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Telling the Story of Yourself: 6 Steps to Writing Personal Narratives

Jennifer Xue

Table of Contents

Why do we write personal narratives, 6 guidelines for writing personal narrative essays, inspiring personal narratives, examples of personal narrative essays, tell your story.

First off, you might be wondering: what is a personal narrative? In short, personal narratives are stories we tell about ourselves that focus on our growth, lessons learned, and reflections on our experiences.

From stories about inspirational figures we heard as children to any essay, article, or exercise where we're asked to express opinions on a situation, thing, or individual—personal narratives are everywhere.

According to Psychology Today, personal narratives allow authors to feel and release pains, while savouring moments of strength and resilience. Such emotions provide an avenue for both authors and readers to connect while supporting healing in the process.

That all sounds great. But when it comes to putting the words down on paper, we often end up with a list of experiences and no real structure to tie them together.

In this article, we'll discuss what a personal narrative essay is further, learn the 6 steps to writing one, and look at some examples of great personal narratives.

As readers, we're fascinated by memoirs, autobiographies, and long-form personal narrative articles, as they provide a glimpse into the authors' thought processes, ideas, and feelings. But you don't have to be writing your whole life story to create a personal narrative.

You might be a student writing an admissions essay , or be trying to tell your professional story in a cover letter. Regardless of your purpose, your narrative will focus on personal growth, reflections, and lessons.

Personal narratives help us connect with other people's stories due to their easy-to-digest format and because humans are empathising creatures.

We can better understand how others feel and think when we were told stories that allow us to see the world from their perspectives. The author's "I think" and "I feel" instantaneously become ours, as the brain doesn't know whether what we read is real or imaginary.

In her best-selling book Wired for Story, Lisa Cron explains that the human brain craves tales as it's hard-wired through evolution to learn what happens next. Since the brain doesn't know whether what you are reading is actual or not, we can register the moral of the story cognitively and affectively.

In academia, a narrative essay tells a story which is experiential, anecdotal, or personal. It allows the author to creatively express their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and opinions. Its length can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to hundreds of pages.

Outside of academia, personal narratives are known as a form of journalism or non-fiction works called "narrative journalism." Even highly prestigious publications like the New York Times and Time magazine have sections dedicated to personal narratives. The New Yorke is a magazine dedicated solely to this genre.

The New York Times holds personal narrative essay contests. The winners are selected because they:

had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to develop a strong voice. And, perhaps most important, they focused on a specific moment or theme – a conversation, a trip to the mall, a speech tournament, a hospital visit – instead of trying to sum up the writer’s life in 600 words.

In a nutshell, a personal narrative can cover any reflective and contemplative subject with a strong voice and a unique perspective, including uncommon private values. It's written in first person and the story encompasses a specific moment in time worthy of a discussion.

Writing a personal narrative essay involves both objectivity and subjectivity. You'll need to be objective enough to recognise the importance of an event or a situation to explore and write about. On the other hand, you must be subjective enough to inject private thoughts and feelings to make your point.

With personal narratives, you are both the muse and the creator – you have control over how your story is told. However, like any other type of writing, it comes with guidelines.

1. Write Your Personal Narrative as a Story

As a story, it must include an introduction, characters, plot, setting, climax, anti-climax (if any), and conclusion. Another way to approach it is by structuring it with an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should set the tone, while the body should focus on the key point(s) you want to get across. The conclusion can tell the reader what lessons you have learned from the story you've just told.

2. Give Your Personal Narrative a Clear Purpose

Your narrative essay should reflect your unique perspective on life. This is a lot harder than it sounds. You need to establish your perspective, the key things you want your reader to take away, and your tone of voice. It's a good idea to have a set purpose in mind for the narrative before you start writing.

Let's say you want to write about how you manage depression without taking any medicine. This could go in any number of ways, but isolating a purpose will help you focus your writing and choose which stories to tell. Are you advocating for a holistic approach, or do you want to describe your emotional experience for people thinking of trying it?

Having this focus will allow you to put your own unique take on what you did (and didn't do, if applicable), what changed you, and the lessons learned along the way.

3. Show, Don't Tell

It's a narration, so the narrative should show readers what happened, instead of telling them. As well as being a storyteller, the author should take part as one of the characters. Keep this in mind when writing, as the way you shape your perspective can have a big impact on how your reader sees your overarching plot. Don't slip into just explaining everything that happened because it happened to you. Show your reader with action.

You can check for instances of telling rather than showing with ProWritingAid. For example, instead of:

"You never let me do anything!" I cried disdainfully.

"You never let me do anything!" To this day, my mother swears that the glare I levelled at her as I spat those words out could have soured milk.

Using ProWritingAid will help you find these instances in your manuscript and edit them without spending hours trawling through your work yourself.

4. Use "I," But Don't Overuse It

You, the author, take ownership of the story, so the first person pronoun "I" is used throughout. However, you shouldn't overuse it, as it'd make it sound too self-centred and redundant.

ProWritingAid can also help you here – the Style Report will tell you if you've started too many sentences with "I", and show you how to introduce more variation in your writing.

5. Pay Attention to Tenses

Tense is key to understanding. Personal narratives mostly tell the story of events that happened in the past, so many authors choose to use the past tense. This helps separate out your current, narrating voice and your past self who you are narrating. If you're writing in the present tense, make sure that you keep it consistent throughout.

6. Make Your Conclusion Satisfying

Satisfy your readers by giving them an unforgettable closing scene. The body of the narration should build up the plot to climax. This doesn't have to be something incredible or shocking, just something that helps give an interesting take on your story.

The takeaways or the lessons learned should be written without lecturing. Whenever possible, continue to show rather than tell. Don't say what you learned, narrate what you do differently now. This will help the moral of your story shine through without being too preachy.

GoodReads is a great starting point for selecting read-worthy personal narrative books. Here are five of my favourites.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen, the author of 386 books, wrote this poetic story about a daughter and her father who went owling. Instead of learning about owls, Yolen invites readers to contemplate the meaning of gentleness and hope.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. This Holocaust memoir has a strong message that such horrific events should never be repeated.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

This classic is a must-read by young and old alike. It's a remarkable diary by a 13-year-old Jewish girl who hid inside a secret annexe of an old building during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1942.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

This is a personal narrative written by a brave author renowned for her clarity, passion, and honesty. Didion shares how in December 2003, she lost her husband of 40 years to a massive heart attack and dealt with the acute illness of her only daughter. She speaks about grief, memories, illness, and hope.

Educated by Tara Westover

Author Tara Westover was raised by survivalist parents. She didn't go to school until 17 years of age, which later took her to Harvard and Cambridge. It's a story about the struggle for quest for knowledge and self-reinvention.

Narrative and personal narrative journalism are gaining more popularity these days. You can find distinguished personal narratives all over the web.

Curating the best of the best of personal narratives and narrative essays from all over the web. Some are award-winning articles.

Narratively

Long-form writing to celebrate humanity through storytelling. It publishes personal narrative essays written to provoke, inspire, and reflect, touching lesser-known and overlooked subjects.

Narrative Magazine

It publishes non,fiction narratives, poetry, and fiction. Among its contributors is Frank Conroy, the author of Stop-Time , a memoir that has never been out of print since 1967.

Thought Catalog

Aimed at Generation Z, it publishes personal narrative essays on self-improvement, family, friendship, romance, and others.

Personal narratives will continue to be popular as our brains are wired for stories. We love reading about others and telling stories of ourselves, as they bring satisfaction and a better understanding of the world around us.

Personal narratives make us better humans. Enjoy telling yours!

Write like a bestselling author

Love writing? ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of your stories.

Jennifer Xue is an award-winning e-book author with 2,500+ articles and 100+ e-books/reports published under her belt. She also taught 50+ college-level essay and paper writing classes. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Business.com, Business2Community, Addicted2Success, Good Men Project, and others. Her blog is JenniferXue.com. Follow her on Twitter @jenxuewrites].

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 great narrative essay examples + tips for writing.

General Education

A narrative essay is one of the most intimidating assignments you can be handed at any level of your education. Where you've previously written argumentative essays that make a point or analytic essays that dissect meaning, a narrative essay asks you to write what is effectively a story .

But unlike a simple work of creative fiction, your narrative essay must have a clear and concrete motif —a recurring theme or idea that you’ll explore throughout. Narrative essays are less rigid, more creative in expression, and therefore pretty different from most other essays you’ll be writing.

But not to fear—in this article, we’ll be covering what a narrative essay is, how to write a good one, and also analyzing some personal narrative essay examples to show you what a great one looks like.

What Is a Narrative Essay?

At first glance, a narrative essay might sound like you’re just writing a story. Like the stories you're used to reading, a narrative essay is generally (but not always) chronological, following a clear throughline from beginning to end. Even if the story jumps around in time, all the details will come back to one specific theme, demonstrated through your choice in motifs.

Unlike many creative stories, however, your narrative essay should be based in fact. That doesn’t mean that every detail needs to be pure and untainted by imagination, but rather that you shouldn’t wholly invent the events of your narrative essay. There’s nothing wrong with inventing a person’s words if you can’t remember them exactly, but you shouldn’t say they said something they weren’t even close to saying.

Another big difference between narrative essays and creative fiction—as well as other kinds of essays—is that narrative essays are based on motifs. A motif is a dominant idea or theme, one that you establish before writing the essay. As you’re crafting the narrative, it’ll feed back into your motif to create a comprehensive picture of whatever that motif is.

For example, say you want to write a narrative essay about how your first day in high school helped you establish your identity. You might discuss events like trying to figure out where to sit in the cafeteria, having to describe yourself in five words as an icebreaker in your math class, or being unsure what to do during your lunch break because it’s no longer acceptable to go outside and play during lunch. All of those ideas feed back into the central motif of establishing your identity.

The important thing to remember is that while a narrative essay is typically told chronologically and intended to read like a story, it is not purely for entertainment value. A narrative essay delivers its theme by deliberately weaving the motifs through the events, scenes, and details. While a narrative essay may be entertaining, its primary purpose is to tell a complete story based on a central meaning.

Unlike other essay forms, it is totally okay—even expected—to use first-person narration in narrative essays. If you’re writing a story about yourself, it’s natural to refer to yourself within the essay. It’s also okay to use other perspectives, such as third- or even second-person, but that should only be done if it better serves your motif. Generally speaking, your narrative essay should be in first-person perspective.

Though your motif choices may feel at times like you’re making a point the way you would in an argumentative essay, a narrative essay’s goal is to tell a story, not convince the reader of anything. Your reader should be able to tell what your motif is from reading, but you don’t have to change their mind about anything. If they don’t understand the point you are making, you should consider strengthening the delivery of the events and descriptions that support your motif.

Narrative essays also share some features with analytical essays, in which you derive meaning from a book, film, or other media. But narrative essays work differently—you’re not trying to draw meaning from an existing text, but rather using an event you’ve experienced to convey meaning. In an analytical essay, you examine narrative, whereas in a narrative essay you create narrative.

The structure of a narrative essay is also a bit different than other essays. You’ll generally be getting your point across chronologically as opposed to grouping together specific arguments in paragraphs or sections. To return to the example of an essay discussing your first day of high school and how it impacted the shaping of your identity, it would be weird to put the events out of order, even if not knowing what to do after lunch feels like a stronger idea than choosing where to sit. Instead of organizing to deliver your information based on maximum impact, you’ll be telling your story as it happened, using concrete details to reinforce your theme.

3 Great Narrative Essay Examples

One of the best ways to learn how to write a narrative essay is to look at a great narrative essay sample. Let’s take a look at some truly stellar narrative essay examples and dive into what exactly makes them work so well.

A Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace

Today is Press Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, and I’m supposed to be at the fairgrounds by 9:00 A.M. to get my credentials. I imagine credentials to be a small white card in the band of a fedora. I’ve never been considered press before. My real interest in credentials is getting into rides and shows for free. I’m fresh in from the East Coast, for an East Coast magazine. Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish. I think they asked me to do this because I grew up here, just a couple hours’ drive from downstate Springfield. I never did go to the state fair, though—I pretty much topped out at the county fair level. Actually, I haven’t been back to Illinois for a long time, and I can’t say I’ve missed it.

Throughout this essay, David Foster Wallace recounts his experience as press at the Illinois State Fair. But it’s clear from this opening that he’s not just reporting on the events exactly as they happened—though that’s also true— but rather making a point about how the East Coast, where he lives and works, thinks about the Midwest.

In his opening paragraph, Wallace states that outright: “Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish.”

Not every motif needs to be stated this clearly , but in an essay as long as Wallace’s, particularly since the audience for such a piece may feel similarly and forget that such a large portion of the country exists, it’s important to make that point clear.

But Wallace doesn’t just rest on introducing his motif and telling the events exactly as they occurred from there. It’s clear that he selects events that remind us of that idea of East Coast cynicism , such as when he realizes that the Help Me Grow tent is standing on top of fake grass that is killing the real grass beneath, when he realizes the hypocrisy of craving a corn dog when faced with a real, suffering pig, when he’s upset for his friend even though he’s not the one being sexually harassed, and when he witnesses another East Coast person doing something he wouldn’t dare to do.

