Narrative Writing - Borah High School

Name ____________________________________________________ Period ______ Date ________________________
Points & Due Dates
Narrative Writing
Quarter 1 Formal District Assignment
English 11
1. 25 points This packet + all related lessons sheets
(stapled and attached) Wednesday, Oct. 3
2. 25 points Rough Draft of Your Narrative due: Tuesday, Oct. 9
Rough Draft means in draft form, typed as far as you have gotten, showing MLA format. The
purpose of a rough draft is to help you write an effective essay and earn as high a grade as
possible. We will check for MLA format, grammar and spelling, story flow, story elements,
sentence structure, and details.
Late drafts might be seen by the teacher, but will receive no credit, as it misses the
entire point of bringing in a draft.
3. 100 points Final Narrative due: Tuesday, Oct. 16
Final means in final typed form, correct MLA format, double spaced text, and organized
storytelling structure
Your essay will be graded on the following criteria:
1. Type, MLA format, double-­‐spaced
2. Title (title of the essay is thoughtful and indicates what the story is about)
3. 2 to 3 pages long (typed)
4. Free of Spelling and Grammatical Errors
5. An appropriate topic for a school essay (if you have to ask, it’s probably not)
6. Story elements contain setting, characters, dialogue, conflict, climax, resolution
7. Descriptive and detailed: strong verbs, precise nouns, smooth transitions, figurative
language, and sensory imagery all contribute to the strength of the narrative
8. The reader walks away with a theme, an overall feeling of the significance of the story
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As we’ve discovered, a narrative essay is about students writing their own stories
• to pass on a culture’s history, beliefs, and values
• to increase reading comprehension skills
• to integrate and evaluate components of a story
Nothing
interesting
to say ?
So, are you one of my writers who thinks your life is dull?
Nothing interesting has happened to you? Not true.
Personal narratives are true stories based upon the experiences
of the author. You may ask, “What is intriguing about me?” Well,
people like to read true narratives because they can put
themselves in the narrator’s position and actually experience the
story.
All personal narratives are written in the first person point of view. First person means
using “I” as the narrator. If the narrative is written well, the reader may believe that he or
she is “I” because the reader is thinking, “doing,” and feeling what the narrator of the story
is thinking, doing, and feeling.
In personal narratives, the reader wants to be invited to share in the story. If you are
writing about a sad experience, the goal for you is to make your readers sad as well. If you
are writing about a trip to Disneyland, your readers (who may have never been to
Disneyland and may never have the opportunity to visit Disneyland) should be able to see
Disneyland through your vivid descriptions and sensory imagery.
1. Stop here: Let’s Brainstorm Topics
Complete
Lesson 7 “One Thing I’ll Always Remember” and
Lesson 20 “Fast Forward”
Narrow down a topic for your narrative.
Topic 1 possibility _________________________________________________________________________________
Topic 2 possibility _________________________________________________________________________________
Topic 3 possibility _________________________________________________________________________________
You want to choose one of these to discuss in the rest of these instructions
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The beginning is the most essential part of the personal narrative. In the first paragraph,
you have to grab your reader and make the reader want to read the story.
2. Stop here: Let’s draft a setting for the story
Complete
Lesson 11 “Using Setting as a Springboard”
Briefly describe the setting of your story
Time _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Place _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Location ______________________________________________________________________________________________
The characters in your story must be true-­‐to-­‐life, and presented so the reader can see them.
3. Stop here: Let’s develop some characters and dialogue for the story
Complete
Lesson 12 “Creating Characters “
Lesson 13 “Dialogue”
List characters that will appear in your story
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Dialogue is a conversation between story characters. Write a star next to which
characters might use dialogue in your narrative to reveal something about them or your
story?
3

Introducing the conflict is crucial. The reader will want to know how the characters deal
with the conflict, so the experience of reading becomes not only enjoyable but also a
learning experience. Readers will have the personal narrative to reflect upon if ever they
find themselves in a similar circumstance or predicament.
4. Stop here: Let’s define the plot & conflict of the story
Complete
Lesson 15 “Climax”
Briefly chart the plot of your story.
What is the conflict in the story? ___________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Personal narratives have themes that help the reader remember the narrative.
Finishing the narrative, the reader will think—and come to his or her
own understanding of the story. The theme may be somewhat different
for the next reader, but what is important is that the narrative has given
the readers something to take with them, to internalize, to process
somewhere inside themselves.
What is the theme you believe your narrative will convey (show)? _________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4

What is the most important detail you learned about writing a narrative by completing this
pre-­‐writing packet?
This writing packet was adapted by Mrs. Harmon from “Personal Narratives,” #2994 Narrative Writing—Grades
6-­‐8, from Teacher Created Resources, Inc.
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