How to Write an Essay

College Writing Help for Adult Learners

A+ Literacy Skills
for Lifelong Learners

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About
  • Free Stuff
  • Products
  • Tutoring
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

September 10, 2020 By TutorPhil Leave a Comment

How to Write a Narrative Essay – Step by Step Tutorial

A narrative essay is a piece of writing in which the author presents a theme and tells a story that illustrates it. 

I’m Tutor Phil, and in this tutorial I’ll guide you through writing a narrative essay, step by step. First, we’ll get clear on what a narrative essay is and how it is constructed. And then we’ll write an actual essay together.

How a Narrative Essay Works

A narrative essay offers you great flexibility because it has very few limitations. But a few things must be present in narrative essays. Here is a list of requirements.

Elements of a Narrative Essay

  • A theme, motif, or lesson
  • Beginning, middle, and ending
  • Setting, conflict, plot, character(s), and a climax 

Anything else you can read about or think of is optional. Such elements as flashbacks, flash-forwards, and multiple examples and characters are not necessary.

Flashbacks are too intrusive for a short narrative essay. You can be the only character. And one example, which is essentially the story, is usually enough for a narrative essay to be effective.

You can write about yourself or someone else, in first or third person. Also, good, vibrant dialogue is optional but helpful because it makes the events more real to the reader. 

Similarities and Differences between Argumentative and Narrative Essays

Both narrative and argumentative essays have a main theme. The main theme in an argumentative essay is an argument, otherwise known as a thesis.

The main theme in a narrative essay is just called a theme or a motif. The term “thesis” doesn’t really apply to a narrative essay because you’re not presenting an argument and then supporting it. 

You rather convey an important life lesson by means of storytelling. So, it’s not really a thesis in a narrative essay. It is a theme, motif, or lesson. 

You’re certainly not writing a thesis statement. But, like in an argumentative essay, your first paragraph should convey the main theme that will underlie the entire essay.

A narrative essay has much fewer rules or limitations than other types of essays, such as argumentative or descriptive essays. This is great news because you have more flexibility in how you want to tell your story.

This flexibility can also be a bit of a challenge because you don’t have a rigid structure to follow. That said, in this tutorial I’ll give you a very practical way to structure your narrative essay.

Writing a Narrative Essay Is a 4-Step Process

Step 1. Choose your theme

To choose your theme, motif, or lesson that you want to convey in your essay, think back to an event in your life that can inspire it.

By the way, a motif is just a recurring pattern throughout your narrative. For example, the shadow side of the human psyche is one of the motifs that keeps emerging in The Lord of the Rings. 

Many characters, such as Bilbo Baggins, Frodo, and Gollum, have moments of a rapid descent into their dark side when they are in the presence of the magic ring. They seem overtaken by the ring’s power. This is an example of a motif. 

Loss or Goal?

You have a choice between making your essay about dealing with a loss or aiming at a goal. 

A loss implies “away from” motivation. 

For example, a loss of a loved one is something that nobody wants to experience, but it happens because such is life. You can make your essay about a lesson derived from a loss of some kind. 

Note that any problem is either a loss that already took place or a threat of a loss in the immediate future. 

Alternatively, you can make your essay about a goal. This is different because a goal is something that you desire rather than fear or try to avoid. A goal evokes “toward” motivation. 

For example, you can tell a story of how you really wanted a red sports car as your first car, and you got it. It was an inexpensive, used car. But when you got it, you realized that goals have a potential to become a reality. 

Our sample theme

Let’s pick a theme for our essay that we’ll write together. I’m thinking of this theme:

“What goes around comes around.”

And I have a great story from my own life to illustrate it. I once worked at a car dealership where my general manager tried to pocket my bonus. That backfired for him. 

Note that this is at the same time a theme and a lesson, a moral of the story. And you can go about picking your theme in a couple of ways.

You can think of a theme or life lesson first and then pick a story from your or someone else’s life that would be a perfect illustration of it.

Or, you can choose an event from your life first and then think of a theme or lesson to derive from it. Pay attention to whatever comes to your mind first because it might be the way to go.

Step 2. Create an outline

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and a narrative essay offers you flexibility in how to tell your story. That said, your main structure is very simple:

  • Beginning
  • Middle
  • End

Your essay can consist of 4-5 paragraphs, or even more, if necessary. The first and the last paragraphs would be the beginning and the end. 

And the middle of your essay should contain 2-3 paragraphs because that’s where the bulk of the story takes place. 

