that connects hook to the story. Hint what overall story is about (thesis statement)
Body Relate events Include sensory details Arrange events in chronological order. Use literary elements (plot) Elaborate with sensory details and literary devices
Conclusion Results of experience What experience means to you Life lesson learned What happened as a result of this experience? What did you learn from this experience?
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Sixth Grade Example

• Emery OConnor

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Introduction

• Usually this paragraph should be 3 to 5 sentences
  long.
• Start with a hook to grab your readers
  attention.
• Elaborate. This is the bridge or connection to
  your thesis statement.
• Introduce your thesis statement. This states the
  main idea of your essay.

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Introduction

• Huh, huh, huh. I think everyone must be
  familiar with the ridiculous laugh of Ernest T.
  Bass from The Andy Griffith Show. His antics and
  silly chuckles have kept millions of Americans
  entertained. Yes, Ernest T. is funny, until you
  have one in your classroom. Then, his character
  looses a lot of his humor. At least, thats the
  case for me. Living through a year of an Ernest
  T. student taught me an important lesson dont
  avoid difficult situations by trying ignore them.

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Body

• The body of the essay consist of the story.
• All stories have a beginning, middle, and end
  (plot).
• Beginning - establish setting, characters, and
  conflict.
• Middle rising action, events that lead up to
  the climax of the story and the climax of the
  story.
• End the falling action and resolution.
• When constructing your story remember to use
• Vivid verbs and adjectives
• Sensory language
• Figurative language
• Literary devices (dialogue, dialect)

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Body

• Ah, the first day of school. Students and
  teachers are excited to be back from summer
  vacation and see new faces, old faces, and
  friends. Whos in my class? runs through the
  minds of teachers and students alike. This was
  how my day started as I stood in the hall outside
  my class and watched the students surging down
  the hall looking for homeroom teachers. As each
  child passed by I nodded, smiled, and said Good
  morning.
• Most chirped a cheery Hello Mrs. Drury in
  response.
• The bell buzzed to signal the start of class and
  I turned to enter the room, pulling the door shut
  behind me. But the door wouldnt shut.

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Body

• There was a foot stuck in it. The foot belonged
  to a small, frail, freckle-faced, red-headed boy.
  And when I say red-headed I mean RED-HEADED, as
  in carrot top. I stepped back to let him in the
  room. He sauntered in, without a word, not the
  least bit troubled about being late, and plopped
  down in a desk in the middle of the room. The
  students around him scattered like marbles on a
  hard wood floor. It bothered me, the way his
  peers so obviously didnt want to sit with him,
  and I felt a mixture of pity and embarrassment
  for him.

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Body

• I began the class by calling roll and studying
  the face of each student as he or she replied
  present. This was my method of putting names to
  faces, and usually after a day or two I knew all
  of my students.
• Emery OConnor. I looked up. There was no
  reply.
• Emery OConnor. I called a little louder,
  searching the room with my eyes. Still no
  answer. Hmm, maybe the others knew something
  about his whereabouts. Has anyone seen or heard
  from Emery OConnor? I queried.
• As one, the entire class turned and pointed to
  small, frail, freckled-face, red-headed boy.

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Body

• He sat slouched in his seat, with his foot on
  top of the desk, picking at brown clumps stuck in
  the treads of his dirty, ragged sneakers. The
  chunks were strewn about the desk and on the
  floor beneath him. I sent up a silent prayer that
  the brown lumps were not what I thought. Later,
  I discovered they were EXACTLY what I hoped they
  were not.
• Excuse, are you Emery OConnor? I asked.
• Yep. Thats my name dont wear it out. He
  muttered without bothering to look up.
• Dont wear it out. Ha. Thats exactly what I
  did. Over the next few weeks, if I called his
  name once, I called it a thousand times a day.

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Body

• Emery, sit down.
• Emery, go back to your seat.
• Emery, stop kicking your desk.
• Emery, get off your desk.
• Emery, get out the floor.
• And then came the incident I consider to be the
  straw that broke the camels back.
• Emery, get the pencils out of your nose and
  ears. He had put two pencils up his nose, and
  two in his ears, and was turning his head from
  side to side and wagging his tongue at the other
  students in the room. With that, I moved him to
  the back of the room, in a seat beside my desk.

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Body

• There was an audible sigh of relief from the
  class. With Emery in the back of the room, no
  one would have to listen to the snorts, snuffs,
  burps, and belches Emery was so fond of
  producing. Nor would anyone suffer from his
  favorite weapon of choice, the silent-but-deadly
  bombs he liked to drop daily. One would think, my
  troubles were over. But, one would be wrong.
• Emery moved to the seat next to my desk. With
  his audience removed, I assumed he would stop his
  disruptive behaviors, and for awhile he did. I
  had found his Achilles heel, and the class and I
  breathed a sigh of relief. Emery was no longer
  the center of attention, and we all got down to
  the serious business of education.

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Body

• Students were diligently laboring on their
  essays, heads down, imaginations at work. The
  only sound to be heard was the scratch of pencil
  against paper and the occasional murmured
  conversation as I circulated the room answering
  questions. Even Emery had his head down, and
  appeared to be working. Yay! As I rotated
  around the back of the room a smell hit me, a
  horrible smell, a nauseating stench, the aroma of
  vomit.
• I am the type of person who smells puke and
  immediately has to hurl. So I knew I didnt have
  long. I frantically scanned the room, looking
  for the sick child. No one! I couldnt see a
  single person in distress! But I did watch as
  student after student stopped working and, with
  wrinkled brow, starting looking around the room.
  That is everyone EXCEPT Emery.