Wallace is literally telling the audience exactly what happened, complete with dates and timestamps for when each event occurred. But he’s also choosing those events with a purpose—he doesn’t focus on details that don’t serve his motif. That’s why he discusses the experiences of people, how the smells are unappealing to him, and how all the people he meets, in cowboy hats, overalls, or “black spandex that looks like cheesecake leotards,” feel almost alien to him.

All of these details feed back into the throughline of East Coast thinking that Wallace introduces in the first paragraph. He also refers back to it in the essay’s final paragraph, stating:

At last, an overarching theory blooms inside my head: megalopolitan East Coasters’ summer treats and breaks and literally ‘getaways,’ flights-from—from crowds, noise, heat, dirt, the stress of too many sensory choices….The East Coast existential treat is escape from confines and stimuli—quiet, rustic vistas that hold still, turn inward, turn away. Not so in the rural Midwest. Here you’re pretty much away all the time….Something in a Midwesterner sort of actuates , deep down, at a public event….The real spectacle that draws us here is us.

Throughout this journey, Wallace has tried to demonstrate how the East Coast thinks about the Midwest, ultimately concluding that they are captivated by the Midwest’s less stimuli-filled life, but that the real reason they are interested in events like the Illinois State Fair is that they are, in some ways, a means of looking at the East Coast in a new, estranging way.

The reason this works so well is that Wallace has carefully chosen his examples, outlined his motif and themes in the first paragraph, and eventually circled back to the original motif with a clearer understanding of his original point.

When outlining your own narrative essay, try to do the same. Start with a theme, build upon it with examples, and return to it in the end with an even deeper understanding of the original issue. You don’t need this much space to explore a theme, either—as we’ll see in the next example, a strong narrative essay can also be very short.

Death of a Moth by Virginia Woolf

After a time, tired by his dancing apparently, he settled on the window ledge in the sun, and, the queer spectacle being at an end, I forgot about him. Then, looking up, my eye was caught by him. He was trying to resume his dancing, but seemed either so stiff or so awkward that he could only flutter to the bottom of the window-pane; and when he tried to fly across it he failed. Being intent on other matters I watched these futile attempts for a time without thinking, unconsciously waiting for him to resume his flight, as one waits for a machine, that has stopped momentarily, to start again without considering the reason of its failure. After perhaps a seventh attempt he slipped from the wooden ledge and fell, fluttering his wings, on to his back on the window sill. The helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death. I laid the pencil down again.

In this essay, Virginia Woolf explains her encounter with a dying moth. On surface level, this essay is just a recounting of an afternoon in which she watched a moth die—it’s even established in the title. But there’s more to it than that. Though Woolf does not begin her essay with as clear a motif as Wallace, it’s not hard to pick out the evidence she uses to support her point, which is that the experience of this moth is also the human experience.

In the title, Woolf tells us this essay is about death. But in the first paragraph, she seems to mostly be discussing life—the moth is “content with life,” people are working in the fields, and birds are flying. However, she mentions that it is mid-September and that the fields were being plowed. It’s autumn and it’s time for the harvest; the time of year in which many things die.

In this short essay, she chronicles the experience of watching a moth seemingly embody life, then die. Though this essay is literally about a moth, it’s also about a whole lot more than that. After all, moths aren’t the only things that die—Woolf is also reflecting on her own mortality, as well as the mortality of everything around her.

At its core, the essay discusses the push and pull of life and death, not in a way that’s necessarily sad, but in a way that is accepting of both. Woolf begins by setting up the transitional fall season, often associated with things coming to an end, and raises the ideas of pleasure, vitality, and pity.

At one point, Woolf tries to help the dying moth, but reconsiders, as it would interfere with the natural order of the world. The moth’s death is part of the natural order of the world, just like fall, just like her own eventual death.

All these themes are set up in the beginning and explored throughout the essay’s narrative. Though Woolf doesn’t directly state her theme, she reinforces it by choosing a small, isolated event—watching a moth die—and illustrating her point through details.

With this essay, we can see that you don’t need a big, weird, exciting event to discuss an important meaning. Woolf is able to explore complicated ideas in a short essay by being deliberate about what details she includes, just as you can be in your own essays.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

On the twenty-ninth of July, in 1943, my father died. On the same day, a few hours later, his last child was born. Over a month before this, while all our energies were concentrated in waiting for these events, there had been, in Detroit, one of the bloodiest race riots of the century. A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem. On the morning of the third of August, we drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.

Like Woolf, Baldwin does not lay out his themes in concrete terms—unlike Wallace, there’s no clear sentence that explains what he’ll be talking about. However, you can see the motifs quite clearly: death, fatherhood, struggle, and race.

Throughout the narrative essay, Baldwin discusses the circumstances of his father’s death, including his complicated relationship with his father. By introducing those motifs in the first paragraph, the reader understands that everything discussed in the essay will come back to those core ideas. When Baldwin talks about his experience with a white teacher taking an interest in him and his father’s resistance to that, he is also talking about race and his father’s death. When he talks about his father’s death, he is also talking about his views on race. When he talks about his encounters with segregation and racism, he is talking, in part, about his father.

Because his father was a hard, uncompromising man, Baldwin struggles to reconcile the knowledge that his father was right about many things with his desire to not let that hardness consume him, as well.

Baldwin doesn’t explicitly state any of this, but his writing so often touches on the same motifs that it becomes clear he wants us to think about all these ideas in conversation with one another.

At the end of the essay, Baldwin makes it more clear:

This fight begins, however, in the heart and it had now been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair. This intimation made my heart heavy and, now that my father was irrecoverable, I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now.

Here, Baldwin ties together the themes and motifs into one clear statement: that he must continue to fight and recognize injustice, especially racial injustice, just as his father did. But unlike his father, he must do it beginning with himself—he must not let himself be closed off to the world as his father was. And yet, he still wishes he had his father for guidance, even as he establishes that he hopes to be a different man than his father.

In this essay, Baldwin loads the front of the essay with his motifs, and, through his narrative, weaves them together into a theme. In the end, he comes to a conclusion that connects all of those things together and leaves the reader with a lasting impression of completion—though the elements may have been initially disparate, in the end everything makes sense.

You can replicate this tactic of introducing seemingly unattached ideas and weaving them together in your own essays. By introducing those motifs, developing them throughout, and bringing them together in the end, you can demonstrate to your reader how all of them are related. However, it’s especially important to be sure that your motifs and clear and consistent throughout your essay so that the conclusion feels earned and consistent—if not, readers may feel mislead.

5 Key Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

Narrative essays can be a lot of fun to write since they’re so heavily based on creativity. But that can also feel intimidating—sometimes it’s easier to have strict guidelines than to have to make it all up yourself. Here are a few tips to keep your narrative essay feeling strong and fresh.

Develop Strong Motifs

Motifs are the foundation of a narrative essay . What are you trying to say? How can you say that using specific symbols or events? Those are your motifs.

In the same way that an argumentative essay’s body should support its thesis, the body of your narrative essay should include motifs that support your theme.

Try to avoid cliches, as these will feel tired to your readers. Instead of roses to symbolize love, try succulents. Instead of the ocean representing some vast, unknowable truth, try the depths of your brother’s bedroom. Keep your language and motifs fresh and your essay will be even stronger!

Use First-Person Perspective

In many essays, you’re expected to remove yourself so that your points stand on their own. Not so in a narrative essay—in this case, you want to make use of your own perspective.

Sometimes a different perspective can make your point even stronger. If you want someone to identify with your point of view, it may be tempting to choose a second-person perspective. However, be sure you really understand the function of second-person; it’s very easy to put a reader off if the narration isn’t expertly deployed.

If you want a little bit of distance, third-person perspective may be okay. But be careful—too much distance and your reader may feel like the narrative lacks truth.

That’s why first-person perspective is the standard. It keeps you, the writer, close to the narrative, reminding the reader that it really happened. And because you really know what happened and how, you’re free to inject your own opinion into the story without it detracting from your point, as it would in a different type of essay.

Stick to the Truth

Your essay should be true. However, this is a creative essay, and it’s okay to embellish a little. Rarely in life do we experience anything with a clear, concrete meaning the way somebody in a book might. If you flub the details a little, it’s okay—just don’t make them up entirely.

Also, nobody expects you to perfectly recall details that may have happened years ago. You may have to reconstruct dialog from your memory and your imagination. That’s okay, again, as long as you aren’t making it up entirely and assigning made-up statements to somebody.

Dialog is a powerful tool. A good conversation can add flavor and interest to a story, as we saw demonstrated in David Foster Wallace’s essay. As previously mentioned, it’s okay to flub it a little, especially because you’re likely writing about an experience you had without knowing that you’d be writing about it later.

However, don’t rely too much on it. Your narrative essay shouldn’t be told through people explaining things to one another; the motif comes through in the details. Dialog can be one of those details, but it shouldn’t be the only one.

Use Sensory Descriptions

Because a narrative essay is a story, you can use sensory details to make your writing more interesting. If you’re describing a particular experience, you can go into detail about things like taste, smell, and hearing in a way that you probably wouldn’t do in any other essay style.

These details can tie into your overall motifs and further your point. Woolf describes in great detail what she sees while watching the moth, giving us the sense that we, too, are watching the moth. In Wallace’s essay, he discusses the sights, sounds, and smells of the Illinois State Fair to help emphasize his point about its strangeness. And in Baldwin’s essay, he describes shattered glass as a “wilderness,” and uses the feelings of his body to describe his mental state.

All these descriptions anchor us not only in the story, but in the motifs and themes as well. One of the tools of a writer is making the reader feel as you felt, and sensory details help you achieve that.

What’s Next?

Looking to brush up on your essay-writing capabilities before the ACT? This guide to ACT English will walk you through some of the best strategies and practice questions to get you prepared!

Part of practicing for the ACT is ensuring your word choice and diction are on point. Check out this guide to some of the most common errors on the ACT English section to be sure that you're not making these common mistakes!

A solid understanding of English principles will help you make an effective point in a narrative essay, and you can get that understanding through taking a rigorous assortment of high school English classes !

Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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10 Personal Narrative Examples to Inspire Your Writing

Personal narratives are short pieces of creative nonfiction that recount a story from someone’s own experiences. They can be a memoir, a thinkpiece, or even a polemic — so long as the piece is grounded in the writer's beliefs and experiences, it can be considered a personal narrative.

Despite the nonfiction element, there’s no single way to approach this topic, and you can be as creative as you would be writing fiction. To inspire your writing and reveal the sheer diversity of this type of essay, here are ten great examples personal narratives from recent years: 

1. “Only Disconnect” by Gary Shteyngart

Personal narratives don’t have to be long to be effective, as this thousand-word gem from the NYT book review proves. Published in 2010, just as smartphones were becoming a ubiquitous part of modern life, this piece echoes many of our fears surrounding technology and how it often distances us from reality.

In this narrative, Shteyngart navigates Manhattan using his new iPhone—or more accurately, is led by his iPhone, completely oblivious to the world around him. He’s completely lost to the magical happenstance of the city as he “follow[s] the arrow taco-ward”. But once he leaves for the country, and abandons the convenience of a cell phone connection, the real world comes rushing back in and he remembers what he’s been missing out on. 

The downfalls of technology is hardly a new topic, but Shteyngart’s story remains evergreen because of how our culture has only spiraled further down the rabbit hole of technology addiction in the intervening years.

What can you learn from this piece?

Just because a piece of writing is technically nonfiction, that doesn’t mean that the narrative needs to be literal. Shteyngart imagines a Manhattan that physically changes around him when he’s using his iPhone, becoming an almost unrecognizable world. From this, we can see how a certain amount of dramatization can increase the impact of your message—even if that wasn’t exactly the way something happened. 

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2. “Why I Hate Mother's Day” by Anne Lamott

The author of the classic writing text Bird by Bird digs into her views on motherhood in this piece from Salon. At once a personal narrative and a cultural commentary, Lamott explores the harmful effects that Mother’s Day may have on society —how its blind reverence to the concept of motherhood erases women’s agency and freedom to be flawed human beings. 

Lamott points out that not all mothers are good, not everyone has a living mother to celebrate, and some mothers have lost their children, so have no one to celebrate with them. More importantly, she notes how this Hallmark holiday erases all the people who helped raise a woman, a long chain of mothers and fathers, friends and found family, who enable her to become a mother. While it isn’t anchored to a single story or event (like many classic personal narratives), Lamott’s exploration of her opinions creates a story about a culture that puts mothers on an impossible pedestal. 

In a personal narrative essay, lived experience can be almost as valid as peer-reviewed research—so long as you avoid making unfounded assumptions. While some might point out that this is merely an opinion piece, Lamott cannily starts the essay by grounding it in the personal, revealing how she did not raise her son to celebrate Mother’s Day. This detail, however small, invites the reader into her private life and frames this essay as a story about her —and not just an exercise in being contrary.

3. “The Crane Wife” by CJ Hauser 

Days after breaking off her engagement with her fiance, CJ Hauser joins a scientific expedition on the Texas coast r esearching whooping cranes . In this new environment, she reflects on the toxic relationship she left and how she found herself in this situation. She pulls together many seemingly disparate threads, using the expedition and the Japanese myth of the crane wife as a metaphor for her struggles. 