Three possible ways to structure a narrative essay

  1. Present the theme or motif in the first paragraph and then provide three examples to illustrate it (this is very similar to an expository essay).
  2. Present a conflict or problem and then tell a story of how the character (likely you) had to transform in order to overcome this conflict or problem.
  3. Present a conflict or problem and tell a story of how dealing with the problem resulted in a revelation or transformation.

I’m thinking back to the story that I want to write about my experience working at a car dealership. That event forced me to draw out my resolve in order to overcome adversity.

So, the second way in the list above will work perfectly. And we’re ready to outline our essay.

Sample Narrative Essay Outline

  1. State the theme and describe the conflict. How my general manager made a promise but then began a game of cat and mouse.
  2. The immediate effects of the situation. At first I did not realize a problem existed. Then, I began to get a clue. I started to feel cheated.
  3. I took initial action to no avail. I pleaded with my general manager. I also spoke with my sales manager. Both kicked me around. I realized that my general manager was breaking his promise, causing me a potential loss of money and dignity.
  4. This is the climax. I plucked up courage and took decisive action. I had to do something I had never done before. I had to make a drastic decision to change a situation I resented. 
  5. This is the climax resolution. I got the result. My general manager got his due. And I got mine. 

As you can see, an outline of a narrative essay contains a series of short summaries of each paragraph. This is not a deeply nested structure, the kind an argumentative essay or a research paper has to have.

This outline is very simple and practical. If you know your story, now you have a well-organized way to tell it.

Step 3. Write out each paragraph, using the outline 

At this point, we have everything we need to write the first draft of this essay. If you did a good job picking your theme and writing the outline, this step should be easy. Your writing should flow.

Let’s do it.

Paragraph 1

What goes around comes around. I learned the truth of this old saying in 2011, when I worked at a car dealership, selling new and used cars. One fine day, during a Saturday morning meeting, our sales manager announced that he would pay a $1,000 bonus to the salesperson who would sell his car. That sounded great. And it just so happened that a few days later I served a customer who became interested in his high-end, sports Mercedes. The customer left without buying but then came back a couple of days later to seal the deal. I delivered the car. The happy customer drove off. It turned out that my sales manager had called the customer and offered him a better price. Great! The only problem was that days were going by, but I was not getting my bonus. 

(Note: we state the theme in the first sentence, which is a great way to open. The paragraph also contains the complete setup and presents the problem or conflict.) 

Paragraph 2

A car dealership has its own unwritten laws. One of them states that if a salesperson meets and greets a potential customer, and the person buys a car, this sale is credited to this salesperson. Also, sales managers do not get a cut of the deal if they helped make it happen. Only salespeople can share a deal if two of them participated in it. I rightfully expected to get paid. One biweekly check went by; then another. No bonus. The general manager was silent. Not a word from my sales manager, either. The uneasy feeling that I was being taken for a ride began to settle in. 

(Note: this paragraph begins with an explanation of unwritten car dealership rules, which is necessary for clarity. Also, the seeds of the conflict begin to materialize.)

Paragraph 3

I saw that my bonus was nowhere in sight and began to lose my patience. I spoke to my general manager, the man who owed me the bonus. He replied that I should talk to my sales manager. I did. “I don’t know anything about it. Morris is waiting for the trade-in to sell, and then he’ll consider it,” my sales manager Jim said. I replied that my bonus was not contingent on future sales: “I sold the car, so I should get paid.” Jim just shrugged. When the men kept singing this tune for another couple of weeks, I knew they were taking me for a ride. Now I was really getting angry. This was not just about the money for me. It was a matter of principle. My dignity was at stake. 

(Note: this paragraph is essentially about the escalation of conflict/problem.)

Paragraph 4

When it became clear that I was not going to make any progress just by trying to reason with my managers, I knew I had to do something more drastic. I had never been in such a situation before. I had to face the general manager of the store and make a demand. That’s exactly what I did. I grabbed a check request form, approached the managers’ podium, and placed the form on the desk in front of Morris: “This is my official request for the bonus you owe me.” “I don’t owe you anything,” he replied. That was all I needed – an official refusal. At that moment I resolved that I was fully prepared to lose my job and to take Morris to court. This was the most drastic professional decision I had ever had to make. And there I was, filled with resolve. But there was one last thing I could do before taking legal action. I went to the owner of the dealership and told him what had happened. “I’ll look into it,” Michael said. He had a solid reputation with us guys. 

(Note: The conflict has reached its peak. The reader is at the edge of his seat, waiting for what’s about to happen. This is the climax.)

