What is a Narrative? .

What is a Narrative?

On your paper, write what you think a

narrative is.Write what you think a “Narrative”

is….

iA

Definition: The primary purpose of narrative writing is to describe an experience, event,or sequence of events in the form of a story. The purpose is to tell.

A Narrative is…

Personal and Fictional2 Types

• Personal narratives are one of the first types of writing that you do. You write about yourself and experiences that you have encountered, read, or heard about.

• You can become much more engaged when your write about yourself in personal narratives because you are the expert on the topic of your life.

Personal Narratives

Details

Order

Who

What

When

Where

Why

How

First ThenNext Finally

Personal Narratives should show…

The general characteristics of a narrative writing include:

1. Revealing something of importance – narratives make a point and that point is usually defined in the first sentence but may appear as the last sentence in the first paragraph.2. Depicting characters and setting vividly – bring the story to life by using your senses to depict the events of the story: How does it look, sound, feel, smell?***Include the important events that make up the story in enough detail for your readers to understand what happened while avoiding any details that do not relate to the main point.3. Showing, not telling – use vivid and precise verbs when describing your events4. Presenting events in a clear, chronological order – use a logical progression with good transitions when moving from point-to-point.5. Usually written in the first person, that is using, “I”.

Show, Don’t’ Tell

Don’t tell the reader what he or she is supposed to think or feel.

Let the reader See, hear, smell, feel, and taste the experience directly, and let the sensory experiences lead him or her to your intended thought or feeling.

Showing is harder than telling.

It’s easier to say, "It was incredibly funny," than to write something that is incredibly funny.

The rule of "show, don’t tell" means that your job as a storyteller is not to interpret; it’s to select REVEALING DETAILS.

You’re a sifter, not an explainer. An easy way to accomplish showing and not telling is to avoid the use of "to be" verbs.

“To Be” words to use

IsAm

NOT

Are

Was

Be

BeingBeen

Were

How do I begin?

Brainstorm

Introduction

3 Body Paragraphs

ConclusionHow should I end my paper?

I’m Finished