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Body

• Poor thing, he was sick I knew I had to go over
  there and help him. I braced myself for the
  smell, and sure enough the closer I got to him
  the more offending, the stronger the odor became.
  Yes, he was definitely sick. As I approached
  his desk, I scanned the area for signs of vomit.
  I knew I wouldnt be able to handle stepping in
  it.
• There was no mess in the floor. Nothing. Not
  even a wet spot. Yet the smell was so
  overwhelming I knew he had been sick
• NO IM NOT FINISHING THE TALE OF EMERY. IT WOULD
  TAKE ALL CLASS PERIOD.

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Seventh Grade Example

• Uncle Lous Secret

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Introduction

• Usually this paragraph should be 3 to 5 sentences
  long.
• Start with a hook to grab your readers
  attention.
• Elaborate. This is the bridge or connection to
  your thesis statement.
• Introduce your thesis statement. This states the
  main idea of your essay.

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Introduction

• Blowing whistles, the clash of protective pads,
  grunts and groans of impact, thats the sound
  and feel of football. It was a cool, crisp, New
  England day in the autumn of 1965, and I was in
  the middle of football practice. For a sophomore,
  I was hard-hitting and the coaches were watching
  me closely. After forcing our star running back
  into fumbling, I heard the coach yell, Youre
  starting at defensive end on Saturday! My spirit
  was pumped, and my ego too. Both would be
  deflated before the days end. Sometimes, lifes
  lessons are learned the hard way.

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Body

• The body of the essay consist of the story.
• All stories have a beginning, middle, and end
  (plot).
• Beginning - establish setting, characters, and
  conflict.
• Middle rising action, events that lead up to
  the climax of the story and the climax of the
  story.
• End the falling action and resolution.
• When constructing your story remember to use
• Vivid verbs and adjectives
• Sensory language
• Figurative language
• Literary devices (dialogue, dialect)

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Body

• My friend Paul, a senior, called to me, Hey
  Dave, cmon over to my house after supper. Five
  of us are going to box.
• Okay, I said, Ill be over around 700.
• We boxed in Pauls cellar a few times a week,
  and I prided myself on being able to trade
  punches with the older guys. Importantly,
  nearly everyone on the team had heard the
  invitation, which enhanced my reputation with the
  upperclassmen.
• By 8 p.m., I had won two fights and was about to
  fight our defensive tackle, who had also won
  twice. At that time, two men in their fifties
  descended the stairs. They reeked of cigar smoke.
  I recognized Pauls dad, but I did not know his
  paunchy companion.

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Body

• Paul asked, Who wants to fight my Uncle Lou?
  How about you Dave?
• Why would I want to fight a fat old man? was
  my nearly silent response.
• However, nearly silent was not silent enough
  Uncle Lou had heard me, and he was putting on the
  gloves. Uncle Lou was three or four inches
  shorter than I but perhaps just a heavy thanks
  to a beer gut.
• I was unimpressed as he took off his glasses and
  said, Cmon punk lets see your stuff.
• I hated the word punk, and now, regardless of
  his age and condition, I wanted to fight him.

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Body

• Moving toward him, I cranked up a huge right
  hand. As I threw it, I felt a succession of jabs
  pummeling my forehead, nose, and chin.
  Embarrassed and angry, I charged the old man
  and ran into a right hook that sent me reeling
  into the workbench.
• I was bordering unconsciousness, but I remember
  saying Who the is that guy?
• Hes my Uncle Lou, replied Paul with a grin.
  Here, look at this, Paul ordered and handed me
  an almanac.
• A few moments passed before my eyes could focus,
  but there it was, clearly printed for anyone to
  read Lou Brouillard 1931 Welterweight
  Champion of the World.

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Planning the Narrative Essay

• Write a thesis statement
• Brainstorm for a personal story or observation
  that reveals a life lesson
• Outline or web the important parts of the story
  to be told
• Write an introductory paragraph that includes the
  thesis statement, and then write the story
• Because this is a story, use as many paragraphs
  as necessary to tell the story
• Write the conclusion that reflects on the lesson
  learned from the experience.

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Start With a Thesis Statement

• The lesson learned will depend upon the story.
• Without a thesis, or a point, you are not really
  writing a narrative essay but a narrative make
  sure to have a point.
• The lesson can be something general in the case
  of a narrative essay. For example, you may write,
  Oftentimes people do not follow simple
  directions. However, these campers learned just
  how important following directions can be.

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Possible lessons learned

• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
• A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
• Haste makes waste.
• Dont judge a book by its cover.
• A friend in need is a friend indeed.
• A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
• A penny saved is a penny earned.
• A watched pot never boils.
• Be careful what you wish for.
• Good things come to those who wait.

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Possible lessons learned

• All that glitters is not gold.
• Bad news travels fast.
• Beauty is only skin deep.
• Better safe than sorry.
• Crime doesnt pay.
• Dont count your chickens before they hatch.
• Dont change horses midstream.
• Every cloud has a silver lining.
• Honesty is the best policy.
• Look before you leap.
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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But Mrs. Drury.

• What happens if I cant think of anything to
  write?
• No one is actually going to check your story to
  make sure it is factual.
• However, the key is to make it believable. That
  means, even if the prompt is really unusual, make
  it sound like it actually did happen.
• For example, if I ask you what your favorite
  field trip was, dont answer to the moon. Say
  Myrtle Beach or Kings Mountain insteadat least
  that is believable.

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Remember

• You are graded on
• Staying on topic the whole time (talk about one
  trip, one event, one daydont chase
  kangaroos!)
• Support/Elaboration (Give a lot of detailsyou
  are telling this story to someonethey want to
  know what happened!)
• Organization (Make sure your story has a
  beginning, a middle, and an end!)
• Conventions (After all, this is an ELA class!)