Narrative writing for High School & College

Summary

This video script offers an introduction to narrative writing, emphasizing its storytelling nature from a first-person perspective. It covers the basics, including the use of chronological order, dialogue, and descriptions to enhance the narrative. The script highlights the importance of narrative essays in college applications, focusing on a single idea or lesson. It advises using strong verbs, avoiding 'to be' verbs, and maintaining an active voice for a compelling narrative. The goal is to convey information and emotions effectively, making the narrative engaging and informative.

Takeaways

• 📝 Narrative writing is about telling a story, typically from a first-person perspective.
• 🕒 It often follows a chronological order, but can include flashbacks and flash-forwards.
• 🎯 The main goal of narrative writing is to convey information or a lesson learned.
• 🧩 Components of a narrative essay include a single point or idea, characters, and dialogue.
• 📚 Narrative essays are similar to five-paragraph essays but with a personal story and possibly dialogue.
• 🌟 Strong verbs and avoiding 'to be' verbs can enhance the narrative and make it more engaging.
• 🔍 College application essays often use narrative writing to tell personal stories effectively.
• 📈 A narrative essay should have a clear plot with exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution.
• 💡 Even mundane events can make for compelling narratives if they convey a meaningful lesson or insight.
• ✍️ Practice using strong, descriptive language and active voice to improve narrative writing skills.

Q & A

What is narrative writing?

Narrative writing is essentially telling a story, usually from the first-person point of view, and it can be about any event. It often follows a chronological order but can also include flashbacks and flash-forwards.

Why is narrative writing important for college application essays?

College application essays are essentially narrative essays because they allow the applicant to tell a personal story, which can effectively convey experiences and lessons learned.

What are the components of a narrative essay?

The components of a narrative essay include a single point or idea, characters (at least one, which is often the first-person narrator), dialogue, and a plot that follows a structure similar to a five-paragraph essay with exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution.

What is the purpose of narrative writing?

The purpose of narrative writing is to convey some type of information, such as a moral lesson, an experience, or a thought-provoking idea. It goes beyond mere entertainment to teach or inform the reader.

Can narrative essays have multiple ideas?

While a narrative essay can have more than one idea, it is recommended to focus on one central idea to ensure clarity and coherence in the narrative.

What role does dialogue play in narrative writing?

Dialogue in narrative writing adds depth and realism to the story. It helps to switch up the tone and pace of the reading, making the narrative more engaging and dynamic.

Why is strong word choice important in narrative essays?

Strong word choice, especially with verbs, is important because it conveys a more vivid image and emotion. It helps to make the narrative more compelling and showcases the writer's vocabulary and writing skill.

What is the difference between active and passive voice in narrative writing?

In narrative writing, active voice is preferred over passive voice because it makes the writing more dynamic and immediate. Active voice places the subject of the sentence as the actor performing the action, whereas passive voice often makes the subject the receiver of the action.

Why should 'to be' verbs be avoided in narrative writing?

'To be' verbs are often weak and unnecessary in narrative writing. They can slow down the pace and make the writing less engaging. It's recommended to use more active and descriptive verbs to create a stronger narrative.

What kind of conflicts can be found in a narrative essay?

Conflicts in a narrative essay can be grand or simple, but they should be significant to the story. They can range from overcoming a villain to learning a lesson or coping with a personal struggle.

How can everyday tasks be turned into compelling narrative essays?

Everyday tasks can be turned into compelling narrative essays by focusing on the emotions, thoughts, and lessons associated with those tasks. The writer can provide insights and details that make the mundane experience meaningful and relatable to the reader.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Narrative Writing

This paragraph introduces the concept of narrative writing, emphasizing that it is essentially storytelling from a first-person perspective. It explains that narratives can be about any event and are often, but not always, in chronological order. The paragraph also touches on the use of flashbacks and flash-forwards to play with the story's order. The speaker mentions that narrative writing is familiar to us when telling stories out loud and often includes dialogue and descriptions. The paragraph concludes by connecting narrative writing to college application essays, which are a type of narrative essay. The components of a narrative essay are also discussed, including having a single point or idea, conveying information, and including characters and dialogue. The paragraph stresses the importance of narrative writing having a purpose beyond entertainment, often teaching a lesson or prompting reflection.

05:00

🏅 Enhancing Narrative Writing with Strong Verbs

In this paragraph, the focus is on improving narrative writing by using strong verbs and avoiding 'to be' verbs. The speaker provides examples of how using more descriptive verbs can enhance the writing, making it more engaging and vivid. The paragraph discusses the importance of active voice over passive voice to maintain a dynamic narrative pace. It also touches on the significance of word choice in conveying emotions effectively, which is crucial for narrative writing. The speaker advises against using 'to be' verbs like 'is', 'am', 'was', and encourages students to practice using more active and powerful verbs in their writing. The paragraph concludes with a reminder that narrative writing should follow a plot structure, including exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution, and that even simple, everyday events can make for compelling narratives if they convey a meaningful lesson or insight.

