A narrative essay will tell the reader a story. This story might be a true story or a fictional one. Whichever the case, the focus is on telling this story to get the reader to understand what happened at a particular time and to whom. Starting a narrative essay may seem like a difficult task, but with the right guidelines, you can start it well. This post will guide you on how to start a narrative essay.
Format On How To Start A Narrative Essay
- Decide on the hook to use
- Plan your essay to the end
Decide On The Hook To Use
Hooks are the opening statements you use to start your narrative essay. The type of hook that you choose will go a long way in helping your reader understand what you are going to narrate in your essay. A good hook also helps you draw the reader into the story and help him or her decide whether to read further.
Types Of Hooks Available To Start A Narrative Essay
- A quote
- Statistics
- State a fact
- Use an anecdote
A Quote
Quotes are some of the most commonly used hooks to start narrative essays. The type of quote you use needs to be such that it is attention-grabbing and draws the user towards the kind of thinking you want him or her to adopt.
You can choose to use a quote that a famous person said or wrote. Alternatively, you can decide to use a quote from a piece of literature. Either way, ensure that your quote relates to the subject matter you will discuss in your narrative essay. Additionally, ensure that it is a straightforward quote, which does not confuse the reader.
Statistics
Statistics help a reader understand the seriousness of the issue at hand. For the most part, you will use statistics to set the ball rolling for a non-fiction narrative essay.
Statistics allow you to capture attention and entice the reader to want to know more about how this statistic affects him or her. The statistics that you use need to be true and well researched. Falsifying statistics will mean that your essay fails to earn you high marks.
It is also vital that the statistic you use is not too dynamic, as this may affect the accurateness of the essay that you are writing.
State A Fact
Facts will blow the mind of the reader away. The more absurd the fact the more catchy it is and this helps you to capture the reader’s attention.
The fact that you choose to use also needs to relate to the main topic that you will address in the essay. Additionally, it is important to ensure that the fact you use is also true and does not mislead the reader.
Use An Anecdote
An anecdote refers to a short interesting story that you can use to start a narrative essay. Anecdotes work well if they relate to the subject matter of the narrative essay.
When you write your narrative essay, it is advisable to consider the use of anecdotes to capture the attention of the reader. The anecdote does not have to come up as part of the story later and for the most part, will just set the tone for the narrative essay.
Plan Your Essay To The End
Planning is the most important part of writing a narrative essay. When it comes to starting a narrative essay, experts recommend that you consider planning to the end.
By planning to the end, you will need to figure out what goes into your introduction, the body, and the conclusion as well. Planning to the end requires that you formulate your thesis statement, do your research on what you will write, and then draft a conclusion.
Planning to the end will allow you to have writing prompts that will help with starting your narrative essay. The writing prompts allow you to have a continuous flow of writing that comes in handy in overcoming writer’s block when writing a narrative essay.
Final Thoughts
To start a narrative essay well, decide which topic your essay will cover, and then proceed to research the topic thoroughly. With the necessary data recorded, you need to plan to the end. The last step to helping you start a narrative essay is choosing which type of hook you will use when writing your essay’s first sentence.
An example of how to use a quote to start a narrative essay
How to a write a narrative essay step by step
Here are steps to follow to write the best narrative essay:
1. Ensure to follow the given prompt. Don’t rush into writing your essay without reading the given prompt carefully.
2. Choose a relevant topic that fits the prompt.
3. Write an outline, which will help you focus on the story.
4. Find the right hook that will grab the readers’ attention. It could be a quote, anecdote, etc
5. Write your thesis statement and ensure that it is not too descriptive.
6. Ensure you write a detailed description.
7. Write an impressive conclusion.
8. Ensure you thoroughly revise your work to have no or little errors.
How to start a narrative essay about someone else
The best way to start a narrative essay about someone else is, to begin with, a hook that grabs the readers’ attention, which will also set the tone of your essay.
How to start a narrative essay in third person
The third person in an essay refers to the narrator, who tells the story and is not a character in the story. We only get to know what his character thinks, knows, and sees. You are limited to use pronouns such as she, hers, he, his, it, its, them, and they.
