Narrative Writing

Picture source: http://libguides.manchester.edu/c.php?g=305609&p=2354278

A narrative paragraph tells a story or relates an event. Narratives a beginning, a middle and an end. Any time you go to a movie or read a fiction book, you are enjoying a narrative. A narrative paragraph can be fun to write because you often describe an event from your life.

A narrative paragraph:

• tells a story
• gives background information in the opening sentence or sentences
• has a clear beginning, middle and end
• entertains and informs

Every narrative paragraph has a beginning, middle and end. Read the sample paragraph:


     One afternoon when I was walking to my bus stop in front of the Walgreens on Broadway, I came face to face with death. Approaching the crosswalk from Mountain Ave., I looked both ways just as my mother taught me so many years ago. When the traffic was clear, I stepped out into the freshly painted white path only to see a large blue van begin to accelerate wildly in my direction. For some reason, all I could think of as I held my breath, preparing to die was "who is going to feed my cat." Fortunately the driver of the vehicle was only trying to frighten me. His road rage was palpable as he swerved around me, his oversized passenger mirror within inches of the brim of my hat, shouting words in my direction that I dare not repeat here. Unable to respond in kind, I simply exhaled and hurried to the sidewalk on the other side.

The Topic Sentence
The 1st sentence of the paragraph, the topic sentence, gives background information of the story. The writer introduces the main character, and prepares the readers for the action that will come.

The Beginning of the Story
The main action begins after the topic sentence. Note that not all narratives contain action. Some may be a about problem or a conflict. The action in the above paragraph began when the writer started to cross the street.

The Middle of the Story
The middle part is when the main action or problem occurs. In the paragraph, the action of crossing the street turned into a problem when the writer saw the speeding van. It continued when the writer started thinking that he might die.

The End of the Story
The end of the story gives the final action or result. If there is a problem or conflict in the story, the solution is presented here. The above paragraph had a happy ending, because the writer didn't die, in the end he was able to cross the street safely.

References:
Folse, K., et. al, Great Writing, 2014 Cengage Learning