10 Ideas For Narrative Essay Writing
A narrative essay is essentially just a story, revolving around a single central motif or plot point and delivered in a structured format. The idea of this kind of essay is to find that central point and build a story around it, with all of the various incidents and characters involved in the essay being related to that plot point in one way or another.
Essential Elements of a Narrative Essay | Explanation |
A Simple Plot | Most narrative essays can be reduced down to a very simple story |
A Gripping Introduction | The introduction hooks the reader into the story |
A Satisfying End | Narrative essays typically need firm endings that resolve the story |
Detailed Description | The body of a narrative essay needs detailed description to carry the story along |
Bearing these elements and instructions in mind, here are 10 ideas for your next narrative essay:
- School Experiences
One top tip for writing a good narrative essay is to write about what you know, so many of these kinds of essays will revolve around personal experiences. Since narrative essays are commonly written by students of all ages, choosing a school or academic experience as the basis for your essay is a good idea.
- Social Issues
Narrative essays don't have to be about personal issues at all. They could also be based on much broader ideas affecting the world and society as we know it. Society is progressing and changing at a rapid pace, with lots of different issues concerning crime, poverty, racism, and more to think and talk about. If you're unsure where to start with your narrative essay, checking out online writing services is always a wise move.
- Major Events
Where were you when a major event from history happened? How did you feel and react? What was going on around you? These are just a few of the questions you can ask yourself when planning out your next narrative essay. You don’t even need to have been near or involved in a major event to be able to write a great essay about it, and this is always an interesting topic as it throws up some unique emotional experiences and views.
- Emotional Experiences
Narrative essays need to feature a lot of emotive language in order to really be compelling and gripping for the reader, so focusing on an emotional experience from your life is a smart way to choose your essay topic. We've all had many emotional experiences in life, both positive and negative, so there's a lot of scope for creativity in this kind of essay.
- Environmental Issues
One of the big issues of modern times is how we’re affecting the world around us. There's a lot that can be done when exploring these topics for a narrative essay; you can look at your own opinions on pollution and climate change, as well as how these factors are affecting life as we know it.
- Childhood Experiences
Looking back to one’s childhood is always a good idea when preparing a narrative essay. Our formative years are filled with memorable experiences like our first ever vacations, the first time we see the sea, the first time we meet certain people or try certain foods, and so much more. For additional help with narrative essay writing, seek out the help of expert writing services.
- The Future
Writing about the future for your narrative essay is a great idea as the future hasn't happened yet, so you get a lot of freedom in terms of what you write about and how you choose to tell your story. Effectively, the only limit when writing about the future is your own imagination, so you can write about all kinds of possible scenarios like your dream job, future travel experiences, starting your own family, and more.
- Love and Relationships
Love and relationships are popular subjects for narrative essays, as any story involving love tends to involve a lot of emotive language and offers potential for a lot of powerful, moving dialogue. Ideas include writing about your first experience of love, or even just your first ever friend, or perhaps a family member you love dearly.
- Health Issues
Your own personal experiences with health or your views and opinions on larger health matters is another interesting idea for a narrative essay. Good quality essays can focus on many different issues related to health including serious diseases and disabilities, as well as addictions, diets, exercise, and more.
- Personal Interests
We all have our own hobbies and passions. Maybe you love to play a certain instrument, perhaps you’re highly competitive in a certain sport, or maybe you have a totally unique talent that you’d like to share with the world. Writing a narrative essay about your own interests and hobbies is always effective.
- Travel Experiences
Travel is another popular subject to consider for narrative essay writing. Everyone loves to travel, and going to different places really does broaden the mind. Our vacations and trips away tend to be much more memorable than our regular daily lives, so it’s a lot easy to think back to these moments and write about them.
Conclusion
Writing a narrative essay may seem like a daunting challenge at first. A lot of students struggle with the concept of writing a story in such a structured and formatted way, with many feeling that the rules of narrative essays limit their freedom for creativity and expression.
However, as these 10 ideas show, a narrative essay can be about a vast and varied range of topics, allowing the write to express themselves in many different ways. The trick is to simply find a simple story idea and then work from there, adding characters, events, and ideas to build up an essay from that simple foundation.