Narrative Letter

Planning
1. Brainstorming (structures, vocabulary, ideas)
2. Outline paragraphs (we'll look at this in depth)
3. Vocabulary selection (impressive expressions and structures)
4. Writing
5. Checking (reread looking for errors/repetition/boring vocabulary)

Paragraphs
1. What led to the experience? (why did you decide to do it?)
Was it a burning ambition? (something you had always wanted to do)
2. Preparation for the experience.
Was it an extreme experience? How did you feel before? Description of the day and the
events before the experience.
3. Description of the experience. (main body of composition)
Description of the event, your feelings, what happened.
4. Why was it so special/significant?
What happened after, how you felt later, why it changed your life, would you recommend it.

Past narrative tenses

Past simple - finished actions in the past, actions in sequence.

I breathed in deeply and stepped out of the plane into the air.

Past continuous - descriptions/actions in progress interrupted by past simple actions.

The pale winter sun was shining through the leaves of the trees, the birds were singing happily and
the wind was whistling past.

As the balloon was rising into the sky I looked down at the people below me.

Past perfect - actions that happened before a specific moment in the past.

I looked out over the landscape, I had never seen such a beautiful sight before.

I took the map out and checked our location. I had marked all the most important places on it the
night before.

Past perfect cont. - duration of time for an action that happened before a specific moment in the
past.

When we finally reached the summit of the mountain we had been walking for over 6 hours.

I had been dreaming about taking to the skies in a hot air balloon since I was a child.
Sequencing
At first/To start with/In the beginning.............. Sudden/unexpected events.
Then/next/after that/..................... Out of the blue...............
The next thing that happened was................ Like a bolt from the blue.........
The next thing I knew was.................. Completely unexpectedly...............
Seconds/Minutes later.................. Just as I was least expecting it..............
Later on/Some time later.................
It wasn't until much later that..............
After some time/what seemed like years............
Finally/In the end.................
At last,..............
I was just about to (infinitive) when..........
I was on the point of (gerund) when...........

Rapid events Simultaneous events

In the blink of an eye............. Meanwhile, In the meantime..........
As quick as a flash.............. While all this was going on............

Looking back
In retrospect...............
When I think back to that day...........
Looking back on that day.............

Ways to say exciting/excited: Phrasal verbs:

exhilarating/exhilarated take up a challenge (accept)
adrenalin rush set off on a journey/adventure (start)
thrilling/thrilled freak out (get very scared and nervous)
Scary/scared Describing the weather:
petrifying/petrified A scorching summer day
terrifying/terrified A freezing winter day
frightening/frightened A crisp winter day
Nervous A howling wind was blowing
on edge A light breeze was blowing
I had butterflies in my stomach The sun was beating down on us
nerve-racking/nail-biting (to describe the It was pouring with rain
activity) The heavens opened (it started to rain very hard)
Difficult
Tough
Hard
Challenging
Expressions: pick your way (we picked out way down the
to be game mountain)
the game plan to not bat an eyelid
the name of the game to be all fingers and thumbs
fun and games start from scratch
1 down, 2 to go back to square one
up to (your decision it's up to us) back to the drawing board
pick-me-up