7th Grade Fic

1. WHAT IS A NARRATIVE ESSAY?
A narrative essay is a “fake” story.

2. ELEMENTS OF A NARRATIVE ESSAY:
1. SETTING – The setting is the location where the action
in a story happens.
2. THEME – The theme will deal with a topic that is
universal in life or human nature, such as love,
independence, greed, envy, jealousy, hatred, etc.
3. CHARACTERS – The characters are the people in the
story. They are affected by the mood, and they react to
the events in which they are involved.
4. PLOT – The plot is what happens in a story, that is, the
sequence of events, climax, and resolution.
5. MOOD – The mood is the feeling or atmosphere that
the writer creates for the story. It could be happy,
hopeful, suspenseful, or scary. Both the setting and
descriptive vocabulary create the mood in a narrative.

3. UNDERSTANDING THE PROMPT
1. Read the prompt at least two to three times before you write. If it
is necessary, break down the prompt into parts so that you will
be able to write an effective narrative.
2. Underline or circle important words to help you remember
EXACTLY what you need to write about.
3. NEVER write a narrative or any essay without reading the prompt.

4. HOW MANY PARAGRAPHS
DO I NEED?
Essentially, there should be at least 5 to 6
paragraphs in a narrative. Although there should
be no limit to the number of paragraphs that you
can write, given the limited amount of time for
you to write, writing a six paragraph narrative is an
accomplishment.

5. 1. WRITING A NARRATIVE HOOK
What is a HOOK?
The hook in a narrative is the part of
the introduction- usually the first
sentence or two – that grabs the
reader’s attention. HOOKS are
especially important in narrative essays
because they help set the stage for the
story. The hook makes readers start
guessing what will happen next.

6. TYPES OF HOOK
a). Ask a question
b). Sound effects
Example: c). Striking Statement
a.Have you ever been without technology for 24 hours?
Well, I have.
b.Boom! The noise was so loud outside my bedroom
window that I just had to go look.
c.I had never been more anxious in my life. I had just
spent the last three endless hours trying to get to the
airport so that I could travel home.

7. 2. CONNECTING INFORMATION
After writing the hook, make sure that you
write enough information to address the
prompt before you narrate the story. It will
give the readers a clear understanding of
the background information of the story.
Where is the background information?
From the prompt!

8. 3. DEVELOP YOUR SETTING
When you write your setting it is always an
excellent practice to add description of the time
and location of the story. Setting involves time,
place, weather, and surroundings, which all
help to create a specific mood or atmosphere.
To reveal these elements, writers depend on
descriptive writing—ADJECTIVES!

9. WRITING THE THESIS STATEMENT
In a narrative essay, the thesis introduces
the action that the story will be about.
Remember it is your Road Map to your
whole essay.

10. Examples of a Good Thesis
1. Because his pride wouldn’t allow him to
apologize, Ken now had to fight the bully, and he
was pretty sure that he wouldn’t win.
2. I wanted my mother to watch me race down the
steep hill, so I called out her name and then
nudged my bike forward.

11. H.I.S.S.
Hook
Background Information
Setting
Thesis Statement
Like a s na ke ’s bite , y o u wa nt to s urp ris e a nd
“s ting ” y o ur re a d e r!

12. DEVELOPING YOUR CHARACTERS
It is always important to fully develop your
characters in order to make them believable and
real. Use descriptive words (adjectives) to fully
develop the characters in your story.
Example: I met a homeless man named John. He
is a twenty-one-year-old-guy towering 6 foot and 7
inches. I still remember his dark brown moustache
and long uncombed, blond hair that looked like
skinny ropes in the jungle.

13. TOPIC SENTENCE
The topic sentence is the Road Map for
this paragraph. Remember, your topic
sentence needs to set the stage for the
rest of the paragraph.
Example: My friends and I had just
finished lunch, and we
were meandering around the
cafeteria, bored out of our minds.

14. SUPPORT SENTENCE #1 and #2
Using narrative action, advance the plot
of your story. What happens, who does
it, character’s feelings and mood. Use
description!
Example: We ambled up to a door that led to
outside of the building, where a concrete path
led to another building. I, being the oneman
clown troop of the group, decided to entertain
my friends with a little physical humor.

15. Possible DIALOGUE
After your Narrative Action, put in some
dialogue to move the story along.
Example: An idea popped into my
head, and I exclaimed to the group,
“Hold on; I will be back shortly.”

16. WRITING DIALOGUE
There should be a new paragraph whenever there is a change of speaker.
The actual words of the speaker are marked as quotations by being
placed between inverted commas (“quote”), and the two parts of the
sentence are usually separated by a punctuation mark, traditionally a
comma. The first letter of the speech being reported is a CAPITAL (upper
case) letter, even after a comma; the first letter of the reporting clause is
only a capital if it comes after a full stop, exclamation mark or question
mark (or if the first word is a proper noun, like the speaker's name).
Examples: 1.He said, "Good morning!"
2."It's a lovely day," she replied.
3. "I think," he said, "that it's going to be a fine day for
the match.”

17. More WRITING DIALOGUE
Punctuation marks that belong to the speech, such as question marks because
the speaker is asking a question, should be inside the speech marks. If the
reporter asks a question, then the question mark is outside the speech marks:
Examples: 1. "Do you think so?" he asked.
2. Had I heard her right when she said "I want to go now"?
Punctuation marks that belong to the speech, such as exclamation point
because the speaker is suggesting a strong feeling, should be inside the speech
marks.
Examples: 1. "Don’t even dare do that!" I warned him.
2. “Stop! You should not lift it!” she screamed at her
classmate.

18. WRITING DIALOGUE Exercise
1. I am not sure if I did it right Mary told everyone
2. She said Are you willing to join our group
3. I might join you she replied but I have to check with my mom first
4. This is awesome exclaimed Andrey
5. Who asked you to come here John Mrs. Smith asked
6. I responded Well we need to figure out how to solve it
7. My mom I told him is not here
8. It’s really amazing I exclaimed
9. They screamed Help
10. Where did you hide my wallet she asked

19. TRANSITION SENTENCE
After your dialogue, you need a transition
to the next paragraph.
Example: Then, I proceeded to run out of the
building.
CHRONOLOGICAL PREPOSITIONS Time words that Begin Clauses
First (second, third, etc.) After (a moment) after
Next at (9:00am) as soon as
Finally by (bedtime) before
Later during (two days) later
Now until from then on
Then when
while
whenever
until

20. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER
My friends and I had just finished eating an
amazing lunch of sandwiches, fruit and
chips. We were meandering around the
cafeteria, bored out of our minds. An idea
popped into my head, and I exclaimed to
the group, “Hold on; I will be back shortly.”
Then, I proceeded to run out of the
building.