Personal Narrative

1
Personal Narrative
You may be given a writing test prompt that asks
you to write a personal narrative. Imagine that
you have been given the prompt below
Write a narrative in which you describe a
personal experience that had a strong impact on
you. Use vivid, specific details to portray the
experience and relate its meaning to you.
2
Studying the Prompt
Begin by reading the prompt carefully to
determine exactly what you need to do. Look for
key words and phrases that relay the nature of
your task.
narrative
Key Words and Phrases
strong impact
describe an experience from your life
vivid, specific details
personal meaning
Spend no more than five minutes studying the
prompt.
3
Planning Your Response
To begin planning your personal narrative, you
must choose an experience to write about. The
experience that you choose should
be meaningful and interesting
NOT be too personal (You should feel comfortable
relating the story.)
be full of details that you can readily remember
and recount
4
Planning Your Response

• Make a quick list of the series of events
  involved in the experience. Exclude any events
  that may confuse readers or that are unnecessary
  for your retelling.

Put the events in chronological order, the order
in which they happened.
Experience Cleaning out garage with my brother
Event 1 Argued over tasks
Event 2 Decided to work together to complete
each task
Event 3 Found old photos and laughed as we
looked through them
Event 4 Finished cleaning out garage and went in
to play a video game together
5
Planning Your Response

• Gather descriptive details about your experience.
  Once again, exclude unnecessary details. Provide
  specific information about

People describe words, actions, and appearance
Places describe time and setting, detailing
specific sights, sounds, and smells
Thoughts tell specific thoughts that you had
during the experience
Feelings tell the way that you felt during and
after the experience
6
Planning Your Response

• Here are examples of descriptive details that
  could be included in a personal narrative

People My brother kicked an empty can across the
garage and exclaimed, This garage is nasty!
Places Heaps of dusty newspapers leaned against
the garage walls.
Thoughts What a brat, I thought, as I watched
my brother throw his fit.
Feelings As we looked through the old photos, my
resentment lifted.
7
Planning Your Response

• Think about the meaning of the experience. Ask
  yourself the following questions

Spend about fifteen minutes planning your
response.
8
Responding to the Prompt

• Using your notes, begin your draft. In your
  introduction, grab the readers attention and set
  the scene. You may want to hint at the meaning of
  the experience, but avoid stating the meaning
  directly. See the example below

My brother and I had been fighting for what
seemed like years.
This sentence hints at a reconciliation between
the brothers, but it does not directly state that
the brothers reconcile.
9
Responding to the Prompt
When writing the body of your narrative, relate
the events and descriptive details. You will
usually want to use chronological order.

• As you describe the events, be sure to keep the
  experiences meaning in mind. As your narrative
  unfolds, readers should be able to recognize the
  meaning.

10
Responding to the Prompt
In your conclusion, directly state and explain
the meaning of the experience. For example, you
might state
Rediscovering my friendship with my brother was
well worth losing a Saturday afternoon in our
wreck of a garage.
Spend about twenty minutes writing your draft.
11
Improving Your Response

• Save at least five or ten minutes for improving
  your response. Begin by rereading the prompt to
  make sure that your narrative meets all of the
  requirements.

Revise your narrative to address any issues that
you notice.
12
Improving Your Response

• Read through your narrative to proofread it for
  mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
  capitalization. When making corrections, be sure
  that your handwriting is neat and legible.

13
Improving Your Response

• Take the time to read through your narrative one
  more time before turning it in. A final check can
  reveal stubborn errors that managed to slip
  through your initial checks. Always remember that
  quality writing often requires numerous reviews
  and revisions.

14
The End