Intensive English Comp I (110)

Narrative notes

● A ​narrative ​essay is one in which the writer tells the story of something that has happened. In order for something to have happened there has to have been a conflict.

● Conflict is going to be the central quality of your narrative essay. In addition to conflict is

the ​exposition ​of the piece. Conflict happens to people and it also happens in a place and of course happens at a specific time. All of these details make up the ​exposition ​of the piece. The five W’s:

● Who​, ​What​, ​Where​, ​When ​and ​Why ​are great questions to ask of the narrative

essays you’ll read for this class, and then, in turn, you can ask yourself these questions to fill out the details of your narrative.

Once you have established the ​conflict​, and the details surrounding the conflict, you’ll

want to consider ​why ​you are writing the story. This is typically the hardest concept of the narrative essay for students.

Ask yourself why have you chosen to write about this particular event? For a narrative essay to be successful it must display something to be gained for the audience having read it, and something you gained as a person who went through this event.

For instance​, I could write a narrative essay on how I burned my toast this morning and was then late for work because of it. There is ​conflict ​and I could detail how I overcame this ​conflict​, but there probably isn’t as much significance ​as if I had chosen to write a narrative essay about the time my family and I moved halfway across the United States when I was a teenager. This is a narrative event that drastically changed who I am.

All narrative essays must have ​autobiographical significance, ​or they will fail to be complete essays. Autobigraphical significance​ - How did you change from this conflict? How did you grow? What did you learn? To help explain all of this, let’s consider the movie ​The Lion King​. This is a narrative essay based on Simba and his ascendance to the throne. The conflict in the movie is that Simba is the rightful heir to the throne, but Scar has killed the king and lied to Simba about the events. Therefore, the entire movie narrates Simba’s struggles and challenges he faces as he eventually becomes the King. Who​: The animals of pride rock What​: The struggle for the throne of pride rock

Where​: An African Savannah When​: Over the course of a Lion’s childhood and then adolescence Why​: This was a unique transition of power. Mufasa the former king was murdered by his brother, as opposed to a traditional passing of the throne from father to first born. Once you have established this you’ll want to move on to the narrative arc.