Hauser’s interactions with the other volunteer researchers expand the scope of the narrative from her own mind, reminding her of the compassion she lacked in her relationship. In her attempts to make herself smaller, less needy, to please her fiance, she lost sight of herself and almost signed up to live someone else’s life, but among the whooping cranes of Texas, she takes the first step in reconnecting with herself.

With short personal narratives, there isn’t as much room to develop characters as you might have in a memoir so the details you do provide need to be clear and specific. Each of the volunteer researchers on Hauser’s expedition are distinct and recognizable though Hauser is economical in her descriptions. 

For example, Hauser describes one researcher as “an eighty-four-year-old bachelor from Minnesota. He could not do most of the physical activities required by the trip, but had been on ninety-five Earthwatch expeditions, including this one once before. Warren liked birds okay. What Warren really loved was cocktail hour.” 

In a few sentences, we get a clear picture of Warren's fun-loving, gregarious personality and how he fits in with the rest of the group.

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4. “The Trash Heap Has Spoken” by Carmen Maria Machado

The films and TV shows of the 80s and 90s—cultural touchstones that practically raised a generation—hardly ever featured larger women on screen. And if they did, it was either as a villain or a literal trash heap. Carmen Maria Machado grew up watching these cartoons, and the absence of fat women didn’t faze her. Not until puberty hit and she went from a skinny kid to a fuller-figured teen. Suddenly uncomfortable in her skin, she struggled to find any positive representation in her favorite media.

As she gets older and more comfortable in her own body, Machado finds inspiration in Marjory the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock and Ursula, everyone’s favorite sea witch from The Little Mermaid —characters with endless power in the unapologetic ways they inhabit their bodies. As Machado considers her own body through the years, it’s these characters she returns to as she faces society’s unkind, dismissive attitudes towards fat women.

Stories shape the world, even if they’re fictional. Some writers strive for realism, reflecting the world back on itself in all its ugliness, but Carmen Maria Machado makes a different point. There is power in being imaginative and writing the world as it could be, imagining something bigger, better, and more beautiful. So, write the story you want to see, change the narrative, look at it sideways, and show your readers how the world could look. 

5. “Am I Disabled?” by Joanne Limburg 

The titular question frames the narrative of Joanne Limburg’s essay as she considers the implications of disclosing her autism. What to some might seem a mundane occurrence—ticking ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘prefer not to say’ on a bureaucratic form—elicits both philosophical and practical questions for Limburg about what it means to be disabled and how disability is viewed by the majority of society. 

Is the labor of disclosing her autism worth the insensitive questions she has to answer? What definition are people seeking, exactly? Will anyone believe her if she says yes? As she dissects the question of what disability is, she explores the very real personal effects this has on her life and those of other disabled people. 

Limburg’s essay is written in a style known as the hermit crab essay , when an author uses an existing document form to contain their story. You can format your writing as a recipe, a job application, a resume, an email, or a to-do list – the possibilities are as endless as your creativity. The format you choose is important, though. It should connect in some way to the story you’re telling and add something to the reader’s experience as well as your overall theme. 

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6. “Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard

While out on a walk in the woods behind her house, Annie Dillard encounters a wild weasel. In the short moment when they make eye contact, Dillard takes an imaginary journey through the weasel’s mind and wonders if the weasel’s approach to life is better than her own. 

The weasel, as Dillard sees it, is a wild creature with jaws so powerful that when it clamps on to something, it won’t let go, even into death. Necessity drives it to be like this, and humanity, obsessed with choice, might think this kind of life is limiting, but the writer believes otherwise. The weasel’s necessity is the ultimate freedom, as long as you can find the right sort, the kind that will have you holding on for dear life and refusing to let go. 

Make yourself the National Geographic explorer of your backyard or neighborhood and see what you can learn about yourself from what you discover. Annie Dillard, queen of the natural personal essay, discovers a lot about herself and her beliefs when meeting a weasel.

What insight can you glean from a blade of grass, for example? Does it remind you that despite how similar people might be, we are all unique? Do the flights of migrating birds give you perspective on the changes in your own life? Nature is a potent and never-ending spring of inspiration if you only think to look. 

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7. “Love In Our Seventies” by Ellery Akers

“ And sometimes, when I lift the gray hair at the back of your neck and kiss your shoulder, I think, This is it.”

In under 400 words, poet Ellery Akers captures the joy she has found in discovering romance as a 75-year-old . The language is romantic, but her imagery is far from saccharine as she describes their daily life and the various states in which they’ve seen each other: in their pajamas, after cataract surgeries, while meditating. In each singular moment, Akers sees something she loves, underscoring an oft-forgotten truth. Love is most potent in its smallest gestures.  

Personal narrative isn’t a defined genre with rigid rules, so your essay doesn’t have to be an essay. It can be a poem, as Akers’ is. The limitations of this form can lead to greater creativity as you’re trying to find a short yet evocative way to tell a story. It allows you to focus deeply on the emotions behind an idea and create an intimate connection with your reader. 

8. “What a Black Woman Wishes Her Adoptive White Parents Knew” by Mariama Lockington

Mariama Lockington was adopted by her white parents in the early 80s, long before it was “trendy” for white people to adopt black children. Starting with a family photograph, the writer explores her complex feelings about her upbringing , the many ways her parents ignored her race for their own comfort, and how she came to feel like an outsider in her own home. In describing her childhood snapshots, she takes the reader from infancy to adulthood as she navigates trying to live as a black woman in a white family. 

Lockington takes us on a journey through her life through a series of vignettes. These small, important moments serve as a framing device, intertwining to create a larger narrative about race, family, and belonging. 

With this framing device, it’s easy to imagine Lockington poring over a photo album, each picture conjuring a different memory and infusing her story with equal parts sadness, regret, and nostalgia. You can create a similar effect by separating your narrative into different songs to create an album or episodes in a TV show. A unique structure can add an extra layer to your narrative and enhance the overall story.

9. “Drinking Chai to Savannah” by Anjali Enjeti

On a trip to Savannah with her friends, Anjali Enjeti is reminded of a racist incident she experienced as a teenager . The memory is prompted by her discomfort of traveling in Georgia as a South Asian woman and her friends’ seeming obliviousness to how others view them. As she recalls the tense and traumatic encounter she had in line at a Wendy’s and the worry she experiences in Savannah, Enjeti reflects on her understanding of otherness and race in America. 

Enjeti paints the scene in Wendy’s with a deft hand. Using descriptive language, she invokes the five senses to capture the stress and fear she felt when the men in line behind her were hurling racist sentiments. 

She writes, “He moves closer. His shadow eclipses mine. His hot, tobacco-tinged breath seeps over the collar of my dress.” The strong, evocative language she uses brings the reader into the scene and has them experience the same anxiety she does, understanding why this incident deeply impacted her. 

10. “Siri Tells A Joke” by Debra Gwartney

One day, Debra Gwartney asks Siri—her iPhone’s digital assistant—to tell her a joke. In reply, Siri recites a joke with a familiar setup about three men stuck on a desert island. When the punchline comes, Gwartney reacts not with laughter, but with a memory of her husband , who had died less than six months prior.

In a short period, Gwartney goes through a series of losses—first, her house and her husband’s writing archives to a wildfire, and only a month after, her husband. As she reflects on death and the grief of those left behind in the wake of it, she recounts the months leading up to her husband’s passing and the interminable stretch after as she tries to find a way to live without him even as she longs for him. 

A joke about three men on a deserted island seems like an odd setup for an essay about grief. However, Gwartney uses it to great effect, coming back to it later in the story and giving it greater meaning. By the end of her piece, she recontextualizes the joke, the original punchline suddenly becoming deeply sad. In taking something seemingly unrelated and calling back to it later, the essay’s message about grief and love becomes even more powerful.

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How to Write a 1000 Word Essay: Structure, Length, Steps & Examples

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A 1000-word essay is not merely distinguished from other types of essays by its length or number of pages it fills. It requires a deeper level of engagement with the subject. This includes a thoughtful approach to a selected topic and more extensive research that goes beyond what's typically required for shorter essays.

Writing and structuring your 1000 words essay correctly can be a time-consuming process, unless you know how to deal with it. In 5 minutes of reading, you will learn how to write a 1000 word essay and what mistakes a student can commit in such essays. From the number of paragraphs to specific examples, we have prepared all essential information to help you finish your assignment like professional essay writers .

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FAQ About 1000 Words Essay

1. how long should a 1000 word essay be.

A 1000 word essay should be between 3-4 pages in length, depending on the font size, text spacing and format. For example, if the font size is 12 pt and the text is double-spaced, a 1000 word essay will be around 4 pages. If the font size is 10 pt with single spacing applied, it would take approximately 2-3 pages.

2. How long should it take to write a 1000 word essay?

Generally speaking, it should take around 2-3 hours to write a 1000 word essay. However, if you are dealing with an unfamiliar topic or have difficulty finding information, you will need up to 4-6 hours to complete it.

3. How should I allocate my word count in a 1000 word essay?

When writing a 1000 word essay, it is important to distribute your word count reasonably. Generally speaking, the introduction should take 10-15% of your total word count (100-150 words). The body paragraphs should make up 70 % (700 words), and the conclusion should be around 10-15% (100 - 150 words).

4. What should I do if I'm struggling to reach the 1000 word count?

If you find yourself short of words, do extra research to identify additional points or evidence to expand upon. Delve deeper into your explanations and incorporate more examples or case studies. You may also consider alternative perspectives to reach 1000 words in an essay. However, it makes sense to prioritize the quality and coherence of your essay over quantity.

5. How can I reduce my word count if my essay exceeds 1000 words?

If your essay goes over 1000 words, scan through it again and remove any redundant points or phrases. Break down long sentences into shorter ones and delete unnecessary adjectives/adverbs. Finally, use a word count tool to identify which areas of your essay are too lengthy to further enhance them.

6. How to write a 1000 word essay in one night?

Completing a 1000 word essay in one night is possible, though it may require some additional effort. Start by creating a detailed outline of your ideas to help you remain organized. Set aside an hour or two for research and aim to have the majority of your writing done in the evening. Prioritize the most important points and write about those first, then fill in the details. Don’t forget to read through and edit your essay before submission.

7. How to write 1000 words quickly?

Writing 1000 words quickly requires careful planning and preparation. Establish a timer and set separate time limits for writing, researching and editing your essay. When writing, avoid long sentences and use simple language to communicate your ideas effectively.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

A 1000-word essay is a common format of academic writing that typically spans about 3-4 pages, depending on the formatting. This essay format provides a succinct, yet, thorough exploration of a particular topic. By writing 1000 words, you can delve into an issue, argue a point, or explain a concept in detail.

The main purpose of a 1000-word essay is to showcase student’s critical thinking skills. Teachers or professors often assign such tasks to promote in-depth analysis, research and evaluation. 

Unlike shorter forms of academic writing such as a 500-word essay, 1000-word essays allow for a more comprehensive topic investigation. This format demands a well-developed thesis statement and robust arguments supported by evidence. Each idea must be explored sufficiently, with room for introducing counterarguments and rebuttals, if necessary. 

Compared to longer formats, like research papers or dissertations, a 1000-word essay requires a more concise and focused approach.

You will need to create a 1000-word essay in a variety of contexts:

Whether you’re writing for school or a project, there are different types of 1000-word essays you may encounter. They all differ by purpose,structural requirements and topics:

Regardless of the type of essay , there is a universal outline you should follow when crafting your 1000-word paper. It may differ slightly depending on specific requirements and instructions, but the overall structure of an essay remains the same.

The basic 1000 essay structure includes an introduction, body paragraphs (typically 4-6 in this case), and conclusion. Each section implements a distinct goal:

When writing a one thousand word essay, you should stick to the 70-30 rule. This means that the introduction and conclusion should take up around 30% of the total word count, while a body section should comprise 70%.

Now that you are familiar with the major parts of a 1000 word essay outline, let’s discuss how many words and what information each section contains.

The introduction of your 1000 word essay should focus on providing background information needed to understand the main point of your paper. This section should be about 10-15% of the total word count, which equals 100-150 words for a 1000 word essay.

Your opening paragraph should fulfill the following tasks: 

Each body paragraph should focus on a single point and provide evidence to support it. Aim for 3-5 sentences per paragraph, totaling 3-4 body paragraphs or 700-750 words. Here’re the things you should accomplish within your body paragraphs:

As you write a 1000 word essay, go from the weakest argument to the strongest one.

Your conclusion should restate your thesis and wrap up the argument you’ve been making throughout your 1000 word essay. Aim for 100-150 words, which is about 10-15% of the total word count.

Conclusion should accomplish the following goals:

At this point, you might wonder “how many pages is a 1000 word essay?” The answer is simple. It all depends on various formatting conditions. the font size and spacing you are applying to your text. The exact length is determined by the font choice, font size, and spacing. 

Let’s look at several typical formats and how they influence the length of your essay.

1000 Word Essay Length in Pages

If you are stuck with your assignment, delegate this challenging task to academic experts. Mind that a cheap college essay writing service may help you handle this assignment out quickly. 

>> Learn more: How Long Is an Essay

A 1000-word essay typically consists of 6-8 paragraphs. In this case, a classic 5-paragraph essay structure with 3 body paragraphs might not suffice. When addressing a more intricate matter, you might have more than 3 points to discuss in your body section. In such cases, your essay could extend to 4-6 body paragraphs. For example, if you're examining the causes, effects, and solutions to a particular problem, you might use a separate paragraph for each individual aspect.

So what does a 1000 word essay look like? Below, you can spot a free downloadable sample that showcases how a paper of this length can be structured. Hover over this example to create your own piece.

How long you will write a 1000-word essay largely depends on your preparatory level and respective knowledge in the field. A subject that you're well-versed in might take less time to write about compared to a topic that's entirely new to you. For example, a student majoring in environmental science might take 2-3 hours to write a 1000-word essay on pollution. They likely already have foundational knowledge and can easily access relevant resources. In contrast, if the same student is tasked with an essay on theoretical physics, the research and understanding required could extend the writing time to 5-6 hours or even days. 

Your strategy also matters. If you've planned your essay well, you'll find the writing process smoother. Don’t hesitate to check our suggestions on how to write essays faster to boost your speed.

To compose a 1000 word essay, you’ll need to plan your approach. Take the time to think through your arguments and decide on the structure of your paper. Stick to our 7 simple steps on how to write a 1000 word essay easily.

Assignment instructions lay the basis of your entire essay. Be sure to read guidelines patiently and make note of any special demands. Pay close attention to any word/page limit as well as the due date. If you’re writing a 1000-word paper for school, ask your instructor if there are any particular requirements regarding the format or content.

Pick a topic that interests you and aligns with your prompt. Once you have your subject, try to come up with a unique angle to approach the issue. Research your arguments and decent examples to make sure that they are fact-based.

>> Learn more: How to Title an Essay

In case you are running out of ideas, here are some interesting 1000-word essay topics that might be of help:

Developing a thesis statement is a critical step in writing a 1000-word essay. Your thesis statement should comprise 1 or 2 sentences that respond to your prompt. Offer a concise preview of what you are going to discuss in your paper. 

Your thesis will guide your writing process, so make sure it’s specific and clear. At this stage, you may come up with a draft version of your statement. You can always revise it later on, if necessary.

You won’t be able to sort out your thoughts without an explicit plan. That’s where you need to create a schematic outline for essay shaping all the points you want to mention. Think about what you already know about the subject and carry out extra research if necessary. Allocate an estimated word count for every part, ensuring that each argument is given enough space. 

Don’t expect to make it flawless. This is a preparatory step and you can always adjust the structure and reorganize your ideas according to the order of importance.

Now, all that is left to do is to write your 1000 word essay. Use a plan that you have prepared beforehand to start working on the first version of your paper – a rough draft . Focus on developing your major points you’ve indicated in the outline. Make sure you stick to the allotted word count. 

Start by  writing an introduction. Briefly present your topic and thesis statement. Then, approach each aspect and provide evidence to support your arguments in the body section of your essay. In the end, write a conclusion of your 1000 word essay that wraps all your points.

When writing 1000 word essays, it’s important to use enough sources (around 7-10). This will demonstrate that you have conducted an in-depth investigation and your writing is driven by credible resources. Don’t forget to cite them accordingly every time you quote or paraphrase someone’s ideas. Depending on the format, you should include either in-text citations or footnotes in the body. The most common paper styles are APA , MLA , Chicago and Harvard , so double check which one is required.

Once you have written your 1000 word essay, you’re not done yet. Make sure to review your piece one last time and look for any typos, grammar or punctuation mistakes. You can also ask a friend or parent to proofread it and spot the areas that need improvement. This way, you will receive some valuable feedback. 

Pro tip: use our paper grader to rate your essay grammar, readability and uniqueness score.  

>> Learn more: How to Revise Essay

When writing a 1000 word essay, you should keep in mind that it follows the same structure as any other academic paper. All essays should include an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion. Furthermore, depending on the format (MLA, APA, Chicago), your paper may also include a title page or reference list.

There may be situations when you can’t achieve the right amount of words and just leave your paper as is. However, adhering to a 1000-word count is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it demonstrates your ability to follow your instructor’s guidelines. Secondly, you will be prompted to communicate your ideas concisely, yet, efficiently. 

While small deviations of a few words are generally acceptable, make a conscious effort to stay as close to the 1000-word count as possible. Exceeding the word count may result in a lack of focus. Meanwhile, falling short may indicate incomplete analysis or insufficient supporting evidence. In either case, it reflects a failure to meet the requirements and may negatively impact your grade.

If you feel that creating 1000 word essays is too overwhelming, here are some tips to help you get through this task:

Before you begin writing a 1000-word essay, be aware of common mistakes that can hinder the quality of your work. Let’s go through the typical ones:

Writing a 1000 words essay doesn’t have to be a tedious task. By following the essay writing tips and avoiding common mistakes, you'll be able to deliver a well-structured paper that will impress your professor. So get organized, read through our guide, and start writing! If needed, consider utilizing special instruments such as grammar tools or a word counter online .

• In high school, you might encounter this essay format in English or history classes, often as a way to assess your understanding of a literary piece, historical event, or a concept.
• In college, the scope broadens. A 1000-word essay may be required in a wide range of subjects, from humanities and social sciences to business and STEM fields. Here, it serves to gauge your ability to analyze a topic deeply, synthesize research, and present cogent arguments.
• Outside of coursework, you might be asked to write a 1000-word essay for college application process , scholarship competitions, or internships. These essays typically aim to explore your personal experiences, goals, or reflections.
• Persuasive / argumentative essay : Aims to convince readers by presenting compelling arguments and evidence for a certain perspective.
• Expository essay : Explains an issue or concept to readers by providing a comprehensive overview.
• Problem and solution essay : Elaborates on existing issues and ways to solve them.
• Cause and effect essay : Explains the causes and influences of a specific phenomena or event.
• Compare and contrast essay : Analyzes features, differences, and similarities between 2 topics or subjects.
• Descriptive essay : Describes a subject using vivid language and metaphors.
• Narrative essay : Tells a story, usually based on personal experiences.
• Definition essay : Provides a meaning and interpretation of a concept.
• Informative essay : Educates the audience on a chosen matter.
• Introduction: Introduces your topic and presents an argument or thesis statement.
• Body paragraphs: Break down the main idea into multiple points and provide evidence to support them.
• Conclusion: Rounds off the critical points and offers key takeaways.
• Hook the audience with facts, stats or an interesting story
• Reveal the topic’s background
• Present your thesis statement.
• Open each body paragraph with a topic sentence
• Supply each argument with important evidence and examples
• Tie the paragraphs together with logical connections.
• Restate your thesis statement
• Remind the audience about your main points
• Leave your audience with a thought-provoking idea.
• Should euthanasia be legal?
• Is the death penalty justified?
• What are the pros and cons of social media use?
• Should all people have access to free education?
• Does a higher minimum wage lead to higher living standards?
• Is private healthcare more effective than public healthcare?
• Should animal testing be banned?
• Are there alternatives to fossil fuels?
• What health benefits does meditation provide?
• Are self-driving cars dangerous or life-saving?
• How can we reduce human trafficking globally?
• Is religion necessary for a moral society?
• Are genetically modified foods good or bad?
• How has technology impacted our education system?
• Should we teach children about sex in schools?
• What can be done to reduce carbon footprints worldwide?
• Is faux fur cruelty-free and eco-friendly?
• How can we address homelessness in our communities?
• Is artificial intelligence a threat or a benefit to humanity?
• Are there positive outcomes of globalization?
• Manage your time. Consider how much time you afford to dedicate for each stage of the writing process, namely research, outlining, writing, editing, and proofreading. Dividing it into smaller chunks will make it more achievable.
• Create a distraction-free environment. Find a quiet and comfortable space where you can concentrate on your writing without interruptions.
• Build an outline. This will help you organize your ideas and order them logically.
• Keep balance. Stick to your main topic and avoid going off on tangents. Make sure every paragraph remains on point.
• Take notes. Use a dedicated notebook, digital note-taking app, or software to keep your notes in one place. Create separate sections or pages for different topics or sources to maintain organization.
• Going over the word count. Straying significantly beyond the word limit can lead to a lack of focus.
• Insufficient proof. Making unsupported claims or assertions without providing evidence or examples weakens your arguments.
• Writing irrelevant content. Including fluff, such as repetitive statements, excessive examples, or unrelated information is unacceptable.
• Lack of own ideas and thoughts. An essay, independently of its type, is a place where the author should present their own opinions concerning the subject.
• Overreliance on a single source. Relying solely on one source or perspective can result in a biased analysis. Make sure to gather information from multiple reputable sources and consider different viewpoints to present a well-rounded argument.

What is a 1000 Word Essay? 

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In most cases you will also need to include a bibliography page or a reference list. However, unlike the main sections, references don’t count towards the overall word count.

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How to Write a Personal Narrative Essay

January 5, 2024 by Richard Leave a Comment

A personal narrative essay relates an important event or milestone from the writer’s life. Unlike other essay forms that aim to provide factual info, the goal here is to tell a compelling, engaging story. By going through the writing process step-by-step, you can craft an essay sure to connect with readers.

Choose a Meaningful Topic

The first vital step in writing a compelling personal narrative essay is deciding on a truly meaningful event from your life to showcase. Set aside some quiet time for self-reflection – what past experiences, relationships, challenges, accomplishments, or discoveries shaped you into who you are at your core? Which ones still emotionally move you years later when you recall them? Jot down anything that comes to mind, whether big or small. Look for pivotal moments that revealed a hard-won truth, stirred personal growth, altered your worldview, or strengthened bonds with others.

As you compile this list, evaluate the most vivid and transformative story. Spotlighting just one key incident will allow you to go in-depth rather than giving a surface-level overview crammed with details. As you narrow down your choice, assess which reveals the most intriguing aspects of your inner self while also relating a universal life lesson others may connect to. If you need help picking a topic try our 100 Greatest Narrative Essay Topics for ideas. 

Some classic impactful narrative essay topics include poignant childhood memories

, awe-inspiring travel adventures, acts of courage in the face of fear, obstacles you worked to overcome, special mentors that left a mark, or close personal bonds forged through laughter and tears. These life-shaping experiences often emerge around milestone events like a first job, a parent’s divorce, writing your college application essay, living abroad, becoming an activist for a cause, or the arrival of a new family member.

By selecting one sentimental episode that conveys emotional truth in a relatable way, you equip yourself to write an engaging personal narrative sure to resonate with readers. So embrace self-excavation to uncover the gems resting in your memory’s treasury, waiting to be polished into prose.

Narrow Your Focus” Focusing on Key Moments in Your Story

You picked an important experience from your life you want to write about. But telling the whole long story from start to finish might get boring or confusing. Good news – you don’t need to do that. Just focus on re-telling the most intense, emotional moments.

Picture yourself back at the event in your mind. What details do you see, hear, smell, touch or taste? When during that day did the biggest things happen…the stuff that made you feel joy, sadness, worry, relief? Write down every key moment of the scene that’s still crisp in your brain after all this time.

Don’t just say, “I took a summer trip to the beach as a kid and learned to surf.” Go step-by-step instead: Show your mom waking you early. Smell the salt air as you run across hot sand with a surfboard under your arm. Feel the tension in your muscles as you paddle out nervously to wait for a wave, not knowing what will happen when it comes. Describe wiping out over and over until, finally, you stand up successfully and ride the wave to shore, beaming with accomplishment.

By narrowing in on the minutes and seconds where you reacted strongly, and things changed, readers feel like they’re right there seeing your important life event through your eyes. The emotional whirlwind comes through more powerfully when you unroll tiny key details one by one instead of a broad, general storyline. So, take readers on your personal journey by bringing your most impactful moments back to life.

Craft the Narrative Arc: Crafting Your Narrative Arc for Maximum Impact

Simply recounting the play-by-play of your chosen memory risks leaving readers feeling disjointed or bored. Shaping the flow intentionally as an arc builds suspense, allowing you to land emotional punches. First, start by giving a one-sentence teaser hook relaying why this event held such significance – how it challenged your worldview, taught you something weighty, strengthened a bond, and ignited personal growth. Use a crisp image or impactful quote to draw readers in.

Next, if backstory is needed for context, use quick flashbacks or background woven organically into the action rather than halting all momentum with lengthy explanations upfront. Give just enough familiar details to ground readers – “I was 17 when I traveled to Ecuador on a service trip the summer after junior year.”

With context set, describe the rising action as you inch toward the climactic apex of it all. Draw out tension slowly through the obstacles you face, the fears swirling inside, the meanings and stakes becoming clear. Right as the moment of peak emotional intensity nears, use short, punchy sentences and vivid sensory details to slow down time, heightening anticipation.

After the focal point crashes over you and readers alike, illustrate the falling action and resolution concisely. Show thoughts, realizations, and impacts in the aftermath rather than tell. Close with a reflective paragraph at the present day, considering how the experience strengthened or enlightened you – “Now, as a nurse and mother, when I strap on my medical volunteer vest each day, I still touch that carved wooden necklace from Ecuador underneath for courage.”

With this intentional narrative arc guiding your scenes, you fully immerse readers in your memoir’s most dynamic emotional moments. The structure makes your message crystal clear while keeping them invested from the first word to the final profound reflection.

Show, Don’t Tell: Bring Your Story to Life By Showing the Details

Telling a story from your life is more fun for readers when you make them feel like they’re really there with you. Instead of just saying, “I went to basketball camp when I was 10,” show all the sights, sounds, and emotions that happened.

Picture the scene like a movie playing in your mind. Describe exactly where you were so readers see it too – the squeak of sneakers on the shiny gym floor, rows of blue folding chairs along the sidelines, the heavy sound of balls bouncing, the zing of whistles around you.

Show the key moments happening rather than looking back and just telling what went down later. In the story, have the coach blow the whistle and shout gruffly for drills to start, make readers hear balls swishing through nets when you score, and feel the burning in your calves as you sprint end to end all practice. Let them get nervous with you when the coach calls out the names for the starting lineup.

When you unfold the scenes bit-by-bit like this instead of saying, “I worked hard all week, then made the starting lineup,” or whatever, it’s so much more fun for readers. They feel all caught up in the action, too, high-fiving when you succeed or cringing when something embarrassing happens.

Don’t forget to zoom out and quickly summarize other parts, though, so readers know stuff like when the scene changes to a new day. But use showing, not telling, to let your biggest moments shine!

Using “I” and “You” to Draw Readers Into Your Story (IF ACCEPTABLE) 

Personal stories are way more fun to read when they make you feel like you’re in action with the writer. Using a first-person point of view helps make that happen. That’s when the writer talks about their own life using the word “I.”

So try starting most sentences with “I” to share the play-by-plays from your eyes. Like “I could barely breathe as the rollercoaster crept up the steep track” and “My hands were slick with sweat when I finally asked my crush to dance.” Readers know they get the insider scoop on your embarrassing or fantastic moment.

Every now and then, throw in some “you” sentences, too, to make readers feel like they’re the ones having the experience. For example, “You should have seen Coach’s eyebrows shoot up when I tried to explain why I missed practice” or “Picture yourself as an 8-year-old, staring up at that rickety treehouse ladder, wondering whether to risk it.”

Using “I did this…” and “You would have felt this…” hooks readers into your greatest hits. It’s almost like they traveled back in time with your older self to ride along on all your adventures and mishaps. So invite them in with lots of first person. After all, your awesome stories belong to you, so share them loudly and proudly!

Note: Sometimes, teachers and professors do not want you to use “I” in your narrative. If this is the case, please follow their instructions. 

Adding Transition Words to Connect Scenes

You chose a fantastic life event for your personal story and are ready to pull readers right into the action. But remember – you’ll likely focus on 2 or 3 main scenes rather than giving every detail from a whole day or week. So, between big moments, guide readers clearly from one time, place, or event to the next.

Pepper in transition phrases so they know when you skip forward or jump back. For example, “Later that evening, after pizza at Chuck E. Cheese, I spotted my crush from school again” or “Flashback to earlier that morning – I woke up extra early from pre-sleepover jitters.” Other helpful transitions are “Meanwhile, across town…” or “Five minutes later…”

You can also simply split major scenes into separate paragraphs. Add an extra space between paragraphs to signal readers they’re traveling to a new spot in your journey. No long boring explanations are needed – just quick time markers saying “But meanwhile…” or “Two hours after that…” work nicely.

These tiny phrases are pathway signs that stop readers from getting lost. Help them follow along happily without wondering if you’re still at your grandma’s house from a sentence ago or suddenly jumped forward to middle school. Guide them step-by-step through your scenes’ twists and turns with clear transition words sprinkled throughout

Wrapping Up Your Story With Lessons Learned

You took readers on a ride through your favorite life memory, revealing emotions and funny mishaps along the way. Now that the wild adventure is over share what that experience gave you or changed in you. The last paragraph should look back at your younger self with some wisdom.

Think about what mattered most from that scene with some distance now. Have you realized things you were too young to see then? Maybe you recognize now why your dad cried when you left for sleepaway camp or why losing the championship game surprised you less than disappointing your team.

If powerful life lessons or truths were uncovered, explain briefly. Like realizing monsters under beds aren’t real, but bravery in hard times is. Or how focusing on pleasing others less leaves room for adventuring more. These “moral of the story” bits show readers how you grew wiser.

You could also describe ways you’re different now, thanks to what happened back then. If you learned Spanish after struggling to order food in Madrid as a kid, share how speaking Spanish reminds you now of respecting different cultures. Or if you became a baseball coach years after your own lousy coach, talk about how you use encouragement, not anger, now.

However you wrap up, show readers your experience gave you new perspectives, shifting how you walk in the world today. It’s cool to model looking back thoughtfully!

Revise for Strength

Edit your draft for clarity and flow. Assess spots that seem bland and employ more descriptive language and compelling turns of phrase. Have others read and give feedback before polishing it into a powerful narrative sure to resonate.

You can write an engaging, meaningful narrative essay by planning your poignant personal story, bringing readers vividly into key scenes, and closing with insight gained. Using these steps, your unique life experience will come to life for readers.

Planning Out Your Essay’s Flow

Writing stuff that happened to you lets you get creative with the setup. However, having some structure helps readers follow along with your awesome life story. Here’s one way you could organize all the scenes:

Intro: Start with 1-2 sentences setting the scene – where/when is this happening, and why does it matter? Get readers hooked fast!

Next paragraph: Give some quick background – describe something important from earlier or explain who people are.

Buildup: Unfold more details slowly in 2-3 paragraphs to ramp up to the big moment. Build suspense about what’s coming!

Climax: Spend 2-3 paragraphs on the peak emotional or exciting point. Zoom in super close on meaningful dialogue, feelings, and actions here.

Winding Down: In 1-2 paragraphs, show how everything is wrapped up afterward. How did people respond? How did you?

Conclusion: In one paragraph, share the life lesson or way this changed your views more significantly. Look back with some wisdom!

This is just a suggestion, though – outline however you want! The key is grabbing readers’ attention quick, then making the most intense parts stand out by slowing down to show emotions and reactions. However you structure it, you’ll share an awesome memory! 

A more detailed layout: 

Paragraph 1:.

Introduction and Opening Hook

• Begins with an attention-grabbing opening hook (anecdote, question, vivid description)
• Provides brief background context to set up your story
• Ends with a clear thesis statement or main focus

Paragraph 2:

Rising Action

• Gives a more detailed background and sets the scene
• Starts describing key events leading up to the main story
• Uses vivid sensory details and descriptions
• Ends in a mini-cliffhanger to transition to the next event

Paragraph 3:

• Details the peak event, challenge, or adventure
• Tell the moment that changed you or impacted you the most
• Builds anticipation and uncertainty leading up to this moment
• Ends when the main event concludes, for better or worse

Paragraph 4:

Falling Action and Reflection

• Describe the aftermath and impacts of your climactic moment
• Analyze the deeper meaning and what you learned
• Discusses how the event changed you or your life in the future

Paragraph 5:

Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

• Summarize your main takeaway or theme from the story
• Discusses why this memory matters and what readers can learn from your story
• Ends with a strong, impactful closing line that resonates

This 5 paragraph’s narrative structure follows a complete story arc, allowing you to reinforce and reflect on your key message. There are many other suggestions for writing a 5 paragraph essay on the web .  

Spilling your inside stories out takes guts but feels great after. Following these tips will make your real-life tale flow well so readers feel they lived it, too. Pick a moment that rocked your world somehow and zoom your emotions up to 100. Show all the sights, smells, and sounds as it went down. Unfold the blow-by-blow slowly like a movie, not just saying what happened. Toss in some “I felt” and “You would’ve thought” lines to get readers right in your shoes. Wrap up with the gems you scored from that pivotal time that changed how you think or act now. However you tell it, your one-of-a-kind adventure can inspire. Remember, these memories and remarkable personalities belong to nobody else. So shine that spotlight on the stuff that shaped you into you!

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About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay Examples

10+ Interesting Narrative Essay Examples Plus Writing Tips!

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Narrative Essay - A Complete Writing Guide with Examples

Writing a Personal Narrative Essay: Everything You Need to Know

Best Narrative Essay Topics 2023 for Students

Crafting a Winning Narrative Essay Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide

Many students struggle with crafting engaging and impactful narrative essays. They often find it challenging to weave their personal experiences into coherent and compelling stories.

If you’re having a hard time, don't worry! 

We’ve compiled a range of narrative essay examples that will serve as helpful tools for you to get started. These examples will provide a clear path for crafting engaging and powerful narrative essays.

So, keep reading and find our expertly written examples!

• 1. Narrative Essay Definition
• 2. Narrative Essay Examples
• 3. Narrative Essay Examples for Students
• 4. Narrative Essay Topics
• 5. Narrative Essay Writing Tips

Narrative Essay Definition

Writing a narrative essay is a unique form of storytelling that revolves around personal experiences, aiming to immerse the reader in the author's world. It's a piece of writing that delves into the depths of thoughts and feelings. 

In a narrative essay, life experiences take center stage, serving as the main substance of the story. It's a powerful tool for writers to convey a personal journey, turning experiences into a captivating tale. This form of storytelling is an artful display of emotions intended to engage readers, leaving the reader feeling like they are a part of the story.

By focusing on a specific theme, event, emotions, and reflections, a narrative essay weaves a storyline that leads the reader through the author's experiences. 

The Essentials of Narrative Essays

Let's start with the basics. The four types of essays are argumentative essays , descriptive essays , expository essays , and narrative essays.

The goal of a narrative essay is to tell a compelling tale from one person's perspective. A narrative essay uses all components you’d find in a typical story, such as a beginning, middle, and conclusion, as well as plot, characters, setting, and climax.

The narrative essay's goal is the plot, which should be detailed enough to reach a climax. Here's how it works:

• It's usually presented in chronological order.
• It has a function. This is typically evident in the thesis statement's opening paragraph.
• It may include speech.
• It's told with sensory details and vivid language, drawing the reader in. All of these elements are connected to the writer's major argument in some way.

Before writing your essay, make sure you go through a sufficient number of narrative essay examples. These examples will help you in knowing the dos and don’ts of a good narrative essay.

It is always a better option to have some sense of direction before you start anything. Below, you can find important details and a bunch of narrative essay examples. These examples will also help you build your content according to the format. 

Here is a how to start a narrative essay example:

Sample Narrative Essay

The examples inform the readers about the writing style and structure of the narration. The essay below will help you understand how to create a story and build this type of essay in no time.

Here is another narrative essay examples 500 words:

Narrative Essay Examples for Students

Narrative essays offer students a platform to express their experiences and creativity. These examples show how to effectively structure and present personal stories for education.

Here are some helpful narrative essay examples:

Narrative Essay Examples Middle School

Narrative Essay Examples for Grade 7

Narrative Essay Examples for Grade 8

Grade 11 Narrative Essay Examples

Narrative Essay Example For High School

Narrative Essay Example For College

Personal Narrative Essay Example

Descriptive Narrative Essay Example

3rd Person Narrative Essay Example

Narrative Essay Topics

Here are some narrative essay topics to help you get started with your narrative essay writing.

• When I got my first bunny
• When I moved to Canada
• I haven’t experienced this freezing temperature ever before
• The moment I won the basketball finale
• A memorable day at the museum
• How I talk to my parrot
• The day I saw the death
• When I finally rebelled against my professor

Need more topics? Check out these extensive narrative essay topics to get creative ideas!

Narrative Essay Writing Tips

Narrative essays give you the freedom to be creative, but it can be tough to make yours special. Use these tips to make your story interesting:

• Share your story from a personal viewpoint, engaging the reader with your experiences.
• Use vivid descriptions to paint a clear picture of the setting, characters, and emotions involved.
• Organize events in chronological order for a smooth and understandable narrative.
• Bring characters to life through their actions, dialogue, and personalities.
• Employ dialogue sparingly to add realism and progression to the narrative.
• Engage readers by evoking emotions through your storytelling.
• End with reflection or a lesson learned from the experience, providing insight.

Now you have essay examples and tips to help you get started, you have a solid starting point for crafting compelling narrative essays.

However, if storytelling isn't your forte, you can always turn to our essay service for help.

Our writers are specialists who can tackle any type of essay with great skill. With their experience, you get a top-quality, 100% plagiarism-free essay everytime.

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Narrative Essay Topics: TOP 200 Choices for Students

Imagine yourself facing a blank page, ready to fill it with your memories and imagination. What story will you tell today?

As students, you often have to write narratives that capture people's attention. But with so many stories to choose from, where do you start? How do you find the perfect topic that will grab our readers' interest and make them think?

Join our essay service experts as we explore 200 topics for college where stories are waiting to be told, and experiences are ready to be shared. From everyday events to unforgettable moments, each topic is a chance to connect with your readers and make them feel something.

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Ideas for Narrative Essay Topics

After exploring how students write narrative paragraphs, we've put together a list of narrative essay topics designed specifically for college and school students. This list covers a wide range of subjects, so pick one that speaks to you! If you want to see how to develop a topic into a written essay, check out our narrative essay example . 

Literacy Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

How about delving into captivating literacy narrative essay topics designed specifically for college-level writing? Exciting, isn't it?

• How did a childhood book shape your view of the world?
• What challenges did you face when learning to read in a second language?
• How has storytelling within your family influenced your literacy journey?
• Can you recall a pivotal moment that ignited your love for reading?
• How did a specific teacher inspire your passion for literature?
• Have you ever encountered a character in a book who profoundly impacted your perspective on life?
• What role did writing play in helping you navigate a difficult period in your life?
• How has your relationship with technology affected your reading habits?
• What cultural or historical event sparked your interest in a particular genre of literature?
• How has poetry shaped your understanding of language and emotion?
• Have you ever experienced a breakthrough moment in your writing process?
• How has reading aloud impacted your comprehension and enjoyment of literature?
• Can you recall a time when a book challenged your beliefs or worldview?
• How has participating in a book club enriched your reading experience?
• What strategies have you developed to overcome reading difficulties or distractions?

Personal Narrative Essay Topics on Relationships

Take a moment to reflect on your past experiences and craft compelling personal narratives with these essay ideas.

• How did a specific friendship shape who you are today?
• Can you recount a moment that strengthened your bond with a family member?
• What challenges have you faced in maintaining a long-distance relationship?
• How has a mentor influenced your personal and professional development?
• Have you experienced a betrayal in a relationship? How did it impact you?
• Can you describe a memorable conflict resolution process within a relationship?
• How has your relationship with a pet affected your emotional well-being?
• What lessons have you learned from navigating a romantic relationship?
• How has your relationship with a sibling evolved over time?
• Can you recall a time when you had to set boundaries in a friendship?
• How has volunteering or community involvement enriched your relationships?
• What cultural differences have influenced your relationships with others?
• Can you share a moment when you felt truly understood by someone?
• How has technology affected the dynamics of your relationships?
• Have you ever experienced a reconciliation that transformed a strained relationship?

Best Narrative Essay Topics on Education and Learning

Consider the beauty of sharing your personal experiences and emotions in a captivating manner through these ideas for personal narrative essays.

• What was the most valuable lesson you learned outside of the classroom?
• Can you recount a moment when a teacher's unconventional method transformed your understanding of a subject?
• How has a field trip or experiential learning opportunity impacted your education?
• What challenges have you faced in balancing extracurricular activities with academics?
• Have you ever had a "Eureka!" moment while studying? Describe it.
• How has learning a new skill outside of school influenced your academic performance?
• Can you recall a time when a peer's perspective challenged your own understanding of a topic?
• How has technology enhanced or hindered your learning experience?
• What role does creativity play in your approach to learning?
• Have you ever experienced a setback that ultimately propelled you forward academically?
• How has your cultural background influenced your learning style?
• Can you describe a time when you had to advocate for yourself within an educational setting?
• How has mentorship shaped your educational journey?
• What strategies have you employed to overcome academic challenges or obstacles?
• Can you reflect on a time when failure taught you a valuable lesson about learning?

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Personal Narrative Essay Ideas on Reflection on Life

Why not ignite your creativity with a range of narrative essay topics, from extraordinary moments to everyday experiences?

• How has a moment of failure ultimately led to personal growth and resilience?
• Can you recount a pivotal decision that significantly altered the course of your life?
• What lessons have you learned from navigating a crossroads or major life transition?
• How has your perspective on success evolved over time?
• Can you reflect on a time when you had to confront and overcome a deeply held fear?
• What role has gratitude played in shaping your outlook on life?
• How have your values and beliefs been influenced by significant life experiences?
• Can you describe a moment when you found clarity and purpose amidst chaos or uncertainty?
• What impact has traveling to a new place had on your understanding of the world and yourself?
• How has adversity strengthened your character and determination?
• Can you recall a time when a random act of kindness profoundly impacted your life?
• What lessons have you learned from embracing vulnerability and authenticity in relationships?
• How has practicing mindfulness or self-reflection enhanced your well-being and happiness?
• Can you reflect on a period of personal transformation or self-discovery?
• How have you found meaning and fulfillment in pursuing your passions and interests?

Ideas for a Narrative Essay on Culture and Society

Engaging your readers with narrative essays on culture and society is a great way to spark interest, offering captivating ideas for exploration.

• How has your family's unique culinary heritage influenced your cultural identity?
• Can you reflect on a specific cultural artifact or heirloom that holds deep significance for your family?
• What challenges have you faced in preserving traditional customs while adapting to modern societal expectations?
• How has a local festival or celebration revealed the intricacies of your community's cultural tapestry?
• Can you recount a moment when you navigated a cultural clash between your upbringing and the dominant culture?
• How has your experience as a first-generation immigrant shaped your understanding of cultural assimilation?
• What lessons have you learned from participating in intercultural exchange programs or initiatives?
• Can you describe a unique cultural practice or tradition within your community that outsiders might find intriguing or misunderstood?
• How has the revitalization of indigenous languages contributed to the preservation of cultural heritage in your region?
• Can you reflect on a personal journey of reconnecting with your cultural roots after a period of assimilation or disconnection?
• What role does storytelling play in passing down cultural wisdom and values within your family or community?
• How has the portrayal of your culture in mainstream media affected your sense of belonging and self-perception?
• Can you recount a moment when you challenged cultural stereotypes through creative expression or advocacy?
• How has the migration of a specific cultural group enriched the social fabric and economic landscape of your community?
• What initiatives or grassroots movements are currently underway to promote cross-cultural understanding and cooperation in your society?

Since you're working on essays, we think it's suitable to suggest you learn more about the case study format , which is another common college assignment.

Narrative Writing Topics on Hobbies and Interests

Wow your readers by turning your passions and hobbies into compelling narrative essay topics that will get them thinking.

• How has your passion for urban gardening transformed neglected spaces in your community?
• Can you recount a thrilling adventure from your hobby of urban exploration?
• What lessons have you learned from restoring vintage motorcycles in your spare time?
• How has your fascination with birdwatching deepened your connection to nature and conservation efforts?
• Can you describe a memorable moment from your hobby of foraging wild edibles in the wilderness?
• What unique skills have you developed through your hobby of beekeeping, and how have they impacted your daily life?
• How has your interest in historical reenactment brought the past to life in unexpected ways?
• Can you reflect on a transformative experience from your hobby of landscape photography?
• What insights have you gained from practicing the art of bonsai cultivation and nurturing miniature ecosystems?
• How has your passion for stargazing inspired awe and wonder in the vastness of the universe?
• Can you recount a challenging project from your hobby of woodworking and the satisfaction it brought upon completion?
• What cultural connections have you discovered through your hobby of traditional folk dancing?
• How has your interest in sustainable fashion influenced your consumer habits and environmental awareness?
• Can you describe a moment of serenity and mindfulness experienced while practicing the art of tea ceremony?
• How has your hobby of letterpress printing preserved the tactile beauty of handmade craftsmanship in a digital age?

Narrative Essay Titles on Life-Changing Moments

Life is full of unexpected twists that can lead to life-changing moments. Take a look at these narrative essay titles for stories that have had a lasting impact on your life.

• How did surviving a natural disaster reshape your perspective on life?
• Can you recall a single conversation that drastically altered the course of your life?
• What was the pivotal moment that inspired you to pursue your dreams against all odds?
• How did a chance encounter lead to a life-changing friendship or partnership?
• Can you reflect on the decision that transformed your career trajectory?
• What profound lesson did you learn from facing a life-threatening illness or injury?
• How did traveling to a new country open your eyes to new possibilities and opportunities?
• Can you recount the moment when you discovered your true passion or calling in life?
• What was the turning point that allowed you to break free from a toxic relationship or environment?
• How did experiencing failure or rejection ultimately lead to personal growth and resilience?
• Can you describe the moment when you found the strength to overcome a deep-seated fear or insecurity?
• What life-changing realization did you have while experiencing a period of solitude or introspection?
• How did a profound act of kindness from a stranger restore your faith in humanity?
• Can you reflect on the moment when you forgave someone who had deeply hurt you, and how it changed your perspective on forgiveness?
• What pivotal decision did you make that allowed you to reclaim control over your own happiness and destiny?

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Good Narrative Topics on Travel and Adventure

Consider creating intriguing titles for your narrative essay ideas by exploring thrilling travel adventures.

• Can you recount a memorable encounter with wildlife during your solo hiking adventure?
• How did a spontaneous decision to explore an unfamiliar city lead to unexpected discoveries?
• What lessons did you learn from navigating a foreign country with only a map and your instincts?
• Can you describe the exhilaration of conquering a challenging mountain peak for the first time?
• How did immersing yourself in a local culture during your travels broaden your perspective on the world?
• What unexpected obstacles did you encounter while embarking on a backpacking journey through rugged terrain?
• Can you reflect on the transformative experience of volunteering abroad in a community-driven project?
• How did getting lost in a labyrinthine city alleyway lead to serendipitous encounters and newfound friendships?
• What was the most memorable meal you had while sampling street food in a bustling market abroad?
• Can you recount the adrenaline rush of participating in an extreme sports activity in a foreign land?
• How did witnessing a breathtaking natural phenomenon during your travels leave a lasting impression on you?
• What cultural traditions or rituals did you participate in during a homestay experience with a local family?
• Can you describe the sense of wonder and awe you felt while exploring ancient ruins or historical sites?
• How did navigating a language barrier challenge and ultimately enrich your travel experience?
• What valuable life lessons did you learn from the mishaps and misadventures encountered during your journey off the beaten path?

Narrative Essay Topic Ideas on Career and Work Experience

College students can uncover captivating narrative essay ideas by exploring potential career paths or reminiscing about past job experiences.

• How did a challenging project at work showcase your problem-solving skills and resilience?
• Can you reflect on a pivotal mentorship experience that guided your career trajectory?
• What valuable lessons did you learn from a career setback or failure, and how did it shape your future success?
• How did a workplace conflict lead to personal growth and improved communication skills?
• Can you recount a moment when taking a professional risk paid off in unexpected ways?
• What insights did you gain from transitioning to a new industry or career path?
• How did participating in a cross-functional team project enhance your collaboration and leadership abilities?
• Can you describe the satisfaction of achieving a long-term career goal after years of hard work and perseverance?
• What impact did a meaningful recognition or award have on your motivation and sense of accomplishment?
• How did volunteering or pro bono work contribute to your professional development and sense of purpose?
• Can you reflect on the decision to leave a stable job in pursuit of passion or fulfillment?
• What strategies did you employ to navigate a toxic work environment and maintain your well-being?
• How did a career setback lead to unexpected opportunities for personal and professional growth?
• Can you describe a moment when mentorship or sponsorship played a crucial role in advancing your career?
• What lessons did you learn from a challenging client or customer interaction, and how did it shape your approach to customer service and relationship-building?

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics about Challenges and Obstacles

If you're not sure what to write about for your narrative essay, think back to the tough times you've had and how you managed to get through them.

• How did you conquer a once-paralyzing fear to chase your dreams?
• What new strengths did you discover while adapting to a physical challenge?
• Can you recall a creative solution you used during a tough financial period?
• When did you bravely stand against injustice, despite opposition?
• How did overcoming a language barrier broaden your horizons?
• What key lessons did you learn from a major setback in your life?
• How did you manage overwhelming stress and responsibilities?
• What inner reserves of resilience did you draw upon after personal loss?
• Describe a time when you defied societal norms to pursue your goals.
• Reflect on a moment when failure fueled your determination for success.
• When did you find the courage to leave your comfort zone behind?
• How did community support bolster you through a challenging time?
• Share a time when self-doubt led to newfound confidence.
• Can you recount a tragedy that spurred your personal growth?
• What insights did overcoming a monumental obstacle reveal about life?

Best Narrative Essay Topics: How to Choose the One That Resonates 

A narrative essay is a type of writing that tells a personal story, including characters, plot, setting, and the order of events. Its main goal is to connect with readers emotionally and share a specific message or insight through the retelling of a meaningful experience.

Students write narrative essays as part of their studies for several reasons. Firstly, it allows them to express themselves creatively by sharing their unique experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Secondly, it helps them develop important writing skills like organizing ideas and thoughts effectively.

Choosing good narrative essay ideas involves looking at personal experiences, interests, and the potential for engaging storytelling. Here's a simple guide to help you pick the right topic:

• Think about significant moments in your life that had a lasting impact, such as personal growth or overcoming challenges.
• Choose topics related to your hobbies, interests, or areas of expertise to make your story more engaging.
• Consider what your audience would be interested in and choose topics that resonate with them.
• Focus on a specific event or detail to make your narrative more focused and impactful.
• Look for universal themes like love or personal transformation that connect with readers on a deeper level.
• Brainstorm ideas and write freely to uncover compelling topics.
• Decide on storytelling techniques like flashbacks or foreshadowing and choose a topic that fits.
• Get feedback from friends, peers, or instructors to see if your topics are interesting and impactful.
• Choose topics that evoke strong emotions for a more compelling narrative.
• Select a topic that you personally connect with to make your story authentic.

