Narrative Writing: Story Elements and Structure

Narrative Writing

• Tells a fictional story, a real-life story, or an essay based on a personal experience.
• Can be anecdotal, experimental, and personal.
• Movies and YouTube videos can be samples of narrative essays.

Story Elements

• Setting
• Theme
• Plot
• Mood
• Characters

Effective Narrative Essay

• A thesis is in the introduction.
• Transition sentences connect events and guide the reader.
• A conclusion ends the story with a moral, prediction, or revelation.

Narrative Hook

• It is the opening of the essay that grabs attention and sets the mood.
• Essential for setting the stage and creating interest.

Thesis

• Expresses the main idea and structure of the essay.
• In a narrative essay, it introduces the action within the first paragraph.

The Body

• Contains the supporting information, which is the plot.
• Plot sequence can be arranged in numerous ways, like chronological order.

Transitional Sentence

• Gives the story unity and allows the reader to follow the action more easily.
• Signals the end of a paragraph and provides a link to the next.

The Conclusion

• Should include a brief statement of the main point.
• Can deliver the moral of the story or make a prediction about future events.

Descriptive Writing

• An important communication skill that uses vivid descriptions.
• Applies to the five senses.
• Can be objective (informative and factual) or subjective (blended with exposition or narration).

Spatial Order

• Arrangement of items according to their physical position or relationship.

Topic Sentence

• The controlling idea gives an overall impression.

Supporting Sentences

• Provide details that make the writing exciting and interesting.

Paragraph Unity

• All sentences must discuss one single idea or main subject.
• Paragraphs should be concise, unified, and coherent.

Classification Essay Essay

• A method of story development where a large group is broken down into subgroups or classifications
• The purpose is to sort ideas according to shared characteristics.
• Can be classified into more than one category, but focuses on one basis.
• Consists of the topic and the basis of classification.

Transitional Expressions

• Categories or types can be used to break down larger concepts.
• Examples are: "can be divided", "can be classified", "the first type", etc.
• Organizes things into categories and give examples of things that fit.

Classification Criteria

• It is necessary to decide on the classification criteria before writing.
• Criteria must be discriminating and non-overlapping.

Organization

• Develops a general statement (topic sentence) with specific examples.

Exemplification/Illustration

• Explains a general statement using narrowed details or specific examples.

Comparison and Contrast Essay

• Analyzes two subjects by comparing, contrasting, or both.
• Evaluates the similarities and differences between two subjects.
• Purpose is to illuminate subtle differences or unexpected similarities.
• The thesis should clearly state the subjects and what is to be learned.

Transitional Expressions

• Are used in comparison, such as "in the same way," "and," etc.

Basis of Comparison

• Requires having a specific basis, a common point of comparison or contrast.

Techniques

• These include alternating and block methods.

Combination Method

• Uses the alternating method and the block method in writing a comparison and contrast essay.

Cause and Effect

• Explores the relationship between events and their results.
• A cause instigates an effect, an effect is a result of one or more causes.

Cause-and-Effect Paragraph Development

• Explains why a situation happened, the consequences, or both.

Essay Writing

• Should depend on the chosen topic.
• Should consider the audience and choose a relatable topic.
• Point should be clear and concise.

Cause and Effect

• Audiences should be relatable to topics, and the content should be clear and concise.

Thesis Statement

• Last sentence of the introduction that controls the ideas.

Topic Sentence

• First sentence of each body paragraph introducing the main point.

Persuasive Writing

• Are likely to persuade a person to believe or do a particular thing.
• The writers opinion is written as plain fact.

Persuasive Essay

• Presents a personal point of view on a topic and encourages a certain action or decision.
• Focuses mainly on personal perspective, while an argumentative essay presents opposing viewpoints.

Argumentative Writing

• Aims to have the reader acknowledge that one side is valid
• Offers relevant reasons, credible facts, and evidence.
• Researches a topic and aligns with one side.
• Acknowledges opposing views.

Persuasive Writing

• Gets the reader to agree.
• Blends facts and emotion.
• Identifies a topic and one's side.
• Aims for a single-minded goal.

Argumentative

• Gets the reader to consider an idea.
• Simply to get the reader to consider you have an idea worthy of listening to.
• Involves sharing a conviction.

Persuasive

• Persuades the reader.
• Desires gaining another "vote" so they "go after" readers more aggressively.
• More personal, passionate, and emotional.

Persuasive Essays

• Express an opinion and side.
• Discuss main points in separate paragraphs.
• Provide enough explanation to support the points.
• Use facts or credible evidence to strengthen the points.
• Emphasize the opinion and persuade readers.

Well Written Text

• Must cover ONE main TOPIC.
• Should contain a TOPIC sentence, supporting details and a concluding sentence that focus on one idea.

