NARRATIVE ESSAY - Features - Tips and techniques - Introduction and ending Points to Note : 1) In a narrative composition, you will

be required to write a short story on your personal experience or an imaginary one or something partly true and partly made up. it does not make any difference to the examiners. 2) remember that your story must be as original as possible. you can make up an incident as no one cares whether you really had such an experience. But you must be careful about its originality. (This means you cannot take a story a book or film or television or radio programme and pass it as you original story. You will lose mark for this. ) 3) Most stories carry a massage or some moral values to be learned. 4) A short story should have only one basic plot. Not too much can happen as you have to write about 350 words. Show off your descriptive skills and a story without descriptions is boring. Short stories have to be enjoyable. 5) Your story must have a good plot. What is a good plot? A good plot has a beginning, a middle and an end. The usual arrangement for a plot is : BEGINNING MIDDLE END 6) The beginning introduces the situation. You may mention the characters of the story, the time and the place. (This should be short.) The middle is where all the action is. One action leads to another. Things build up and get more and more exciting until they reach the most exciting part. (The climax.) 7) The end is your conclusion. Your story can have a happy or sad conclusion. You can also have a mysterious end, which means that the reader is left to guess what actually happens at the end.(Most important to note about the end is that your reader must feel that it is a logical outcome of all the action that came before it.) 8) Steps to take : i. Read the questions. ii. Think about a brief plot based on your chosen item. iii. Think about your main character. iv. Write out a brief outline of your story, divide them into paragraphs. v. Check whether you planned story really suits the question. vi. Check whether you will be able to write story in about 350 words. 1. Focus your short story on a single plot only. 2. In the INTRODUCTION provide the background of the story ; introduce the character(s) of the story ; you may mention the time when the story takes place. 3. In the BODY describe how the story develops in a few paragraphs ; make your story as interesting or exciting as possible ; make sure that the action takes place in a logical sequence ; use proper sentence connectors.

4. In the CONCLUSION provide a suitable ending ; make sure that it is not to long as it may lose its effect ; mention the moral of the story to be learnt 5. Sometimes you are given some INTRODUCTORY LINES and you are asked to complete the story. 6. At other times you may be given some CONCLUDING LINES and you are asked to write a story that leads to the conclusion provided. When you are writing your story, AVOID these : - Deverting the examiners attention with irrelevant comments or information that serve no real purpose. - Changing the tense half-way through the essay.(Normally, a narrative or short story is written in past tense.) - Having too may dialogues ; especially those that are lengthy. - Using too many colloqulal expressions in the dialogues. - imitating established writers by writing incomplete or disjointed sentences. - Using words whose meanings and functions you are uncertain of. A MODEL PLAN FOR A SHORT STORY : - Write about the most frightening experience you have had. - List down all sorts of frightening things that you can think of. - Decide on which item you canm write a good story on, jot down your plot briefly. - Your main character, is he/she going to be timid or brave, rude or polite?if you have a clear idea of the personality of your main character, you will know how the persons behave and talk. - Write down any descriptive words that you can think of. For example, you have made the following plan: I. friend and you discuss going through the graveyard -:Dialogue :friend frightened(haunted, ghost) you not afraid (coward, no such thing) II. midnight- after school concert missed bus short cut graveyard on way home III. walked along description of graveyard in moonlight calm IV. friend imagining things you laughed. Dialogue : sound moan whats that? shadow read/watch far too many ghost stories ; silence V. friend insisted again heavy footsteps you laughed halfway friend screamed VI. walked on heard steps following got worried walked faster steps also going faster VII. turned to look seemed like dark figure move behind tree VIII. started running stumbling over tombstone bumped into something ran on IX. reached main road street-lights, cars, people looked back nothing following X. what was it? was there really a ghost? will never know
You will see that you have 10 parts to your story. You know that each should consists of only about 30 to 35 words, (30 x 10 = 300, 35 x 10 = 350).

You know that will have to make the less important parts briefer so that you can have more words for more details in the parts that DESCRIBE YOUR FEAR. You may even decide to change the part of the story.