Keywords

💡Narrative Writing

Narrative writing is a form of storytelling that involves the writer recounting events from their perspective, usually in the first-person point of view. It is central to the video's theme as it is the focus of the discussion. The script mentions that narrative writing can be about any event and often follows a chronological order, but it can also include creative devices like flashbacks and flash-forwards. An example from the script is the suggestion to write about a simple, everyday event that had personal significance, such as walking the dog or wanting a cat.

💡First-Person Point of View

The first-person point of view is a narrative mode where the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, using 'I' and 'we'. It is integral to narrative writing as it allows for a more personal and direct connection with the reader. The script emphasizes that narrative writing is typically from the first-person perspective, which helps to create an intimate and engaging story, as seen when the speaker says, 'it's telling your story in your way'.

💡Chronological Order

Chronological order refers to the arrangement of events in the sequence in which they occurred. While not mandatory for narrative writing, it is a common structure that helps readers follow the story. The script touches on this by stating that narratives are often in chronological order, but the writer can also 'play with the order' to create more complex narratives.

💡Dialogue

Dialogue in writing is the conversation between characters and is used to advance the plot, reveal character, and make the narrative more engaging. The script highlights the importance of dialogue in narrative writing, suggesting that it can 'switch up the tone and the pace of the reading', making the story more dynamic and lively.

💡College Application Essays

College application essays are a type of writing that students submit as part of their application to colleges or universities. The script connects narrative writing to these essays, indicating that they are a practical application of the skills discussed. It suggests that mastering narrative writing can help students craft compelling college application essays.

💡Single Point or Idea

A single point or idea in narrative writing refers to the central theme or message that the writer aims to convey. The script explains that while a narrative can have multiple interpretations, it is best to focus on one main idea to ensure clarity and impact. This is illustrated when the speaker advises to 'focus on one idea that you're trying to convey'.

💡Exposition

Exposition in a narrative is the introductory part where the setting, characters, and initial situation are presented. It is a crucial element of the plot diagram that the script mentions, as it sets the stage for the story and introduces the conflict or problem that will be addressed.

💡Climax

The climax is the turning point or the most intense part of the narrative where the main conflict reaches its peak. The script refers to the climax as a key part of the narrative structure, suggesting that it should lead to a resolution, which may or may not fully resolve the conflict.

💡Resolution

Resolution in narrative writing is the conclusion or the final part of the story where the conflict is addressed and the story is wrapped up. The script clarifies that resolution does not necessarily mean the conflict is fully resolved, but it should provide some form of learning or insight, as exemplified by the speaker's statement that 'the resolution...still needs to be something that was learned along the way'.

💡Strong Verbs

Strong verbs are action words that convey a clear and vivid image, making the writing more engaging and dynamic. The script emphasizes the use of strong verbs over 'to be' verbs to enhance narrative writing. It provides examples like using 'sprinted' instead of 'ran' to create a more vivid and active image in the reader's mind.

💡Active Voice

Active voice is a grammatical structure where the subject of the sentence performs the action. The script advises using active voice to make the narrative more immediate and engaging. It contrasts active voice with passive voice, suggesting that active voice makes the writing more dynamic, as shown in the example of changing 'Joe was running' to 'Joe sprinted'.

Highlights

Narrative writing is essentially telling a story from the first-person point of view.

Narrative writing can include flashbacks and flash-forwards, though it often follows a chronological order.

Dialogue and descriptions are key elements that make for great narrative writing.

College application essays are a form of narrative essays.

A narrative essay should focus on conveying one central idea or message.

The purpose of narrative writing is to teach or inform the reader.

Narrative essays are similar to a five-paragraph essay in structure.

Characters and dialogue are common in narrative essays, enhancing the storytelling.

Every narrative essay should follow a plot diagram with exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution.

Conflicts in narrative essays don't have to be grand; they can be simple, personal experiences.

Resolution in narrative writing doesn't mean the conflict is resolved but rather something has been learned.

Strong word choice, especially verbs, is crucial for impactful narrative writing.

Avoid using 'to be' verbs to maintain an active and engaging narrative.

Narrative writing should be active, with the subject performing the action, not receiving it.

Simple everyday tasks can make for compelling narrative essays if they carry personal significance.

The best narrative essays often describe mundane experiences that lead to profound realizations.

In narrative writing, using strong verbs like 'sprinted' instead of 'ran' can enhance the imagery.

Eliminating 'to be' verbs helps to maintain an active voice and improves the pace of the writing.

Narrative writing is about telling a story with a plot, characters, and dialogue, using strong verbs.