Once you've chosen a topic, brainstorm ideas and create an outline for your essay. Follow your professor's instructions carefully and consider seeking help from our narrative essay writing service if needed.

Bring your stories to life with EssayPro. Select from a vast array of narrative essay topics and let our professionals help you weave your tales into captivating essays. Whether it's adventure, reflection, or imagination, we're here to assist.

Final Remarks

As we wrap up, our list of 200 narrative essay topics is here to fuel your creativity for your next writing project! Whether you're sharing a memorable event, reliving a childhood memory, or expressing a profound insight, crafting a narrative essay can be an uplifting experience that resonates deeply with readers.

And if you're gearing up for college admissions, why not check out our admission essay writing service ? We've already assisted countless students in securing their spots at their dream colleges, and we'd love to help you, too!

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Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

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15 Inspiring Personal Narrative Examples for Writers

Reveal a part of yourself in your essay.

Students start writing personal narratives at a young age, learning to use descriptive language to tell a story about their own experiences. Try sharing these personal narrative examples for elementary, middle, and high school to help them understand this essay form.

What is a personal narrative?

Think of a narrative essay like telling a story. Use descriptive language, and be sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. The essay should recount your personal experiences, including your thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Learn more about personal narrative essays here:

• What Is Narrative Writing, and How Do I Teach It in the Classroom?
• Engaging Personal Narrative Ideas for Kids and Teens
• Best Mentor Texts for Narrative Writing in Elementary School

Elementary School Personal Narrative Examples

In elementary school, personal narratives might be quite short, just a paragraph or two. The key is to encourage kids to embrace a personal style of writing, one that speaks in their own voice. Take a look at these elementary school personal narrative essay examples for inspiration.

The Horrible Day

“next i fell asleep in my cereal and my brother stole my toast”—anonymous student.

In this short personal narrative written by a 2nd grader, the author describes a bad day with lots of details and an informal tone. It’s a great model for your youngest writers.

Read the full essay: The Horrible Day at Thoughtful Learning

Keep an Eye on the Sky!

“as we made our way out to the field, my stomach slowly turned into a giant knot of fear.” —anonymous student.

Any student who dreads gym class will connect with this essay, which turns a challenge into a triumph. This narrative from Time for Kids is annotated, with highlighted details and tips to help kids write their own essay.

Read the full essay: Keep an Eye on the Sky! at Time for Kids

Grandpa, Chaz, and Me

“i really miss grandpa, and so does my brother, even though he never met him.” —cody, 4th grade student.

Written by a 4th grader, this essay relates the author’s loss of a grandfather at a very young age. Using simple, personal language, they tell a compelling story in a few short paragraphs.

Read the full essay: Grandpa, Chaz, and Me at Thoughtful Learning

Surviving an Embarrassing Situation

“i had made the shot in the wrong basket, giving the green shirts the win” —anonymous student.

Personal narratives tell a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. This annotated essay outlines those parts, making it easier for young writers to do the same in their own writing.

Read the full essay: Surviving an Embarrassing Situation at Sopris West Educational Services

“Do you have a friend who loves you?” —Kendra, 4th grade student

Writing about friends gives writers the chance to describe someone’s physical characteristics and personality. This 4th grade essay uses personal details to bring a beloved friend to life.

Read the full essay: Ann at Thoughtful Learning

Middle School Personal Narrative Examples

By middle school, personal narratives are longer and more involved, telling more detailed stories and experiences. These middle school personal narrative essay examples model strong writing skills for this age group.

“As thoughts of certain death run through my mind, the world appears a precious, treasured place.” —Amy, student

Describing an opportunity to overcome your worst fears makes an excellent personal narrative topic. The vivid descriptions of the landscape and the author’s feelings help the reader make a strong connection to the author.

Read the full essay: The Climb at Thoughtful Learning

The Best Friend Question

“i’ve often wondered, does not having a best friend make me defective” —blanche li, age 13, diablo vista middle school, danville, california.

When her Spanish teacher asked students for an essay describing their best friend, 13-year-old Blanche Li fell back on her standard story: that of a made-up person. Here, she explains why she made up “Haley” and wonders what having an imaginary best friend says about her.

Read the full essay: The Best Friend Question at The New York Times

The Racist Warehouse

“i didn’t know racism was still around; i thought that situation had died along with dr. king.” —alicia, 8th grade student.

Strong personal narratives often relate the way the author learned an important life lesson. Here, an 8th grader describes her first experience with racism, in an essay that will sadly ring true with many readers.

Read the full essay: The Racist Warehouse at Thoughtful Teaching

“For the first time, we realized that we didn’t know how to express our voice, and we always suppressed it.” —Jocelyn C., 7th grade student, Texas

Seventh-grader Jocelyn C. describes the unique experience of spending two years living in an RV with her family, traveling the country. She relates the ups and downs of their trip, illustrating the way her family learned to live together in close quarters and embrace the adventure.

Read the full essay: RV Journey at Write From the Heart

An Eight Pound Rival

“i’m trying to accept that he didn’t mean to dominate the center stage all the time, that’s just one of the many lovable assets of his personality.”.

A new sibling can change everything in a family, especially when you’ve always been the baby. This middle schooler explains her challenging relationship with a little brother that she loves, even when he drives her a bit crazy. (Find this essay on page 42 at the link.)

Read the full essay: An Eight Pound Rival at Teaching That Makes Sense

High School Personal Narrative Examples

High school students have more complex stories to tell, though they’re sometimes reluctant to do so. Reading personal narrative essay examples like these can encourage them to open up and get their thoughts, feelings, and ideas down on the page.

Sorry, Wrong Number

“when i received the first text, i was a playful sixth grader, always finding sly ways to be subversive in school and with friends.” —michelle ahn, high school student.

When Michelle Ahn was 11, she started getting texts for a wrong number, a man named Jared. Rather than correcting the error, she spends the next few years occasionally engaging with his texters as “Jared,” learning more about him. Though she finally comes clean, her time as “Jared” exposes her to a way of life very different from her own, and opens her eyes to the inner lives of others.

Read the full essay: Sorry, Wrong Number at The New York Times

Caught in the Net

“little does everyone else know how often i’m not doing school research or paper writing; instead i’m aimlessly writing emails or chatting with internet friends and family hundreds of miles away.” —kim, college student.

Even before social media and smartphones swept the world, internet addiction had become a problem. Here, a student shares her experiences in AOL chat rooms, meeting people from around the globe. Eventually, she realizes she’s sacrificing life in the real world for her digital friends and experiences, and works to find the right balance.

Read the full essay: Caught in the Net at Thoughtful Learning

Nothing Extraordinary

“an uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. i tried to push it out, but once it took root it refused to be yanked up and tossed away.” —jeniffer kim, high school student.

During an ordinary shopping trip, high schooler Jenniffer Kim suddenly realizes she’s ashamed of her mother. At the same time, she recognizes all the sacrifices her mom has made for her, and gladly takes the chance to make a tiny sacrifice of her own.

Read the full essay: Nothing Extraordinary at The New York Times

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

“at this point in life, i had not yet learned to be gentle with myself, or others.” —anonymous student.

A teen who lives with bipolar disorder recounts a difficult conversation with her parents, in which her mother dismisses her as “crazy.” A few years later, this same teen finds herself in the emergency room, where her mother has just tried to die by suicide. “Crazy!” the daughter thinks. After her mother also receives a bipolar disorder diagnosis, the author concludes, “‘Crazy’ is a term devised to dismiss people.”

Read the full essay: The Pot Calling the Kettle Black at Pressbooks

What a Black Woman Wishes Her Adoptive White Parents Knew

“i know that i am different, but do not have the words to understand how.” —mariama lockington.

Though not written by a high schooler, this essay by Mariama Lockington makes an excellent mentor text for this age group. Lockington dives deep into her feelings about being adopted by parents of a different race, and shares her challenges in poignant language that speaks directly to the reader.

Read the full essay: What a Black Woman Wishes Her Adoptive White Parents Knew at Buzzfeed News

Do you use personal narrative examples as mentor texts in your classroom? Come share your experiences and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook !

Plus, strong persuasive writing examples (essays, speeches, ads, and more) ..

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The Metro West Refined Project in Sydney

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International Trades Simulation Analysis

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Metro Sexuality: Term Definition

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The company under consideration, ROBoInc., experiences specific difficulties resulting from the improper organizational structure and culture. Due to their intention to expand the scope of business activity and the existing issues, global market penetration would be possible only in the case if the CEO solves all of the problems. Therefore,...

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The Korean Wave: Transnationality and Hybridity

Korean popular culture has infiltrated the global arena of entertainment. Millions of fans worldwide have an obsession with Korean media, including TV programs (K-dramas), films, and music (K-pop). Korea has managed to leap forward far beyond the expectations some might have had for a small East Asian nation. As of...

The Lisu People’s Beliefs Concerning Mission Work

Introduction This essay will explore the similarities and differences between Christianity and the religion of the Lisu people, a small ethnic group from China. Animism and ancestor worship are the cornerstones of the Lisu people’s distinctive belief system, accentuating the existence of spirits and immortality (Liu, 2019). Contrarily, Christianity is...

Individual Power in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

“Behind every great fortune lies a great crime.” This line from Honore de Balzac relates to the main conflict in Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” which is the struggle for individual agency in a conformist society. The protagonists in this play, which is set in late 19th-century Norway, struggle with...

Fort Matanzas National Monument in Architecture

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IKEA: SWOT, McKinsey 7S, Porter’s Diamond Analyses

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The Nature of Personality

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Cognitive Neuroscience of Executive Function Concept

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• Organizational Behavior
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Use of Anonymous Sources in Journalism: Positive and Negative Outcomes

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How City Changes and Gentrification Excludes People

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Analysis of Municipality of Lubao

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British Airways: Corporate Social Responsibility

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The Issue of Racial Equality in Healthcare

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The literary style of Earnest Hemingway, Nobel laureate in 1954, is direct, terse, and often monotonous, yet suited to elemental subject matters. His fiction and short stories usually focus on people living essential, dangerous lives, controlling the pain and difficulty of their existence, with stoic courage. Hemingway’s characters plainly embody...

Professional Association Membership

The creation and membership in professional organizations is a common practice in various fields as they contribute to the development of the skills of participants and the system of their work in general. However, nursing associations are especially important and necessary because people’s life depends on constant communication and obtaining...

The Drug Abuse in the U.S. Navy: The Problem Analysis

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Arterial Dysfunction: The Nursing Practice

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Heroin Distribution and Its Use Within the United States

In the past two decades, the United States has been facing an escalation in abuse of opioids, primarily heroin. According to Congressional Research Service, in 2016, approximately 0.4% of the U.S. population older than 12 years old reported having used heroin in the past year (2). Besides, the majority of...

The Role of the Model in Sequencing

Data modeling is important in the establishment of trends of a given data set. The mathematical models can be used forecast the future implications of a given data and therefore help in planning effectively. Raw data from research might not display any particular consistent trend but can fit at least...

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Role of Leadership Style in Organizational Change

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AI in Customer Service: Argument Flaws

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The West Park Cultural Center’s Performance Analysis

West Park Cultural Center is a non-profit making organization based in Philadelphia. It mainly focuses on ethnic and cultural programs, thus considered as a charity organization. It uses arts and culture as a vital tool in programs that help young people and youths handle and progress in their creative and...

Perfect Outdoor Music Venue After Covid-19

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VITAS Healthcare: Program Evaluation Proposal

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In the frames of the current journalistic trends, the participative approach to writing prevails, allowing authors to express their personal attitude to the events. Willis (2003) noted that “What you give up in terms of arms-length objectivity, you more than gain in terms of understanding and empathy” (p. 21). The...

Language Development from Psychological Perspective

How can the study of aphasia patients advance our knowledge of language processing and language development? According to Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams (2011), aphasia is “the neurological term for any language disorder that results from brain damage caused by disease or trauma” (p. 6). People with aphasia rarely experience total...

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Professional Development of Nurses

The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) report has become a document that offers the most comprehensive range of recommendations and changes for improving and transforming healthcare. Its main points are aimed at reforming the education and practice of nurses since they are the most numerical in medicine and have the broadest...

Gregory Jerralds on Increasing Self’s Profitability

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The Fall of The Roman Empire: The Main Reasons

The Roman Empire is variably described as one of the most powerful empire the world had ever seen and was characterized by a republican form of Government and existed across Europe and spread all over the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire in many ways describes the Roman states starting with Emperor...

Organizational Behavior Motivation of Employees

Motivation is the enthusiasm to apply high levels of effort towards the goals of an organization, trained by the skill to satisfy an employee’s needs. In most organizations, the management views employee motivation as a fruitful technique to increase employee productivity. When employees get motivated, they try to strive even...

