THE NARRATIVE ESSAY

COMMENTS

So far, in writing compositions, you have decided on the structure of your work without giving the matter much thought. In some cases the result has been quite good, on others – disappointing. In order to improve your writing, you must learn to plan your work more consciously. The aim of the following brief analysis of the model composition is to help you to do this.

Let us see what the structural pattern of the composition is and how the writer arrived at this pattern. The title of the composition tells us nothing about the subject beyond the fact that it deals with the author's college. How he intends to treat his subject is stated in the first sentence: he is going to write about the excellence of Stanford. This sentence, then, expresses, in very general terms, the main idea of the composition, thus forming its organizing centre. Now clearly the author must pro­vide evidence in support of his statement. He does this by break­ing down the main idea into six separate points and arranging them in order of increasing importance: "its location, its intel­ligent students, its distinguished faculty, its overseas programs, its substantial endowment, and its recent extensive growth." Thus, the framework of the composition has been determined. All that remains to be done is to develop each of the points, presenting groups of facts to illustrate each point, and to think of a concluding sentence which summarizes the content of the composition.

Here is an analysis of the composition in the form of a diagram.

ABOUT ESSAYS

An essay is a piece of writing, usually short and in prose, on any subject. The difference between a composition and an essay has already been explained in the section on composition writing. However, unlike a composition, an essay usually assumes an individual interpretation of facts. For this reason it is a more difficult form of exercise, though also more satisfying, as it gives more scope for self-expression.

According to the subject matter and the treatment it receives, essays may be divided into four main types: narrative, descriptive, reflective and discoursive. The division is, however, by no means clear cut; in fact most essays have features char­acteristic not of one particular type, but of several.

THE NARRATIVE ESSAY

A narrative essay is a description of happenings as they follow one another. It is the easiest to write because the material is arranged according to the actual course of events; one knows where to start and what to do next, each paragraph being devoted to one particular episode or group of episodes. Even so, it is advisable to write down a plan with paragraph headings first and then proceed with your essay on the basis of these notes. In this way you will be able to make sure that you are not devoting too much space to less important items or treating the most important ones too briefly

Let us presume that you have decided to write about a hitch-hiking holiday. Your plan may look like this:

1. What made my friend and me decide on a hitch-hiking holiday.

2. Preparations.

3. The holiday.

a) Setting off.

b) The most interesting, amusing or memorable events of the holiday: 1) ... 2) ... 3) ...

4. Home again. Some thoughts on the advantages of a hitch­-hiking holiday.

As it has already been noted, an essay rarely belongs to one type only. In this particular case, in addition to describing events in chronological order, you are expected to express your views on the subject as well (item 4). Your narrative will also include short descriptions of people and places. For example, you might want to describe an impressive view, a lively scene or a person whom you met during your holiday. All this will give your composition more substance and will make it more interesting to read. The subjects set for your narrative essays will as a rule permit this kind of treatment, but you should take care to preserve the necessary balance, that is, your descrip­tions and reflections should not occupy too much space in relation to the rest of the essay.

Narrative essays bear a close resemblance to those short stories in which the author describes events as he himself has experienced them. In fact, practically all narrative essays could be classed as short stories. For this reason some authors con­sider that there is no justification for distinguishing between the two forms in text-books on written English.

Exercise1.Write an essay of not more than 500 words on one of the fol­lowing subjects: 1) A cycling tour. 2) The most memorable events of my holi­day. 3) My first day at the uni­versity. 4) A night spent in the open air. 5) A terrible adventure. 6) An amusing incident during a couple. 8) My debut as an actress/ singer/ dancer/ etc. 9) a subject of your own choice.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 900