Well, it is a no-brainer to tell people what happened to you, so what is the need in explaining the obvious? But the point is that the way you tell something matters as much as what you tell. You just narrate about events letting people draw conclusions and make their judgements. So your actual task is to provide information in a way that will lead people to necessary conclusions without moralizing and preaching on them. So to create a successful narrative essay follow our recommendations described below.
1. Be clear
That is, use familiar words, short to average long sentences without complicated constructions and four-liners. Remember the rule: 1 paragraph – 1 idea.
For example: I was observing a lady who drank coffee at the window of a nearby café while also trying to answer an email that a friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in a while sent me a day before along with a set of cheap souvenirs that I hated all my life. Looks quite weird and messy, right?
Look now: I was observing a lady who drank coffee at the window of a nearby café. At the same time I was trying to answer an email sent by a friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in a while. In addition to this letter he sent me a set of cheap souvenirs, the type that I hated all my life.
2. Be concise – but retain the essence of what happens
Pick the most important evens skipping the unnecessary details.
For example: When I entered the room I saw GoT posters all over. Then I saw GoT books on the shelf. Finally I noticed what movie she watched – it was Game of Thrones, surely. She was an ultimate fan.
Look now: Judging by posters, books on the shelf and the movie that she watched, she was an ultimate fan of Game of Thrones.
3. Write in first person or third person – but not in second
It is your experience that is described, or you are the narrator, so write in your person. Not like this:
Judging by posters, books on the shelf and the movie that she watched, you could infer that she was an ultimate fan of Game of Thrones. It is good for detective novels, but not for narrative essays. You can use present tense, though, which is fine.
4. Use fresh, living, flexible language, not some dusty dictionary dwellers
For example: The unprecedented storm hit the residential area causing multiple damages and depriving the inhabitants of their possessions. This is boring.
Look now: The king storm like never seen before hit the neighborhood destroying everything on its way and almost playfully robbing people of those few things they had. Paint with your words.
5. Do not make readers Google references you give. Explain them along the way
Most formats require in-text citations, but they interfere with a smooth story. If possible, introduce authors through explanation, and then reference them in Works Cited.
For example: The square after mass protests was the awful picture, there were stains of blood all over, people lying on the ground and moaning, and even if anyone thought that Red Wedding (Martin ##) was just a fiction, now the situation was close to it as much as possible.
Look now: The square after mass protests was the awful picture, there were stains of blood all over, people lying on the ground and moaning, and even if anyone thought that Red Wedding described by J. Martin – the scene where the whole clan of Stark was massacred – was just a fiction, now the situation was close to it as much as possible.
Avoid the mistakes described above and use the tools and hacks we recommend, and you will easily make the reader take up your point of view.
