How to write narrative essay?

About Narrative Essay – By Musa Sinnan

In this week issue we will begin with the easiest way of writing an essay that is narrative essay. Narrative in other words, writing a short story requires you to ‘narrate’ or to tell a series of fictional events of your own invention. A narrative essay is a piece of writing that recreates an experience through time. It can be based on one of your own experiences, either past or present, or it can be based on the experiences of someone else.
In the exam if you choose to write a narrative essay, it simply means that you are telling a story, which is meaningful and important to you. It describes how a certain event can change a major part of yourself and your life, how you have reacted to that event that happened to you. A good narrative isn't just an enjoyable or amusing story, but has a point to make, an idea to pass on.
Narrative essay is a popular topic in the Continuous Writing section and students should take note that this topic has appeared in the SPM examination almost every year since the paper was introduced. Many people think that writing a story is a difficult task, but believe me, it is much simpler than what you thought because you are not confined to any particular point. Therefore, you are free to voice out everything that is in your mind.
Before writing the essay you should identify the experience that you want to write about. Think about why the experience is significant and spend a good deal of time drafting your recollections about the details of the experience. Finally, create an outline of the basic parts of your narrative.
Features
1. The story should have an introduction that clearly indicates what kind of narrative essay it is (an event or recurring activity, a personal experience, or an observation), and it should have a conclusion that makes a point.
2. The essay should include anecdotes. The author should describe the person, the scene, or the event in some detail. It's okay to include dialogue as long as you know how to punctuate it correctly and as long as you avoid using too much.
3. The occasion or person described must be suggestive in that your description and thoughts lead the reader to reflect on the human experience.
4. The point of view in narrative essays is usually first person. The use of "I" invites your readers into an intimate discussion.
The plot is very important in the narrative essay as it is the basic structure of the story and the whole story evolves around the plot. A good plot has an OPENING, MIDDLE and an ENDING. Let us look at the different stages in writing a narrative essay.


You must have strong characters in your story and the description of such characters should help to make your story interesting. The characters should be credible, that is reasonably true to life, clearly differentiated from each other so that you do not mix them up and finally vividly presented so that the reader can easily visualize them. Therefore present your characters sharply and clearly by using significant details which readily give a clue to the nature of each person.
Read the description about the following characters:
Brigadier Mason was very tall and lean, stooped slightly and had exuberant grey hair which projected a kind of spurious youth. His blue eyes were bleached by the sun but his complexion had not the coarse redness which so many Englishmen carry as a stigma of service in the tropics. Times had marked his skin but the wrinkles at the corners of his mouth and eyes were more a legacy of laughter than of anguish. He spoke in a low unmilitary voice which had not the faintest trace of the slightly nasal intonation which some Englishmen affect as an insignia of their class.
Interview by Gopal Baratham
The description the character mentioned above was written in précised manner. Brigadier Mason was described as a very tall and lean man. He is an old man where it was mentioned as time had marked his skin. He spoke with good manner. The vivid expressions written give a clear picture about that Englishman that arouses your interest to read further.
Methods of opening and ending
There are a few ways to open and to end an essay.

Some Types of Opening
The opening sentence of your essay is very important. Your duty is to get the reader interested right from the start. A lifeless, stereotyped or dull sentence may not attempt your reader to continue. Keep the opening short and do not get carried away. Here are some guidelines of how you should start your essay.

i. Describe the background to your story to establish clearly your characters and
situation.
Example: There was once an old lady who lived in an old, dark and shabby hut at the end of the village.

ii. Describe the setting to create mood for your story.
Example: It was a warm night. There had been no rain for the past week. I was lying down on the couch watching the late night movie.

iii. Use direct speech to make a lively way to begin, especially if the character says
something that grabs attention or a surprise technique.
Example: “May God answer my prayer and lead me to a right way!” she whispered, raising her hand in oath.

iv. Use words which convey sounds to start on a dramatic note.
Example: Bang! Bang. There’s a loud banging sound coming from the back of the backyard of the bungalow.

v. Use proverb or quotation which is relevant to the theme.
Example: ‘Where there is a will there is a way.’ I kept on walking in dark. It was
windy. Then, in the dark suddenly, ………………………

To End the Essay
The ending must be a logical conclusion to the story. In the End the reader is told how everything works out. With this, story is brought to a satisfactory conclusion. Your conclusion should be a logical outcome of all action that took place before. Make it short so you do not take away the excitement that you created earlier.
Try to be more original!
Try not to use very clichéd ending, that is, endings that have been using again and again for example:
………… thank God it is all over.
………….and then I fainted.

Be imaginative, end up your story in an unexpected way by creating a ‘twist’ at the end. However, remember that ‘unexpected’ does not mean ‘illogical’.

Here are some guidelines of how to end the story.
…………..This was the happiest moment. I felt relieved to be able to escape from the flood. Splashing in the water, we soon attracted the attention of the rescuer. We were rescued and taken to the evacuation center.

…………... I walked straight out of the room as I could no longer be able to face anyone. I walked down the stairs, head down in total embarrassment. It was a very embarrassing incident and till today, it remains in my heart.