Narrative Essays

What is Narrative Essay?

Narrative essay is narrates or retells an event or story.

Development Techniques

A narrative is a story. It has an introduction that engages the reader’s interest, a body that gives details about the main event or action in the story, and a conclusion that describes the experience on the story.

Introductory Paragraph

• LEAD – Gets the reader’s attention with a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition.
• LINK – Introduces an event (the action of the story) by providing background information about the people, the place, and the time. It sets the scene by telling what the story is about, when and where the story takes place, who are the main characters, or the writer.
• LIST (Thesis statement) – Tells why the story or event was so important or so memorable. Normally, you can construct the thesis statement for narrative essay in this way:
       → LINK (Thesis statement): Story or event + Impression on/ Experience about the story

Look at the example. Supposed that you are going to write about a story "Ramayana". Here are the information you can add:

• LEAD = Ramayana, a myth in Hinduism, is a story studied by many people across south and southeast Asia.
• LINK = What? – War between goodness and devil When? – Long time ago Where? – India, Sri Lanka Who? – Rama and Ravana
• LIST = The story provides educational values to most of the readers.

Below is the sample introductory paragraph.

Ramayana

^(Lead) Ramayana, a myth in Hinduism, is a story studied by many people across south and southeast Asia. ^(Link) The story talks about war between goodness, represented by Rama, and the devil, represented by Ravana. The war was said to happen at an ancient time in India and Sri Lanka. ^(List) The story provides educational values to most of the readers.

Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs describe what happened in the story. They include details that bring the story to life. They often use time order to explain the event. The story is normally divided into 3 stages:

• THE BEGINNING -- The beginning of the story tells what problem or conflict cause the story or event to happen. 
• THE MIDDLE -- The middle describes the problems or conflicts leading to the climax, which is the highest point of the story or event.
• THE ENDING -- The ending reveals what happens after the climax. It finishes the story with the story resolution or how all the conflicts or problem are solved.

Concluding Paragraph

A conclusion restate your experience on the story. It often ends with a comment by the writer about what the event showed or taught.

Organizing Ideas

If you describe the event, it is good idea to organize your essays into 4 or five paragraphs as below.

Outline 1

Title

Introductory Paragraph

• LEAD: A relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition (drawing attention).
• LINK: What? Who? When? Where? (background information)
• LIST: Story or event + Impression on/ Experience about the story

Body Paragraph 1

• BEGINNING OF THE STORY

Body Paragraph 2

• MIDDLE OF THE STORY

Body Paragraph 3

• END OF THE STORY

Concluding Paragraph

• Restatement + Final thoughts

Outline 2

Alternatively, if you know the plots of the story, you may organize the ideas in this way.

Title

Introductory Paragraph

• Lead: A relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition (drawing attention).
• Link: What? Who? When? Where? (background information)
• List: Story + Impression on/Experience about the story 

Body Paragraph 1 – BEGINNING

• Rising Actions – what make the story happens

Body Paragraph 2 – MIDDLE

• Complications – problems leading to climax
• Climax – highest / most serious point of the problem

Body Paragraph 3 – ENDING

• Falling actions – what happen after the climax
• Resolutions – how problem/conflict is solved

Concluding Paragraph

• Restatement/Summary + Final thoughts

Narrative Essay Samples

Below is a sample essay about a Khmer love story 'Tum and Teav'.

Outline

Tum and Teav
Introductory Paragraph

• Lead: drawing attention
• Link:
  
  • What?: love tragedy
  • Who?: Tum and Teav
  • When?: 16th century
  • Where?: Tbaung Khmum province
• List: The story + is very interesting.

Body Paragraph 1 – BEGINNING

• Rising Actions –
  • Love at the first sight Tum and Teav
  • Tum leaves monkshood
  • Tum and Teav engage in a pre-marriage love affair

Body Paragraph 2 – MIDDLE

• Complications –
  • Teav's mother disagree their marriage.
  • Teav’s mother arranges a marriage for Teav with a rich and powerful local guy, but fails.
  • Teav is selected a concubine, and is sent to the capital.
  • Tum follows;
  • King offers a wedding.
  • Teav’s mother doesn’t like, and she re-arranges the marriage.
  • She cheats Teav to come back.
  • Teav comes back, and Tum follows.

• Climax –
  • Tum is arrested and executed.
  • Teav commits suicide.

Body Paragraph 3 – ENDING

• Falling actions –
  • what happen after the climax The news enrages the king.

• Resolutions –
  • how problem/conflict is solved He orders execution to those involved.

Concluding Paragraph

• Restatement/Summary + Final thoughts

Sample Essay

Tum and Teav

^(Lead) Among many Khmer novels, Tum and Teav seems to be the most appealing one. Many people believe that the story was a real one. ^(Link) It is about a love tragedy of young couple Tum and Teav happened some time in the 16th century at presently Tbaung Khmum province. ^(List) The story is really interesting.
(Rising action) The story begins when a young monk Tum and young woman Teav fall in love at their first sight when Tum is invited to Teav's house for small ceremony. The love for Teav forces Tum to leave his monkshood even with the objection of his master. He then sets off for Teav. When they meet, they have engage in a love pre-marriage affair which is strongly prohibited in Khmer tradition.
^{(Complications)} Teav's mother, however, disagree with their marriage. She wants her daughter to have better husband, so she arranges a mrriage for Teav with a rich and powerful local guy, but fails. Because of her beauty, Teav is selected a concubine, and is sent to the capital. Tum follows her and disguise as a singer and musician. The king admires Teav, but later he learns that Teav and Tum, a singer who sings to entertain him, love each other, so he offers a wedding the couple. The wedding makes Teav's mother disappointed, and she re-arranges the the fail marriage. She cheats Teav to come back home and sits in a wedding. Worrying for his wife, Tum follows. ^(Climax) At first, he think that Teav agrees with her mother, so he disguises as a singer and sings to insult Teav.  Being identified as Tum, he is arrested and executed. With sorrow, Teav commits suicide on Tum's body.
^{(Falling actions)} Tum's friend, who has accompanied him, manage to escape and informs the king. The news enrages the king. He decides that he must intervene in the case. ^(Resolution) He orders harsh punishment to those involved. The family of the powerful guy, Teav's mother, and other villagers are arrested and executed.
^{(Restatement)} The story reflects that even with traditional and social class barrier, there are people who dare stand against them. It has become a debate for the later century as well. ^{(Final thought)} It is one of the widely known Khmer story among Cambodian and scholars.

Reference

• A. Savage & P. Mayer (2006). Effective Academic Writing 2. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. USA. P-?
• Susan Anker (2010). Real Writing. Paragraph and Essays for College Work and Everyday Life. P-121