EXERCISE Make brief plots for at least 5 of the following : 1. The day I lost my temper. 2. Write a story with the ending : it was indeed a narrow escape for me. 3. Write a story beginning : I could sense that he was furious 4. My most embarrassing moment. 5. The day when everything went wrong. 6. Write a story with the ending : we looked at each other and smiled. 7. Honesty is the best policy. Write a story that suits this title. 8. Write a story or event which ends wtith this line : everyone left the place smiling. 9. Write an original story about someone who mistook a stranger for an old friend. 10. Write about an incidents in which you were forced to tell a lie. CONTINUOUS WRITING (NARRATIVE) GENERAL GUIDELINES DO 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Have a well-defined plot summary Use speech or dialogue Use sensory details Use figurative language Use the past tense generally DONT 1.Use long, complicated plots 2.Have too many characters 3.Dont drag your conclusion

ELEMENTS OF A PLOT SUMMARY SETTING where your story takes place classroom, haunted house, jungle, etc. TIME FRAME when it takes place for how long one hour, one day, etc. CHARACTERS who are involved main character and supporting characters. CONFLICT what the conflict or problem in the story is ; why event, situation, aspect or character, etc. 5. CLIMAX when the conflict is resolved resolution is very close to the ending. 1. 2. 3. 4. EXAMPLES OF INTRODUCTIONS (Based on a story with the title The Most Unforgettable Person I know) 1. ANECDOTE Aunt Eva was the most absent-minded person in the family. I remember the day she lost her school bag yes, her school bag!... 2. SPEECH Anna, Anna, come here. Have you seen my glasses anywhere? I hear that many times a day from my Aunt Eva. 3. FLASHBACK

She was probably the second person I laid my eyes on. My mother said she was outside the delivery room in the hospital the day I was born. She was only ten at that time my aunt Eva. 4. OPINION/INFORMATION Of all the people I know, the person I will never forget is my aunt Eva. She is the kindest, funniest and also the most irritating person I know. 5. QUOTATION You can choose your friends but you cant choose your relatives. I always think of my Aunt Eva when I hear this quotation. My aunt is both a great joy and a pain. EXAMPLES OF ENDINGS 1) SUMMARY Well, after all is said and done, I have to admit I wouldnt exchange my aunt for all the jewels of Arabia. Did I really say that? I did. She is the most exasperating person I know but she is also the most caring. 2) LOOK TO THE FUTURE I have told you a lot about my past experience with my aunt and what we go through at present. My aunt is only ten years older than I am. So, I guess we will be stuck together for a long time. She may be a dead loss to others but I hope she will continue to be my best friend and worst enemy! WRITING TIPS Connectors / Discourse Markers After a while Shortly At least presently SOME USEFUL IDIOMS To be born with a silver spoon in ones mouth - to be born rich To burn the midnight oil - to study/work till late at night To bury the hatchet - to make peace To let the cat out of the bag - to reveal a secret A cock-and-bull story - an unbelievable story Crocodile tears - pretended tears of grief To cry over spilt milk - to worry or regret an incident which cannot be remedied At the eleventh hour - at the last moment To get cold feet - to become nervous and abandon a plan To eat ones word - to admit what one said was wrong then since meanwhile, etc.

To keep an eye (on something) - to watch closely Head over heels in love - completely and madly in love To hold ones tongue - to keep quiet On the spur of the moment - suddenly, without planning ahead A stones throw - a very short distance To take to ones heels - to run away To swallow ones pride - to behave humbly To rain cats and dogs - to rain heavily A split second - a very short time To put ones foot down - to be firm about something

TRANSITIONS Transitions are words and phrases that create coherence by making the movements from one sentence to another clear, smooth and easy to follow. Transitions show how you are progressing from one idea to the next and help readers follow the train of thought. Here are some of the most commonly used transitions. Transitions that show the time After Always Eventually Finally First Following Immediately Last Later Meanwhile Now Sometimes Soon Then Until

Transitions that show place and position Above Ahead Around Below Beneath Down Far Here Horizontally Inside Near Next to Opposite Outside Over Parallel There Under Vertically Within

Transitions that show comparison and contrast But However In the same way Like On the other hand On the contrary Similarly Unlike

Transitions that show cause and effect As a result Because Consequently For that reason So So that Therefore

Transitions that show examples For example For instance Namely That is