Transcripts

hello students today I'm gonna be

talking about narrative writing gonna go

over the basics so that you could get

started practicing and writing right now

so to start off with a narrative writing

is essentially just telling a story and

it's usually gonna be from the

first-person point of view so that's

saying things like I did this I did that

it's telling your story in your way it

can be about any event and it's often in

chronological order though it doesn't

have to be you can play with the order

you can do flashbacks and flash-forwards

you can do all that but at the heart of

it there is some type of order to

whatever story you're telling so where

the reader can figure out where you're

going right narrative writing we're

familiar with and first-person type of

events or when we're telling a story out

loud to somebody if you're saying what

you did last weekend you are telling a

narrative you're often going to include

dialogue and descriptions and all of

that stuff that will make for actually a

great narrative writing now why are we

covering this because your college

application essays are essentially

narrative essays so let's go into it a

little bit more the components of a

narrative essay include a single point

or idea you can have more than one idea

but that's often going to be the

interpretation of your reader at the

heart I would say focus on one idea that

you're trying to convey which means you

understand that the purpose of narrative

writing is to convey some type of

information yes it's about you yes it's

about whatever idea you want to show

forth but it's more than just

entertaining all good narrative essays

have something that they're trying to

teach somebody it could be a moral that

they've learned not to do something or

to do something it could be something

that they want somebody to think about

so at its heart a narrative essay and a

narrative writing piece is still trying

to give us information it's very similar

to a five paragraph essay

it really is it's similar to this

informational expository essay the only

difference is narrative essays have

characters at least one because it'll be

you or whoever the first person is and

it often has dialogue it doesn't need to

have dialogue but use

the better pieces and the better college

application essays and the better

narrative writing essays have some form

of dialogue that switches up the tone

and the pace of the reading so keep that

in mind as you craft yours always

remember that since this is a story

still needs to follow that plot diagram

that you guys are familiar with it still

needs to start with some type of

exposition bringing up some type of

problem or conflict leading up to a

climax to then go downwards towards a

resolution a conflict doesn't have to be

this grand big thing because maybe your

narrative essay you didn't overcome the

Joker or some villain like that maybe it

was just you learning some type of

lesson maybe it was you didn't really

want to go outside and walk the dog and

you didn't even know why and you're just

describing how much you hate going

outside and walking the dog and then it

leads us to this resolution of you

learned something about humanity or

about yourself through that experience

so often students feel like narrative

essays need to be this grand big idea

that they've learned or this awesome

thing that they've done but quite

honestly some of the best narrative

writing essays that I've read were the

ones where student goes off on a tangent

describing how in anger he broke a

pencil or a student that really wanted a

cat and wasn't able to get one or picked

out the right cat because it swatted him

on his head so it's all these like

simple everyday seemingly mundane tasks

that meant something to that person and

they were able to write about it and

inform the reader of it in order to make

a point and the resolution don't get

caught up with that word it doesn't

actually mean that you're conflicts been

resolved it doesn't mean that the

characters conflicts have been resolved

maybe the resolution is that they're

still trying to cope with it but it

still needs to be something that was

learned along the way in addition the

best narrative writing essays use strong

word choice especially strong verbs and

this goes for any type of writing not

just narrative writing so instead of

saying a word like run or ran you can

say that the character sprinted or

darted or dashed I mean what sounds

better Michael ran across the yard or

Michael sprinted across the yard right

it's a very different

image that I'm trying to convey there

there's a huge difference in the word

run and in the word sprint right there's

also difference between jog and sprint

there's also a difference between sprint

and darted right something that's more

quicker or dashed maybe I just left real

quick absquatulate anything like that

those words are different than just your

basic run-of-the-mill

run said and even wanted take a look at

the other example so often we'll say in

dialogue mr. krauser said but said

doesn't really convey much emotion and

narrative writing is very much about the

emotions so instead of saying said you

could say mr. krauser announced mr.

Crouse are yelled mr. krauser hollered

right all of these differences and these

nuances in these words are gonna help

supercharge your writing the last

example here is instead of saying that

so-and-so wanted something like Joe

wanted an apple now Joe desired an Apple

Joe longed for an apple Joe craved an

Apple every single one of those words

packs a different punch to it and is a

much stronger verb and his showcases

your vocabulary so that's one of the

most important things that I'll be

looking for in your first narrative

essay that you're gonna write it'll be a

practice one but I want to see you

practicing using these stronger words

now keep in mind in terms of the verbs

you should never use to be verbs

I guess never is a strong strong word to

use here because sometimes it'll be

unavoidable but if you're not familiar

with what to V verbs are make sure you

look it up there's a lot of them but the

most common ones are things like is or

am or was try eliminating that from your

writing and not just from narrative

writings but everything but specifically

a narrative you don't want to say I was

stressed but not just say I'm stressed

right change it up a little bit make it

more active this is the difference

between active voice and passive voice

you don't want to say that Joe was

running across the field in that case

why not just say Joe sprinted across the

field or Joe ran across the field right

make it more active to where Joe is

doing something in the here and now and

that the subject of the sentence is

actually the actor of that sentence

it's the one doing the verb as opposed

to the one receiving the verb Joe was

running or the field was ran across by

Joe that's even a worse one right but so

often in our writing we rely on these to

be verbs which are typically weaker and

unnecessary so pay attention to this

because it's gonna change the pace and

tone of your writing so with that being

said narrative writing is simply a story

told in first-person point of view about

any type of event in some type of order

usually chronological it's going to

still contain a plot it's still going to

have characters and it's going to most

likely have dialogue and you want to use

strong verbs and eliminate to be verbs

and if you do that in your practice

assignment you're gonna be much better

off so this is just some of the basics

of narrative writing that you should

focus on right now