Step 1: Narrow the Focus
Select an event that actually happened in real life. The event shouldn’t be too personal or inappropriate for school.
The story you tell in your essay should cover no more than one hour of real life time. That means you won’t be able to tell a story about being pregnant because that takes nine months, but you can tell a story about rushing to the hospital and almost giving birth in a taxi cab—a twenty-minute drive.
Examples:
The trick to a good narrative essay is to zoom way down to a narrow focus of less than 1 hour of real-life time; then, fill up the essay with sensory and action details.
Step 2: Draft a Thesis Statement
Draft a thesis statement that provides, even subtly, the general time, location, and meaning of the event. For now just get something on paper; you can improve the statement later. This thesis statement won’t be like the list sentence you may be used to.
Examples:
Step 1: Choose a Topic
Select an event that actually happened in real life. The event shouldn’t be too personal or inappropriate for school.
Select a person, object, or location you actually observe for about 15 minutes. Take notes during your observation. What you describe in your essay should be one particular person, object, or small scene (like a photograph). For example, focus on just a single piece of art rather than describing the entire museum.
Examples:
Unless you’re instructed to do so, avoid interpreting; instead, just write about what you actually observe.
Step 2: Draft a Thesis Statement
Draft a thesis statement that provides the name of the person, object, or location being described. There should be some point or purpose implied in the thesis as well.
Examples: