Narrative Essay Examples

A narrative essay is considered to be one of the most popular types of tasks that students get all too often. It is among the most elementary tasks aimed at demonstrating students' ability to tell a complete story correctly. Some students tend to underestimate this assignment by ignoring the patterns it follows. There is no secret that even seemingly easy tasks demand all attention and accuracy. Those who don't know relevant rules tend to make mistakes and present poorly written narrative essay examples to their teachers. To help you avoid such situations, we have created a list of the most critical issues you have to keep in mind when you write these tasks.

A standard structure of good narrative essay examples

All types of academic papers have the structure that one needs to follow. Each part of a narrative essay has a purpose it should serve strictly. These parts are:

• Introduction;
• Main body;
• Conclusion.

An introduction aims at presenting the story to readers, describing characters, locations, and settings. With the main body goes the depiction of events themselves, things that led to them, and their consequences. A conclusion has to sum up all the information and lead the readers to their own ideas and thoughts about the text.

Common patterns of writing good narrative essay examples

The introduction of your essay can start with a hook. ‘Hooks' can differ in their forms, but usually, they are rhetorical questions, remarkable facts, or statistics. Anything that can render your reader surprised or doubtful about something can be used as a ‘hook.' The catchier it is, the wider audience you will inspire to read your essay further.

In the body paragraphs, you should pay a respectable share of attention to every character you describe. Try to focus on their personalities. Write about the circumstances and surroundings in which the situation took place. This enlarges the images depicted. Don't overload your narrative essay example with unnecessary details. Remember that the volume of such kind of tasks is limited. You should only describe the events and other details that can help your reader get a full understanding of your idea.

Try to specify the changes that the characters in your essay have gone through after the events described. A principal feature of winning examples of a narrative essay is that they demonstrate the influence that events have had on characters as well as things they learned from them. In other words, the conclusion of your essay should lead your reader to some valuable thoughts and ideas.

In most cases, writers separate their texts into five paragraphs each of them presenting a different idea or event.

Narrative essay examples for successful students

Here are the best narrative essay examples for college and university:

#1 Learning to Sail

They say we learn all our lives. Sometimes, it is easier to learn from your own or someone else's experience. For example, while a new job can bring us a lot of new knowledge, an old one allows improving skills you already have. Thus, most people stick to their old jobs. It is rather hard for an adult person to learn something entirely new. For this reason, I find myself lucky that I decided to enlarge the scope of my skills. It was three years ago. I had a paid leave and had nothing to do. The point is that I like to travel on my vacations, but that year I had no opportunity to do so. Besides, all my friends had to work, so I was on my own. I felt extremely bored. As far as sitting in front of my laptop the whole time was not an option, I started to search for some new experiences.

Eventually, I found out about Sailing Association that gave an opportunity to sail like a professional to everyone. At first, it made me feel somewhat skeptical, but I still decided to give it a shot. I remember when I first came on board, the boat lurched. Surprisingly, I didn't feel scared. I got eager to find out what should I do to control it. I felt so excited given that I had never done anything connected with sailing before. None of my friends or relatives ever sailed. That is why I did not know a thing about boats. I really could not see the difference between a mainsail and a jib. It took me quite a while to memorize everything, and I sincerely appreciate that my instructor was patient with me.

The day I first sailed on my own was unforgettable. Before we took off that morning, I was nervous to the extreme. My thoughts swung from ‘I can do everything!' to ‘Why on Earth I decided I should do it?' However, the moment had come, and all the stress went away. After all, this is what the ocean does. It takes all your worries and fears away. It gives you freedom from whoever you are onshore and reveals your new venturous self. I felt the rush of excitement I had never experienced in a lifetime. I was accompanied by the instructor, of course, but I was entirely responsible for every maneuver. I did make a couple of trivial mistakes, but I still was very proud of myself.

Peculiarly enough, something that started as a mere fancy has turned out to be the biggest passion in my life. If I had an opportunity to go back to that summer, I would do the same thing over and over again. Today, I am a certified sailing enthusiast, and I am looking forward to becoming an instructor myself next year.

Every new skill we get is something that forms our individuality. We surely should deepen the knowledge and skills we already have. Besides, we have to try something new because, sometimes, it can change our entire lives. This what happened to me when I started sailing and I keep thanking the Universe for this chance.

#2 Something that makes me proud

Life is like a puzzle; and when the pieces fit, you finally see what you have to do. This happened to me when I decided to become a volunteer and help those in need. I wasn’t looking for that. It was like this opportunity found me. I am thankful it did, and I am very dedicated to it.

It all presented itself a year ago with a school project. We had to prepare a presentation about any volunteering organization. Together with my friend Trish, we decided to write about volunteering in national parks. We are both very concerned with environmental protection, so it seemed like a natural choice. I started googling for information, and there were several intriguing options. We almost started writing, when Trish said: ‘Speaking of volunteering, after the project is ready, we should search for a place where I could donate my stuff!' Trish is a beginner minimalist. She believes that the fewer things a person possesses, the more productive his or her environment is. I am quite interested in the idea too, but at that point, I was not ready to go giving my possessions away. However, I insisted we that we had to find it right away because I knew how important it was for her.

We started looking for shelters and organizations that gathered different kinds of donations. Trish didn't just want to get rid of stuff. She was set to give her things a new life. She had some clothes, books, a traveling bag, and a couple of stuffed animals to give away. We kept reading about people who might have needed any of those, and it struck us how little we knew about life. There were so many homeless people: veterans, kids, the elderly, those who lost everything during an economic crisis or because of a hurricane. Moreover, there was a real tragedy behind each story. We were devastated. We thought: ‘Who in such a situation would appreciate a pair of old shoes when they do not even have where to live?' We wanted to help so much. That is why we decided to visit one of the volunteering communities in our city.

We were sincerely surprised that volunteering took everything we brought eagerly. They explained to us that even a small joy could set a homeless person's life on a new course and that whatever meaningless to us could be a great deal for someone else.

We left those things and felt a little more lighthearted. However, the next day I felt the urge to come back and to see what else I could do. I packed everything I wasn't using anymore. I called Trish, and she was happy to join me. At the community office, we were told that we could come each week and help gather donations as well as delivering them to those who needed them. It has been a year since then, and I have never regretted that our decision to become volunteers.

Every step we take can bring us to our destination in life. Every person who shares their ideas with us and supports us can lead us to life-changing decisions, intentionally or not. It does not matter what we do. We should take opportunities. Last year, I did. I want to help others, and I hope to inspire as many people as I can with my example.

Extra tips to follow

Don’t waste your time!

Despite the first impression, a narrative essay is not the easiest of all assignments. Writing it takes time and efforts. Don't be fooled with its seemingly self-explanatory structure and remember about your deadline. Even the most manageable works have to be ready on time with the highest quality.

Proofread your essay

If you want to create good narrative essay examples, be extremely attentive to grammar. Read your essay a couple of times and leave it for several days before getting back to it. This will help you to see your text from a completely different angle. Be attentive to the choice of words, and you have excellent chances to produce the desired effect on your readers with the outcome of your work.

It is worth mentioning that writing good examples of a narrative essay will bring you no difficulties and trouble in case you follow the pattern described in our article. Pay much attention to editing and proofreading of your essay, mind the language you use, and contents. Remember that the more thoroughly you describe the details and setting of your story, the more impact it will have on your readers.