Paragraph 5

When I showed up for work the next day, I was greeted with quiet cheer from my fellow salespeople. The news was that Morris had been fired. And we had a new general manager. I don’t pretend to think that he was fired solely because of me. But this incident might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. I guess the owner had been getting fed up with his general manager’s behavior. And he fired him. I got a sweet feeling of satisfaction. Hey, there was justice in the world after all. About two weeks later, during regular check distribution, I got my bonus. Michael, the store owner, kept his word and did more. He really looked into the situation. And he decided to right the wrong. I was elated at this triumph. It was then that I knew that what goes around does indeed come around. 

(Note: this paragraph presents the climax resolution. Finally, the conflict resolves in my favor, confirming the old saying for me. The theme has been illustrated.)

Step 4. Revise and fine-tune

Now that you have your first draft, you can go back and read through it, making any edits and proofreading. Here are some of the tweaks you can make:

Add dialogue 

If a paragraph is too thin, you can add substance to it by writing out dialogue instead of just describing action. 

Instead of writing: “He refused to pay,” you can write: “He said, ‘I won’t pay you because I don’t owe you anything. And let’s put an end to this conversation.’”

Only do this if you are at a bit of a loss for words. In the case of this narrative essay, I was describing actual events and had a lot to say. So, I actually had to restrain myself from writing too much in each paragraph. 

That’s why I’ve kept dialogue to a minimum.

Remove or shorten dialogue

If you notice that a paragraph has gotten a little out of hand, and you want to shorten it, take out some dialogue. Convert it to description.

Dialogue adds life to your essay. But don’t write too much of it because this is not a play or a short story. Have a balance of dialogue and description. 

Check back with your outline

You created your outline for a reason. See if each paragraph roughly follows it. 

A narrative essay should follow a dramatic arc – from beginning to an escalation to the resolution in the end. If your outline does a good job of breaking the essay into nice dramatic beats, then make sure your paragraphs reflect that structure. 

You can always move things around. If you feel a sentence or two belong in another paragraph, move them there. 

Proofread

Have a final reading in which you need to make sure your grammar and sentence structure are solid. And get rid of any typos that have a nasty habit of sneaking in here and there.

If your sentences really need work, I wrote a detailed tutorial on how to improve your sentence structure. Highly recommended. 

And guess what! We just wrote a narrative essay together, and I trust you have a good idea how to write your own. 

Now go ahead and implement what you’ve learned and write that amazing narrative essay!

Tutor Phil 

Filed Under: Essay Structure, Essay Writing Tips, Thesis Statement

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tutoring by Tutor Phil

Top Tutorials

Categories

  • Career
  • Essay Structure
  • Essay Writing Tips
  • Get Started
  • Getting It Done
  • Grade Destroyers
  • Grammar
  • Introductions and Conclusions
  • Paragraphs
  • Power Words
  • Punctuation
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Sample
  • Sentences
  • Style
  • Thesis Statement
  • Videos
  • Vocabulary Building
  • Writing for Work
  • Writing Tips
stop_essay_pain_banner_300
Stop Essay Pain

Copyright © 2020 Tutor Phil

Privacy Policy ·  Refund Policy ·  Terms of Service

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience.

My settings
Privacy SettingsCookie Policy

Privacy Settings

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit.

NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.

Cookie Policy

Privacy Policy
Welcome to TutorPhil.com

We understand that privacy online is important to users of our Site, especially when conducting business. This statement governs our privacy policies with respect to those users of the Site (”Visitors”) who visit without transacting business and Visitors who register to transact business on the Site and make use of the various services offered by TutorPhil.com (collectively, “Services”) (”Authorized Customers”).

Personally Identifiable Information

refers to any information that identifies or can be used to identify, contact, or locate the person to whom such information pertains, including, but not limited to, name, address, phone number, fax number, email address, financial profiles, social security number, and credit card information. Personally Identifiable Information does not include information that is collected anonymously (that is, without identification of the individual user) or demographic information not connected to an identified individual.

What Personally Identifiable Information is collected?

We may collect basic user profile information from all of our Visitors. We collect the following additional information from our Authorized Customers: the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of Authorized Customers, the nature and size of the business, and the nature and size of the advertising inventory that the Authorized Customer intends to purchase or sell.

What organizations are collecting the information?

