How to Write a Personal Narrative With Examples – PDF

How to structure the essay

Structuring your narrative is important to smooth out your essay. It will guide you what to put in your introduction, the body of the essay and the conclusion.

1. The introduction of your essay needs to let the reader know the nature of what you will be describing and your point of view.

2. The body needs to give the reader a very clear idea of what happened and how you felt and thought about it. The story can be told chronologically or the facts may be grouped together by importance. You may also see informative essay.

3. The conclusion will wrap up and tell the point of the story, whether it is a lesson, an idea, or a learning experience.

How to write the essay

Writing a great narrative essay requires you to include interesting information that encapsulates your readers’ attention. They should be wanting to read every next detail in your essay or else, they will stop reading after the first paragraph. Tell your story. As much as possible, the details in your essay must be factual or else it is no longer a personal narrative but a work of fiction. Below are some ways on how you could make an engaging personal narrative:

1. Tell your story out loud and record yourself doing it. It will help you organize it and make your writing more detailed and clear. You may also see short essay.

2. To make your writing sound more alive, include some anecdotes and dialogue. This will help describe the individuality of your characters, aside from describing their physical details.

3. Make use of transitory words to connect sentences. Examples of transition words are:

therefore, however, consequently, thus, eventually, accordingly,  finally, in the meantime, till, forthwith, in due time, etc.

4. To make your writing sound as if an experienced writer who wrote it, try to vary the structure of your sentences to make the writing more gripping. Add some compound, complex, or interrogative sentences.

5. To make your words livelier, more descriptive, more exciting, active, emotional, use vivid adjectives and verbs to describe an object, event, person or an action. You can do this by mastering yourself with the English vocabulary by trying to look up for synonyms or antonyms of every words.

6. You can also make use of figures of speech such as similes, metaphors, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and personification to help set the tone and mood of your narrative. You can use sensory details to make the reader feel that they could actually taste, hear, see, feel, and smell whatever it is that you are describing. You may also see balanced sentences.

7. Organize your events as if they are unraveling themselves naturally; manipulate your time and pacing.

8. Write in first person point of view. This is the easiest POV to write since you are writing in your own perspective. Through this, you can insert your own thoughts on the matters that you are narrating in your essay. You may also see declarative sentences.

9. Your narrative must have a good presentation. If you plan to hand write your essay, make your writing neat. Present them in an organized manner. Your essay must be free from errors such as spelling mistakes and wrong grammar. It must be easy and pleasant to read.

Example of Narrative Writing

If you need a guide to help you out in writing your own personal narrative essay, below is an example of a personal narrative. Take note of the tone and words used that set the mood.

“When I was four, I was enrolled in a kindergarten class at a small academy. It was located 3 blocks away from our house and we have to cross the road to get there. Anyway the academy wasn’t only small but it was dingy as well. There were only two classrooms with few small tables and chairs and book shelves. The classrooms were painted shabbily with its pastel green paint covering the walls and since it was dark, they have to turn on the fluorescent lights which made us squint a lot. The floor was dirty too, but not the kind of dirty that will disappear if someone will mop it but it was like the dirt was stuck there forever.” 

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Sample Narrative Essay Example

Now it is up to your creativity on how you’ll write your personal narrative. Just remember that personal narratives will help you grow as a person and help other people will get to learn lessons from you. You may also see personal statements.