Narrative Paragraphs

WHAT IS A NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH? Narratives tell stories. Everyone has read stories, watched them on television or heard them from other people. A narrative paragraph tells a short story or describes an event. In other words, it is a story about a personal memory. It’s about a time so important that you don’t ever want to forget.

What Would Make a Good Narrative and What Wouldn’t? Good Choice A house fire A car accident A death Getting lost A scary time Bad Choice Getting out of bed Eating dinner Meeting your friend

A Personal Narrative is... a story that really happened ( a true story). a story that happened to or observed by the writer. a story that makes the reader think or feel the same as the writer felt at that time a story that shows strong feelings. It presents the events in a clear order, usually according to when it happened. a story that is written in the first person. Use these words: I, me, my, us, we

Common time transitions Before After During First Next Second Then Finally while Later At last Last Eventually Meanwhile Since Now Soon when

Writing a Narrative Paragraph A narrative paragraph has 3 parts: The topic sentence – introduces the experience The body sentences – share details that re-create the experience The concluding sentence – reflects on the experience

A UFO Sighting I never believed in aliens before one night last year. It was a cold, dark winter evening, and I was walking home from a friend’s house. I stopped to tie my shoe. When I looked up again, I saw a round object coming toward me. It was very large and shiny. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Before I could shout or run, the object suddenly moved and then disappeared. After the object disappeared, I ran all the way home and called my best friend. When she picked up the phone, I couldn’t say anything. I knew she would think I was crazy. I never told anyone about my UFO sighting.

Ask yourself questions: When was an important time in my life? What has happened in my experience that I would enjoy writing about? Is there an event in my life that other people would enjoy hearing about? How did I feel about a particular experience? Who was involved? Why do I remember this event so strongly? What effect did it have on me? Did anything change because of this experience? What interesting experiences do I know of that happened to other people?

A Fright in the forest A Strange Day in Class: I grew up in a small town in the countryside. Near my house was a large forest, and my parents told me not to play there. One day, I was playing in the forest with some of my school friends. Suddenly I felt very cold and scared ……………………………………........................................ .......……… After that day, I never went back to the forest. A Strange Day in Class: I have been studying English for a few years and I really enjoy the classes. One day something unusual happened in class. The teacher was explaining grammar when I saw something strange……………………........ ……………………………………………………………………………….. I heard everyone laughing. I woke up and realized it was a dream.

2. Write about an event when you were proud of someone in your family. 1. Write about a recent experience or incident you witnessed that left a strong impression on you. 2. Write about an event when you were proud of someone in your family. 3. Think of a time when you had to do something against your wishes. Or 4. Think of a memorable experience you have had – it could be frightening or amusing.