Writing a narrative essay

-- A Little Miracle
Example Analysis - thoughts
What details are included? - Emotions, thought, actions
The cars directly behind the bus braked to avoid the boy, but none stopped. Part of me understood – if he died, it would mean police involvement and unnecessary problems. In fact, I felt the same urge to keep going, but the urge to stop and help was stronger.
Conflict / tension of a story Example Analysis
In 1989, fresh out of school, I had the intimidating task of choosing a career path before college started in three months. In those days in Pakistan, there were limited options: become a doctor or an engineer, or enter the corporate world after getting a business degree. I wasn’t interested in engineering, so that left medicine or business. I couldn’t decide.
-- At Life’s Crossroads
Example analysis – moral of the story
We spend a lot of our time wondering what path to take in our lives. This experience taught me that sometimes, you don’t really have to worry about the big decisions. At times, these decisions are made for you – and that whatever happens is always for the best.
What is the “point of view”?
Narrative essays are generally written in the first person, that is, using "I.“ However, third person ("he," "she," or "it“, “they”) can also be used.

-- At Life’s Crossroads
Example Analysis - sound 1) I looked up at the baby, who was still on the mother’s belly. I heard the loveliest and loudest sound in my life. He was screaming his lungs out!
What is the order of narration?
记叙 3 A narration is A flashback is 倒叙 1 Narration interspersed with (散布) flashbacks is 插叙
2
1. When a short part of a story goes back to events in the past: 2. when sometimes the flashbacks and the present alternate (交替出现) through the story 3. usually organized in the order in which incidents actually occurred.
-- At Life’s Crossroads
Example analysis – moral of the story
It was the most memorable birthday I ever had. Nothing compares to that magical moment when I experienced the wonderful miracle of birth and learned first-hand that doctors are not gods. By all accounts, the infant should have been dead. It was then I realised that if I were to make a mistake as a doctor, this was the kind I would not mind making - to be proven wrong by a patient who turns out to be alive when I thought he was dead.
What conflict / tension does a story have?
Man vs. Nature (Day After Tomorrow)
Man vs. Man (You’ve got mail) Man vs. Society (1984) Man vs. Himself (A Beautiful Mind)
-- A Little Miracle, Para 9
What details are included? - sight, sound, smell, taste, touch
2) The hospital had an intense environment, with buzz in the wards contrasting with the eerie silence of the intensive care unit.
Writing a Narrative Essay
-How
to Write About Personal Experiences Unit 3, Book 2, P56-58
What is narration?
The narrative essay tells a story (personal, true, imaginative).
-- At Life’s Crossroads, Para 4
Example Analysis - touch
I felt in experienced, and half the time I was praying that I wouldn’t drop the slippery infant as he came out of the world.
-- At Life’s Crossroads, Para 4
Example analysis - taste
General:
The university sponsored a festival which featured Japanese foods.
Specific:
The university sponsored a festival featuring hot, spicy Japanese foods.
-- At Life’s Crossroads , Para.11
What details are included? - Emotions, thought, actions
Example Analysis - emotions
What a feeling this was, to help save the life of another person! I spent the rest of the day in a state of exhilaration, the most fabulous mood I had ever experienced.
-- At Life’s Crossroads, Para 1
Resolution of the conflict / tension Example Analysis I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Two months of placements could not do what 30 minutes helping an accident victim had done for me.
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What is the tense?
For most personal experience essays, use simple past or past continuous tense. If something happened previous to the personal experience, use past perfect.
-- A Little Miracle, Para 3
2) In front of me was a public bus, with college students sitting on the roof, clinging to a small metal railing. As the driver weaved through traffic, I could see the boys shaking from side to side.
An Outline for Narration Writing
I. Introduction Establishes the plot ( setting, characters, and time period ) II. Body First major event Second part of the story Third part … Climax, the high point in the narrative Resolution in which the conflict / tension is resolved. III. Conclusion What is "the moral of the story?"
What details are included? - Specific, concrete details
Example analysis – specific verbs weaved through traffic, I As the driver _______ could see the boys shaking from side to side. (move around) He lay motionless in the middle of the sped away. (go quickly) road as the bus ____ raced back to the I jumped in car and _____ hospital. (rush)
Example Analysis - sight
Example Analysis - sight 1) Around 10 p.m. – 15 hours into my shift – a patient was brought to my delivery table. She was in her late 20s, fairskinned and with long straight hair.
-- A little Miracle, Para 2
The woman had come to the emergency room because she had no felt her baby kicking for several days.
-- A little Miracle, Para 4