In addition to our direct collection of information, our third party service vendors (such as credit card companies, clearinghouses and banks) who may provide such services as credit, insurance, and escrow services may collect this information from our Visitors and Authorized Customers. We do not control how these third parties use such information, but we do ask them to disclose how they use personal information provided to them from Visitors and Authorized Customers. Some of these third parties may be intermediaries that act solely as links in the distribution chain, and do not store, retain, or use the information given to them.

How does the Site use Personally Identifiable Information?

We use Personally Identifiable Information to customize the Site, to make appropriate service offerings, and to fulfill buying and selling requests on the Site. We may email Visitors and Authorized Customers about research or purchase and selling opportunities on the Site or information related to the subject matter of the Site. We may also use Personally Identifiable Information to contact Visitors and Authorized Customers in response to specific inquiries, or to provide requested information.

With whom may the information may be shared?

Personally Identifiable Information about Authorized Customers may be shared with other Authorized Customers who wish to evaluate potential transactions with other Authorized Customers. We may share aggregated information about our Visitors, including the demographics of our Visitors and Authorized Customers, with our affiliated agencies and third party vendors. We also offer the opportunity to “opt out” of receiving information or being contacted by us or by any agency acting on our behalf.

How is Personally Identifiable Information stored?

Personally Identifiable Information collected by TutorPhil.com is securely stored and is not accessible to third parties or employees of TutorPhil.com except for use as indicated above.

What choices are available to Visitors regarding collection, use and distribution of the information?

Visitors and Authorized Customers may opt out of receiving unsolicited information from or being contacted by us and/or our vendors and affiliated agencies by responding to emails as instructed, or by contacting us at tutorphil@tutorphil.com.

Are Cookies Used on the Site?

Cookies are used for a variety of reasons. We use Cookies to obtain information about the preferences of our Visitors and the services they select. We also use Cookies for security purposes to protect our Authorized Customers. For example, if an Authorized Customer is logged on and the site is unused for more than 10 minutes, we will automatically log the Authorized Customer off.

How does TutorPhil.com use login information?

TutorPhil.com uses login information, including, but not limited to, IP addresses, ISPs, and browser types, to analyze trends, administer the Site, track a user’s movement and use, and gather broad demographic information.

What partners or service providers have access to Personally Identifiable Information from Visitors and/or Authorized Customers on the Site?

TutorPhil.com has entered into and will continue to enter into partnerships and other affiliations with a number of vendors. Such vendors may have access to certain Personally Identifiable Information on a need to know basis for evaluating Authorized Customers for service eligibility. Our privacy policy does not cover their collection or use of this information. Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information to comply with law. We will disclose Personally Identifiable Information in order to comply with a court order or subpoena or a request from a law enforcement agency to release information. We will also disclose Personally Identifiable Information when reasonably necessary to protect the safety of our Visitors and Authorized Customers.

How does the Site keep Personally Identifiable Information secure?

All of our employees are familiar with our security policy and practices. The Personally Identifiable Information of our Visitors and Authorized Customers is only accessible to a limited number of qualified employees who are given a password in order to gain access to the information. We audit our security systems and processes on a regular basis. Sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or social security numbers, is protected by encryption protocols, in place to protect information sent over the Internet. While we take commercially reasonable measures to maintain a secure site, electronic communications and databases are subject to errors, tampering and break-ins, and we cannot guarantee or warrant that such events will not take place and we will not be liable to Visitors or Authorized Customers for any such occurrences.

How can Visitors correct any inaccuracies in Personally Identifiable Information?

Visitors and Authorized Customers may contact us to update Personally Identifiable Information about them or to correct any inaccuracies by emailing us at tutorphil@tutorphil.com.

Can a Visitor delete or deactivate Personally Identifiable Information collected by the Site?

We provide Visitors and Authorized Customers with a mechanism to delete/deactivate Personally Identifiable Information from the Site’s database by contacting tutorphil@tutorphil.com. However, because of backups and records of deletions, it may be impossible to delete a Visitor’s entry without retaining some residual information. An individual who requests to have Personally Identifiable Information deactivated will have this information functionally deleted, and we will not sell, transfer, or use Personally Identifiable Information relating to that individual in any way moving forward.

What happens if the Privacy Policy Changes?

We will let our Visitors and Authorized Customers know about changes to our privacy policy by posting such changes on the Site. However, if we are changing our privacy policy in a manner that might cause disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information that a Visitor or Authorized Customer has previously requested not be disclosed, we will contact such Visitor or Authorized Customer to allow such Visitor or Authorized Customer to prevent such disclosure.

Links:

This web site contains links to other web sites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are moving to another web site. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of these linked sites as their privacy policies may differ from ours.

Save my settings