Guidelines:
Essay Project #1 should be 500 words in length, double spaced, typed in a 12pt font (Times New Roman), and formatted in MLA style.
Definitions:
This assignment may still be unclear. Here are some definitions to help clarify this assignment:
In a narrative, you recount an event or story in order to explain some insight or truth gained from an experience. The writer who narrates tells a story to make a point—your first trip alone, the passing of a family member, a fight with a parent. An expository narrative has a point, a lesson, or a message to impart to the reader through telling a story or recounting an event and framing it with analysis.
When you want to explain what happened, you will need to tell the story in some kind of chronological order, putting the most important events—I took the wrong turn, I entered the funeral parlor, she yelled at me—in the most prominent position. When you want to give the texture of the experience, you will need to select words and images that help your readers see, hear, and feel what happened, sensory details—the road snaked to a dead end, the crowd thundered into applause, the sunshine softened our scowls. When you show and tell in this way, you can help your readers see the meaning of the experience you want to convey.
It is the inclusion of a lesson that distinguishes the expository narrative essay from merely narrative description of events. Expository narrativeessays feature a lesson or clear message that is shown to the reader through the recounting of events or information. This analytical purpose is stated in the thesis statement in the beginning of the essay. The lesson or message is then supported/explained/proved/demonstrated in the body paragraphs. It is finally restated in the conclusion of the experience.
Essay Structure:
In your essay, please include:
- Thesis Statement: Identifies what you are trying to explain, show, prove, or argue in your narrative essay. States what you learned from your experience. States the lesson you will impart to the reader. States the points you will make in the body to support the thesis.
- Body Paragraphs: Develop the narration of the one event using time order. Please follow PIE form for each paragraph. The topic sentence should state the point you will illustrate to support the thesis. The informative section of your paragraph should include specific details of the event, including who was involved, what happened, where it happened, and when it happened. This portion of the paragraph will include the sensory details. The explanation portion of the paragraphs will explain what you were thinking and feeling as the events took place and will tie the information back to the topic sentence and thesis statement.
- Conclusion: Re-emphasizes the lesson learned and the message of the story you’ve told in your narrative essay. At the end of the conclusion, include a general statement to impart the lesson to the reader.