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Speech about COVID-19: Data and Statistics

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Mass Rapes Committed by the Soviet Army in the Axis Countries

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The Effects of Air Pollution

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Today’s markets experience an accelerated pace of change which has brought about a shift in the nature of business organizations. Most firms have shunned the old hierarchical model, with its clean functional divisions and clear lines of authority, and adopted flatter, less bureaucratic structures. They encourage the concept of flexibility...

Strategic Role of Human Resources in Health Care

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Free Essays by Words

Writing Program at New College

Assignments - literacy narrative (1000 - 1500 words).

A Literacy Narrative is a type of autobiographical essay –“The Art of Eating Spaghetti,” for example – that focuses on personal experiences with literacy (speaking, writing, reading, and the like) in order to confirm the importance of these rhetorical experiences in a person’s life.

Begin by recalling a rhetorical moment from your life. Think back and reflect on significant situations that helped develop you as a reader and/or writer. Think about who helped you learn about and/or appreciate reading and writing. Think about particular experiences that effected how you thought about reading and writing.

Finding your Focus

Above all, try to recall a moment in your life when speaking, reading, writing, and the like had a big impact on your life. Answer the following questions to get you thinking:

• What is your earliest memory of reading and writing?
• How did you learn to read and write? Did you ever teach anyone else to read or write?
• Who encouraged you to read and write?
• What events interrupted and/or slowed down your ability and/or desire to read and write?
• Did you apply literacy skills to other content areas: sports, music, video games, etc.?
• What kinds of reading have you done in your past and what kinds of reading to you do now?
• What teachers had a particular impact on your reading and writing?
• What assignments had a particular impact on your reading and writing?
• Have different schools or other institutions had an impact on your reading and writing?
• How do you currently feel about reading and writing?
• What rewards have come from reading and writing?
• Did a special or important event from your past make you the reader and/or writer you are today?
• Was there a moment or moments that were especially empowering?
• Did you ever read a book or poem or song that made sense to you beyond the words on the page?

Organizing your Ideas

Discuss these questions with members of the class, and then post responses to at least seven (7) of the questions to Blackboard. The completion of this WTL assignment will provide you with more information about what to pursue for the writing assignment. As you look over this profile of your writing history, consider what “argument” or “so what” point will guide your literacy narrative. For example, you may learn that while you failed or did poorly on a certain assignment, this grade motivated you to work more diligently on your writing skills.

Writing Program

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Tiny Memoir Contest for Students: Write a 100-Word Personal Narrative

From Oct. 4 to Nov. 1, we invite teenagers to tell a true story about a meaningful life experience in just 100 words.

By The Learning Network

Update, Jan. 17: Winners have been announced!

Can you tell a meaningful and interesting true story from your life in just 100 words? That’s the challenge we posed to teenagers last fall with our first-ever 100-Word Personal Narrative Contest, a storytelling form popularized by Modern Love’s Tiny Love Stories series .

The answer, we discovered, was a resounding yes , so we’re bringing it back for a second year.

We’re not asking you to write to a particular theme or to use a specific structure or style, but we are looking for short, powerful stories about a particular moment or event in your life. We want to hear your story, told in your unique voice, and we hope you’ll experiment with style and form to tell a tale that matters to you, in a way you enjoy telling it.

And, yes, it’s possible to do all that in only 100 words. For proof, just look at last year’s 13 winning entries . We also have a step-by-step guide full of advice that is grounded in 25 excellent 100-word mentor texts, as well as a rehearsal space , published for last year’s contest, that has over 1,000 student-written mini memoirs. Because that space was so successful, we’re keeping it open for this year’s contest. We hope students will use it to get inspiration, experiment and encourage each other.

Take a look at the full guidelines and related resources below. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at [email protected]. And, consider hanging this PDF one-page announcement on your class bulletin board.

Here’s what you need to know:

Resources for teachers and students, frequently asked questions, submission form.

Please read these rules carefully before submitting an entry. You can find more details in the Frequently Asked Questions section below.

Your tiny memoir should be a short, powerful, true story about a meaningful experience from your own life.

It must be 100 words or fewer, not including the title.

You must be a student ages 13 to 19 in middle school or high school to participate, and all students must have parent or guardian permission to enter. Please see the F.A.Q. section for additional eligibility details.

The work should be fundamentally your own — it should not be plagiarized, written by someone else or generated by artificial intelligence.

Your piece should also be original for this contest, meaning, it should not have been published anywhere else at the time of submission, such as in a school newspaper.

Keep your audience in mind. You’re writing for a family newspaper, so, for example, no curse words, please.

Only one entry per student is allowed. And while many of our contests allow students to work in teams, for this one you must work alone.

New for 2023 : As part of your submission, you must also submit an “artist’s statement” that describes your process. These statements, which will not be used to choose finalists, help us to design and refine our contests. See the F.A.Q. below to learn more.

All entries must be submitted by Nov. 1, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific using the submission form at the bottom of this post. Entries submitted via the comments section will not be read by our judges.

How do you write a tiny memoir? Check out these helpful resources:

The winners of our first 100-word narrative contest : Read the 13 teen-written memoirs that were selected from more than 12,000 entries.

A step-by-step guide for writing a 100-word narrative : This guide walks you through six steps, from reading examples of tiny memoirs, to brainstorming your own meaningful life moments, to writing and editing your final piece.

Writing prompts: Our step-by-step guide has a related PDF full of prompts to help students brainstorm “meaningful moments” from their lives. If those aren’t enough, you can find many more questions to inspire you in our updated list of 525 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing .

Two “rehearsal spaces” for teenagers to experiment: Last year, we published a student forum asking, “ What Story From Your Life Can You Tell in 100 Words? ” In it, we lead students through a few questions, and provide a few examples, to show them how. Because that space already has over 1,000 comments, we’re keeping it open for students to use again this year. This year we’re asking “ What Small Moments From Your Life Do You Think About Often? ” and are again inviting our audience to use it as a place to brainstorm topics and try out techniques, as well as find inspiration and encouragement for their writing.

Two lesson plans inspired by Times columns that tell tiny stories: Our main inspiration for this contest is Tiny Love Stories , a series from the Modern Love column that invites readers to submit 100-word stories about relationships. Here is a lesson plan that can help you teach and learn with this column. You can also find short memoirs in the Metropolitan Diary column , where readers submit tales about New York City. Here is a lesson plan and a writing prompt you can use to teach and learn with that feature.

A lesson plan on fixing wordy writing — in your personal narratives, or anywhere else.

A personal narrative writing unit : This unit includes mentor texts, writing prompts, lesson plans, videos and on-demand webinars that teach the skills essential for any kind of narrative writing. (Yes, they were developed for our original narrative contest, but the tips for making your writing shine apply to this format too.)

Our contest rubric : These are the criteria we will use to judge this contest. Keep them handy to make sure your piece meets all of the qualifications before entering.

Still have questions? Post your query in the comments or write to us at [email protected].

QUESTIONS ABOUT WRITING

What is a personal narrative?

A personal narrative is an essay about an experience from your life. It is a type of nonfiction writing, which means that whatever you choose to write about should be true. And keep in mind the “personal” in personal narrative; you should tell your own story, not someone else’s.

Personal narratives can take many different forms, but for this contest, we’re asking you to tell a story . That means you should focus on a particular moment. There should be a clear narrative arc — a beginning, a middle and an end — that is driven by a conflict of some kind, which eventually gets resolved or spurs an attempt at an ongoing life change.

Keep in mind, however, that any story from your life can work. It doesn’t have to be the most dramatic thing that has ever happened to you; it can, instead, be about baking brownies with your brother, or a conversation you had on Tuesday’s bus ride to school. What matters is that readers understand why this moment was meaningful to you and perhaps take away some greater meaning or message they can relate to.

Yes, all this can all be done even in 100 words, and our step-by-step guide , and last year’s winners , can show you how.

How can I make my 100-word narrative stand out?

While we are asking you to write your personal narrative in the form of a story, we’re not asking you to use a particular structure, style or tone. We hope this is where you’ll have fun.

We want to hear your story, told in your unique voice — with the words and phrases you use in your everyday life and your specific sense of humor and emotion. You might experiment with technique, such as dropping your reader into a scene, using details to show instead of tell, integrating dialogue purposefully, or trying out creative storytelling forms (read last year’s winning story “ Baby Tim ” to see what we mean).

And remember, with only 100 words to tell your story, every word matters. The editors of Tiny Love Stories suggest approaching your piece as you would a poem, playing with sound, punctuation, sentence length and repetition to make each syllable count.

You can find examples of all of these writing moves and more in last year’s winning essays , as well as in our step-by-step guide for writing a 100-word narrative and our personal narrative writing unit .

I don’t know what to write about. Where should I start?

Everyone has a story to tell. Don’t believe us? Take a look at last year’s winning mini memoirs to see the range of topics — big and small, serious and lighthearted, emotional and laugh-out-loud funny — that students wrote about.

Then you might respond to some writing prompts that get you thinking about meaningful moments from your own life. Start with our student forum “ What Story From Your Life Can You Tell in 100 Words? ” and this PDF of prompts taken from our step-by-step guide. For more inspiration, scroll through our list of 525 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing that includes questions about childhood memories, friendship, travel, social media, food, sports, school and more.

After you’ve responded to a few questions or categories that interest you, you might choose one that you enjoyed writing about to turn into your final memoir.

Where can I find examples of personal narratives in The Times?

The Times is full of personal narratives — on life , love , family , rites of passage , our animal friends , living with disabilities and navigating anxiety .

For examples of mini memoirs like the ones we’re asking you to write for this contest, look at Tiny Love Stories , a series from the Modern Love column that invites readers to submit 100-word stories about relationships, or Metropolitan Diary , a long-running column of short reader tales from New York City.

Plus, there are the winners of our first-ever 100-Word Personal Narrative Contest and our traditional Student Personal Narrative Contest from 2021 , 2020 and 2019 .

QUESTIONS ABOUT JUDGING

How will my 100-word narrative be judged?

Your work will be read by New York Times journalists as well as by Learning Network staff members and educators from around the United States. We will use this rubric to judge entries.

What’s the prize?

Having your work published on The Learning Network and being eligible to be chosen to have your work published in the print editions of The New York Times.

When will the winners be announced?

We plan to announce winners in early January 2024.

My essay wasn’t selected as a winner. Can you tell me why?

We typically receive thousands of entries for our contests, so unfortunately, our team does not have the capacity to provide individual feedback on each student’s essay.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RULES

Why are you asking for an Artist’s Statement about our process this year? What will you do with it?

All of us who work on The Learning Network are former teachers. One of the many things we miss, now that we work in a newsroom rather than a classroom, is being able to see how students are reacting to our “assignments” in real time — and to offer help, or tweaks, to make those assignments better. We’re asking you to reflect on what you did and why, and what was hard or easy about it, in large part so that we can improve our contests and the curriculum we create to support them.

Another reason? We have heard from many teachers that writing these statements is immensely helpful to students. Stepping back from a piece and trying to put into words what you wanted to express, and why and how you made artistic choices to do that, can help you see your piece anew and figure out how to make it stronger. For our staff, they offer important context that help us understand individual students and submissions, and learn more about the conditions under which kids around the world create.

We won’t be using your statements to choose our finalists, or publishing them alongside the winning work. Instead, they will strictly be for our staff to read. If we later decide to post something about student process using these statements, we will ask for your permission before quoting you. In other words, this is fairly informal; just be yourself and be honest in telling us as much as you can about how you worked and why.

Who is eligible to participate in this contest?

This contest is open to students ages 13 to 19 who are in middle school or high school around the world. College students cannot submit an entry. However, high school students (including high school postgraduate students) who are taking one or more college classes can participate. Students attending their first year of a two-year CEGEP in Quebec Province can also participate. In addition, students age 19 or under who have completed high school but are taking a gap year or are otherwise not enrolled in college can participate.

The children and stepchildren of New York Times employees are not eligible to enter this contest. Nor are students who live in the same household as those employees.

My piece was published in my school newspaper. Can I submit it to this contest?

No. We ask that your 100-word narrative be original for this contest. Please don’t submit anything you have already had published at the time of submission, whether in a school newspaper, for another contest or anywhere else.

Whom can I contact if I have questions about this contest or am having issues submitting my entry?

Leave a comment on this post or write to us at [email protected].

QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING WITH THIS CONTEST

I’m a teacher. What resources do you have to help me teach with this contest?

Start with our step-by-step guide for entering this contest and take a look at last year’s winning entries .

We also have a full unit plan for personal narrative writing . It includes writing prompts, mentor texts, lesson plans and on-demand webinars that teach the narrative writing skills essential for this contest.

Do my students need a New York Times subscription to access these resources?

Students can get free access to Times pieces through The Learning Network . All the activities for students on our site, including mentor texts and writing prompts, plus the Times articles they link to, are free. Students can search for articles using the search tool on our home page.

However, if you are interested in learning more about school subscriptions, visit this page .

This contest is closed.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personal Experience — Personal Narrative (750 Words): My Love for Space Exploration

Personal Narrative (750 Words): My Love for Space Exploration

• Categories: Personal Experience Personal Goals

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Published: Mar 17, 2023

Words: 747 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

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