Narrative Writing

Maniac Magee is written as a narrative, because the author is telling a story. For your next big assignment, you will be writing a narrative essay. Rather than writing about something fictional (not true, like Maniac Magee), you will be writing about something that has happened to you (non-fiction narrative).

You will be working with Mr. Ney to write an essay that I can read that is written as a non-fiction narrative. You will:

1. Brainstorm
2. Use an organizer (either the Time for Kids one below, or the hamburger organizer from earlier this quarter)
3. Create a rough draft
4. Edit the rough draft
5. Submit a final draft

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Here is some information from Time for Kids that might be helpful. The organizers will help you to think about your work and should be completed as you work on your essay.

Nonfiction narrative writing tells a true story about an event or a series of events. It can be about a personal experience or something that happened to somebody else, such as a parent or friend.

To write a personal narrative, follow the steps below:

Think about an experience that happened to you or someone you know that you think others would be interested in.

Choose an experience you want to write about. Think about what you saw, heard and felt. Use an idea organizer to help sort out your thoughts.

As you write, use “I” throughout your story. Most narratives are told using the first-person point of view.

Write an introduction that gets your reader’s attention and tells him or her what your story will be about.

Write about the events in the order in which they happened. What happened first, second, third?

Be sure to add sensory details, such as how something tasted or what something looked like. This will help your reader feel like he or she was there, too. Draw the reader into the experience.

Write a conclusion that ends your story. Tell the reader why this experience was important to you and what you learned from it.

Once you have finished your personal narrative, be sure to review your work.

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Do you have any questions? I know that is a lot of information! Ask any questions here.