First and Last Name
Narrative Paper
Date
Title of Your Paper Goes Here
Every paragraph should be double-spaced and begin with an indent. All margins are one inch.
Your paper should be 750 to 1200 words long. This sample is only 155 words, so your paper will be longer.
Note the name, assignment, and date information included at the top. Be sure to include that on
your paper. List your title before the first paragraph and make sure it is centered.
This sample uses 11 pt. Calibri. You can also use 11 pt. Arial, 11 pt. Georgia, or 12 pt. Times New
Roman.
For this paper, you will write about a true story from your life. You should include imagery and dialogue. When you use dialogue, you must start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. See
the example that follows.
“Can you believe each new speaker requires a new paragraph?” Maria asked.
“Yes, that is true,” Malik answered.
See the instructions and rubric for more information.
A. Share a personal narrative about ONE event. This should be a nonfiction retelling of a true event from your life. Note: The order of events in your narrative must be clear.
B. Demonstrate organization by using the following structure:
- In at least one paragraph, describe the context and theme for the body of your paper.
- Share your story in the body of your paper. Be sure to use imagery to describe the event.
- Use dialogue to tell your story. Be sure to use quotation marks and proper punctuation.
- In at least one paragraph, write a conclusion. Summarize the main points you have presented along with a takeaway/final word. Keep the paragraph brief.
Narrative writing uses storytelling skills to explain an important experience. All stories have characters, settings, conflicts, and resolutions. For your narrative, you will use descriptive details, action, and dialogue to move the story along. Most narrative writing progresses in chronological order. So, you will explain something that occurred from start to finish. When you write, imagine you are talking to a friend or loved one. What questions would they ask you? The answers you have for those questions are details you can use to help them understand your story.
If this sounds daunting, do not worry! Remember that writing is a process. You will get time to practice and revise your work. You may surprise yourself with your storytelling abilities.
Good narrative writing features a clear topic or theme. Make sure you understand what makes your story valuable. What do you want your reader to learn? Keep your focus on ONE event. You want to avoid a summary of many events. For example, there may be thousands of times when your family supported you. In your personal narrative, though, you would describe only one. For example, “This is a story about the time my sister bought me groceries.”