Narrative essays

As a mode of expository writing, the narrative approach, more than any other, offers writers a chance
to think and write about themselves. We all have experiences lodged in our memories, which are
worthy of sharing with readers. Yet sometimes they are so fused with other memories that a lot of the
time spent in writing narrative is in the prewriting stage.
When you write a narrative essay, you are telling a story. Narrative essays are told from a defined
point of view, often the author's, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory details
provided to get the reader involved in the elements and sequence of the story. The verbs are vivid and
precise. The narrative essay makes a point and that point is often defined in the opening sentence, but
can also be found as the last sentence in the opening paragraph.
Since a narrative relies on personal experiences, it often is in the form of a story. When the writer
uses this technique, he or she must be sure to include all the conventions of storytelling: plot,
character, setting, climax, and ending. It is usually filled with details that are carefully selected to
explain, support, or embellish the story. All of the details relate to the main point the writer is
attempting to make.
To summarize, the narrative essay

is told from a particular point of view

makes and supports a point
is filled with precise detail
uses vivid verbs and modifiers
uses conflict and sequence as does any story
may use dialogue

The purpose of a narrative report is to describe something. Many students write narrative reports
thinking that these are college essays or papers. While the information in these reports is basic to
other forms of writing, narrative reports lack the "higher order thinking" that essays require. Thus
narrative reports do not, as a rule, yield high grades for many college courses. A basic example of a
narrative report is a "book report" that outlines a book; it includes the characters, their actions,
possibly the plot, and, perhaps, some scenes. That is, it is a description of "what happens in the
book." But this leaves out an awful lot.
Conventions of Narrative Essays
In writing your narrative essay, keep the following conventions in mind.

Narratives are generally written in the first person, that is, using I. However, third person (he,
she, or it) can also be used.
Narratives rely on concrete, sensory details to convey their point. These details should create
a unified, forceful effect, a dominant impression. More information on the use of specific
details is available on another page.
Narratives, as stories, should include these story conventions: a plot, including setting and
characters; a climax; and an ending.

40 Best Narrative Essay Topics

Here are 40 unique narrative essay topics to get you started with your narrative essay writing. Hope
these topics will help you remember an event, a dream, a person or a day you feel you would like to
write about. Choosing the right topic can be a real problem, but we are here to get you inspired.
Think of the topic you would want to describe on your Facebook to share with your friends,
something you really want to talk about. And check our examples!

First Day at College

The Moment of Success
A Journey Through Hell
The Biggest Misunderstanding
The Difficult Decision
The Trip of My Dreams
The Day I Decided to Change My Life
My Dads Influence on Me
Learning to Fit in
My First Day at Work
Why I Started My Own Charity Project
My Career Plan
Why I Always Find Time to be with
My Family
My First Car
My Best Friend
Learning it Hard Way
My Baby Teaches Me
What I love about My City
My Moms Childhood
European Road Trip

My Crazy Wedding Day

Meeting Mr. Fisher
The Old Creek
When I realized Im not a Kid
Anymore
My Grandmas Hands
The Person I will Never Forget
Growing up in New York
Driving Class
Be My Audience
Following a Dream
My Sister
A Disastrous Date
I Didnt Go to Her Funeral
The Perfect Encounter
The Strangest Job Interview
My First Flight Ever
The Lie That Destroyed One Life
How I Made it in LA
Lovely Britney Jones
Surviving a Tornado

Still need ideas?

-Think of describing the person who changed your life, your views or beliefs, your career, your residence,
your style, or the person you wish you never knew.
-Think of the place you dream to go to, youve been to, you never would want to go to, you lost something
at, you lived at in the childhood, you are scared of.
-Describe the experience that brings you to tears, makes you smile, embarraces you, makes you feel on top
of the world.
The essay topic you choose should be interesting and important to you, because the best essays are
written on the topics that really matter to the writer.

Taken from: http://essayinfo.com/essays/narrative_essay.php

Create a title for the following essay

________________________________________________

Sometimes I really do impress myself with my ability be amazed by life...It seems like some things have
never happened to me or I am an alien from some other distant planet. Human beings surprise me, make
me cry, make me laugh and make me happy. That Saturday morning, my alien being went out the house
in desperate search of deserted paths, beautiful trees, the smell of grass, the sounds of the sleepy city and
something that would make me smile. Autumn was already in the air and I was thinking about how cruel
was the world and how impossible was to be happy in it. It is not that I was broken hearted by I thought that
my patience has come to its end. I looked at the blue sky and set at a bench. I was sitting there and thinking
about how I want to be another person. Eventually, I realized that my main problem was that I felt that I
could not overcome all the love obstacles that life made me face. I recalled everything I have read in
books about love as well as everything that I have experienced myself. In the books everything seemed to
be much smoother and easier. My main thought was how people can possibly spend their whole life
together?. A small rain started and made me feel even more stupid: alone in the park, early in the morning,
without anyone to be here with me and ready to push away the relationship that was very dear believing that
I do not have strength to overcome the obstacles.
The autumn wind made me wake up from my dreams.. I took a deep breath and took a look around.
Suddenly I saw two people approaching me... As there was no one else in the park they caught my attention.
As they were getting closer I heard them laughing...First, this laugh made me feel irritated as if they have
broken my unity with this park and disturbed my thoughts. But all the sudden I noticed the age of these
people they were old. I could not clearly identify the age, but the woman looked as old as my grandmother.
She had grey hair, blue eyes with a smile in them, and a smile on her face. She seemed so peaceful, she was
in harmony with herself...Her sweater matched her eyes and made her look very fresh. And all the time she
was looking at HIM...
Jim, I think we should change the park. Its the same every Saturday. You know how much I love
being around people. Why dont you ever listen to me? Why do I have to say the same things every time?
Isnt it just easy to do what I ask you to?
-

Sus! Hug me..... that was all he said.

He looked at her, smiled, gave her a hug at this very moment I stopped seeing an old man, but a strong man
that knows his wife and how grouchy she can be and nevertheless he loves her! I thought about those many

things they have survived together, so many hardships that made them cry, about all the problems that they
are experiencing right now and the probability of that fact that one of them will outlive the other one. And
the one that will outlive will think of this life together was the most beautiful and happy period of life.
They left...and I was sitting at my bench shocked and feeling some new special feelings in my heart. This
feeling was hope! This old couple with all the grouching and tons of mistakes behind their backs made me
feel that at the end it is happiness that matter. Eventually, all people will get old and die, and what makes the
difference is the person you have dedicated your life to. And I made a wish to wake up one day, being old
and to be proud of being together with the person I love, to feel proud of having had enough forces to
overcome all the obstacles and fighting for the happiness. I looked at the sky again... the cloud seemed to
have the shape of infinity. I thought that it was a sign. A sign that only such dedication can make life
infinitely deep and pure. Finally, I knew what to do and I was so glad I went to that park early Saturday
morning. We can survive in this world even if we are aliens as long that we have one more alien to share the
life with.