Main Idea Identification

• Identify the MAIN idea and the point of paragraphs
• Should identify the MAIN point in the paragraph
• Can't be to general or too specific

Unity

• Achieve when ideas are logically and accurately arranged with focus on the arrangement of ideas, evidences, or details in a definite order in a paragraph or essay.

Consistent Writing

• Consistent in the use of tenses ■Consistent in point of view (First, Second, and Third person point of view)
• Consistent use of persons of pronouns
• Consistent use of subject ■Consistent use of Voice (Active or Passive voice)
• Consistent use of mood (Indicative and Subjunctive Moods)
• Consistent use of Language

Coherence in a Paragraph

• All the ideas flow smoothly from one sentence to the next sentence.
• The reader can see that everything is logically arranged and connected, and relevance to the central' focus is maintained throughout

Achieving Sentence Coherence

• Avoid misplaced and dangling modifiers.
• Thesis statements establish both the relationship between the ideas and the order in which the material will be presented.
• The thesis statement serves as a guide in developing a coherent argument.
• In the thesis statement, the material is not being described, you are taking a specific position

Narrative Paragraphs

• Tell A story, and follow chronological time.
• Has chronological order, where are events are ordered according to time

Descriptive Paragraphs

Describe what something looks like Physically

• uses Spatial ordering

Expository Paragraphs

• Explains something by logical ordering
• Supporting sentences follow in a logical pattern such as chronological, the writer tells what happened first, second, third etc, or spatial and details are arranged according to how things fit together in a Physical space.

Imagery

• Uses imagery to create something that has various parts
• Ideas are grouped together and each group discussed accordingly

Cohesion

• All the supporting sentences connect to each-other and the topic sentence
• When writing paragraphs and essays, grammar and spelling are important, as are paragraph transitions
• transitional words and phrases connect.

Transitions in a Paragraph

A Paragraph's transitions suggest a particular relationship between one idea and the next;

Mechanics, Cohesion and Unity

• Should be a unity of ideas in a paragraph
• there Is a connection of ideas on a sentence level
• "Did it use Transitions?"
• Did it use Pronouns Properley?"

Cohesive Device

• linking words, linkers, connectors, discourse markers, or transitional words.
• show the relationship between paragraphs or sections of text Or speach

Mechanics

The small parts of writing stick everything together to ensure that everything makes sense and that emphasis is placed where is it to Be.

Components of mechanics

• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Spelling

List Punctuation

• Comma; To separate items in a s series or separate causes joined by conjunctions (by, and, but, yet, for Semicolon;:Link two independent clauses with no connecting words Colon; Introduces a formal list

Capitalisation

• Always Capitalise the first letter in a seatence
• Captilise proper nouns, the pronoun "|", professional titles when used before a personal name , academic titles and their abbreviations when they follow a personal name
• Capitalise brand names
• Days of the week, months, holidays

Tools to improve writing

• Make of list of common errors
• Refer to frequent errors and carefully read for correctness
• Read the paper out loud to identify problem areas.

Claim definition

• An arguable statement that defines a goal
• A statement that is the central statement of text where a writer ties to prove their points by providing details and explanations and evidence

Good Claim

• Argumentative and debatable, specific and focused, interesting and engaging ,Logical

Vocabulary

• Explicit: Stated clearly with no room for doubt
• Implicit: Implied thou not plainly expressed

Explicit claim

• Directly precisely stated analysing What a writer is trying to claim
• Can be linked with the word "because"

Implicit claim

• Net Directly state and can be retrieved by leading between the links
• Normally found in key assumptions and context
• Assumptions often infer values,and values are dependent ontext
• the explicit information is in the text and dues note need clue sto understand, but the implicit takes understanding
• When finding claims. state source thesis accurately

Type of claim: Fact Based

• A statement that exsists in the past or present / Future
• IS use dot support Factual evidence, be verified

Claims of Value. claims Examine the Topic in terms of 'better for' or is unethical that and more Beautiful Than Claims are often a statement of concept or idea. a value will depend your value judgements on given claims/ concept

Claim of Policy claims provide a solution to the issues

• Should support an action, or not support the option
• These claims indicates that an adtion should be carrries our regardless
• Leads to essays that evaluate

Hyperlink

• allow users to click their way from one piece of information, usually in blue of underlined when the cursor is hovered over these links a hand will be shown
• According to Natalya Sinitskaya hyperkinks offer active interaction, and requires: non sequential reading, critical reading. leader focused encounter with Collaboration w author, manipulation skills

Text Navigation Skills

Required for using Hyperlink includes Accessing and browsing information and orientating

Claims of Value

• Attempt to prove an action. bellef OR condition is right OR wrong, good OR bad, etc.
• A Claim that uses and is used With a scale of Values against competing Values depending on personal value