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A narrative essay is a fairly simple form of essay. The author has a significant number of tools at his disposal to explain the topic to the reader. Here is what you need to know to write a narrative essay.


Part 1
Before writing

Understand the purpose of a narrative essay.
The narrative essay is intended to explain the topic to the reader. You need to report a specific fact on the topic and disclose it using evidence.
This is one of the easiest types of essays you'll ever write. You do not need to prove a point of view, how to do it in a convincing essay. Instead, you just need to describe something.
For example, if the theme of the narrative essay is Jane Austen`s writing career, you can write about the stages of her career, but you do not need to draw any conclusions or argue about any literary topics that she included or did not include in her works.

Choose a good topic.
A good topic should be specific enough to cover several pages, but not so specific that you cannot find enough information about it.
Keep in mind any tips your instructor makes. Typically, the instructor tells a general topic from which you should choose a more specific subtopic.
For example, if an instructor gives you the topic of a narrative essay, World War II, you don’t need to write about the whole war. Instead, focus on one specific piece. You can choose a specific moment of the war, for example, the landing of troops in Normandy or Pearl Harbor, or some aspects of the war, for example, the use of dogs or other animals to help soldiers.

Find relevant sources.
Your sources should cover the whole topic, and should also be reliable.
Traditionally, books and scientific journals are the best sources. Scientific, government, newspaper articles, and magazine articles are also good choices.
Some teachers allow the use of encyclopedias, so Wikipedia would be a good move, or educational sites, but as you reach a higher level in writing narrative essay, these sources will usually be limited, as they are considered too general.

Do research and take notes.
Reread your sources and note any significant facts in each of them, writing information in a notebook.
You should also mark the page numbers associated with this information that you wrote out.
Copy the output from each source for a list of bibliographies or citations. This page should be designed in accordance with the wishes of your teacher.
Record important dates, statistics, and quotes.

Find out what it all means.
Before you start writing your work, you must form your own conclusions. Despite the fact that you do not need to give arguments, you still need to know what you are writing about.
The topic that you choose will ultimately need to be reflected in your thesis.


Part 2
Introductory paragraph

Grab the reader’s attention with spectacular technique.
The first sentence or sentences of your introduction should attract the attention of the reader and not let go away. The introduction should act like a fishing hook when a fisherman catches a fish.
There are various ways to get the reader's attention. You can enter a quote that relates to your topic, present an interesting fact or statistics, propose a definition or ask a rhetorical question. You can also tell a joke, give an analogy or general observation on your topic.

Provide additional information on the topic.
To paraphrase, it will sound "provide context." Begin the introduction to the topic by providing general information that gives your reader an idea of ​​what you plan to write about.
For example, if you are writing about a book, you should indicate the title, author’s name and summary.
If you are writing about a specific date in history, you should summarize the events of the day and explain how it fits into a wider historical context.
If you are writing about a person, you should mention his name and provide a short biographical sketch.
Context should be “embedded” in your thesis. Explain everything that the reader needs to know in order to understand your topic, gradually narrowing down the information until you reach the topic itself.

Give your thesis statement.
Your thesis statement is one sentence that clearly and succinctly defines the theme of your work.
Select a thesis from the conclusion you made at the end of your research.
A thesis in a narrative essay should not contain any arguments or controversial points of view.
For example, if you decide to write about the use of dogs during World War II, a good thesis might be something like "Dogs used by the US Marine Corps during World War II played a significant role in the Pacific theater of operations."
A bad thesis might be something like: "The US Marine Corps should never use dogs during World War II."

Briefly introduce your main ideas.
This part is optional, but it often helps build the transition to the main part. Briefly outline the main points of your body in one sentence.
The main points should be directly related to the first sentence of each paragraph in the main part.



Part 3
Main part

Know how many paragraphs to include in the essay.
Most often, an essay consists of five paragraphs, but a narrative essay can be much longer.
If you are planning an essay of five paragraphs, the main part should have three paragraphs, therefore, three supporting evidence that reveals your thesis.
Even if your essay contains more than five paragraphs, the same principles apply.

Begin each paragraph with a sentence that contains a general statement on the topic.
Such a proposal contains a topic and the main idea of ​​the entire paragraph. It should contain supporting evidence that develops the thesis statement and, if you mentioned the main ideas in your introduction, it should be directly related to one of these main ideas.
For example, if you write a narrative essay about the use of dogs by the US Marine Corps during World War II, your topic sentence might be something like this:
"Dogs played an active role in the Marine Corps mission in the Pacific Theater of War."
"Doberman Pinscher was the official dog of the US Marine Corps during World War II, but dogs of all breeds are suitable for the role of military dogs."
"War dogs were eligible for military honors."

Develop supporting evidence.
Provide concrete evidence to explain the statement made in the topic sentence of each paragraph of the main body of your essay.
The train of thought in an explanatory essay is as follows: the thesis is confirmed in the first sentence (topic sentence) of each paragraph of the main part, and then each statement made in the first sentence of the paragraph is confirmed by the evidence presented within each paragraph.
Evidence may include quotes, retelling, and summaries from your research.
It can also be interviews, jokes or personal experiences.
Try to provide at least 2 to 3 evidence to support your claim.
For example, for a paragraph beginning with “Military dogs were even eligible to receive military awards for their services,” the list of dogs and awards they received could be supporting evidence.

Analyze the significance of each core idea. Include one or two sentences in each paragraph, which explain how the main idea of ​​this paragraph supports the thesis.
Often this can be done with supporting evidence.
You should not, however, analyze the facts in a subjective form or draw conclusions on the topic.

Make a conclusion and go to the next paragraph. Ideally, each paragraph should logically move into the next. The conclusion of each paragraph of the main part should summarize the main idea and at the same time show how it relates to your next thought.
For example, if you included a paragraph starting like this: “Doberman Pinscher was an official dog of the US Marine Corps during World War II, but all breeds could be trained as war dogs” to a paragraph starting like this: “Military dogs actually had the right to receive military awards for your services, "your final phrase should combine the idea of ​​linking dog breeds with receiving military awards.
The link between paragraphs can be read between the lines: "Even though the Doberman Pinscher was the most common dog breed used during World War II, it was certainly not the only dog ​​breed that deserved recognition for its help."


Part 4
Conclusion

Rephrase your thesis.
The first sentence of your final paragraph should rephrase your thesis in the light of the evidence.
Do not repeat your thesis word for word. Express it in other words, but make sure it means the same.
For example, if your initial thesis was “Dogs used by the US Marine Corps during World War II played a significant role in the Pacific Theater of War,” you can rephrase it like this: “Dogs of all breeds and sizes played an important and well-deserved role in the Second World War II, especially in the Pacific theater of operations. "
Note that this repeats the information presented in the original thesis in a new way, alluding to the information that you included in the main part of the essay.

Summarize the main ideas.
Include one sentence to summarize each of the supporting evidence presented in the main body of your essay.
If you rephrased your original thesis in the first sentence of your conclusion, it can be argued that the next three sentences will be rephrased versions of the main idea or the first sentences of each paragraph of the main part.

Suggest a key message or call to action.
The final sentence of your final paragraph - and your narrative essay as a whole - should contain one final statement on the topic of your work.
As a general thought, consider the following options:
An explanation of how the topic affects the reader
Explain how a narrow topic in your essay relates to a wider topic or observation
Reader's call for action or further research on the topic
Posing new questions that have been raised in your essay