The Ultimate Guide on How to Choose Narrative Essay Topic

A narrative essay, as the name suggests, is a text that tells an interesting story in the hope of inspiring the reader. However, before the reader dives into reading the story, they must have first read the topic. Therefore, the topic needs to be interesting to attract the reader in the first place. This thus emphasizes the need to be creative with the topic to get the reader to read the narrative essay. This article details the ultimate guide to help you choose a narrative essay topic. We also highlight some tips to help you create an incredible narrative essay.

To create an excellent topic for your narrative essay, you first need to understand the requirements for the essay. In most cases, narrative essays are usually written in tests or exams; therefore, there are instructions. You, therefore, need to read and understand the essay requirements before you dive into writing.

The second thing you need to put in mind when creating a title for your narrative essay is the length of the essay. A long essay will require a more detailed topic, while a short essay needs a brief topic. Choose the appropriate number of words for the topic of your narrative essay.

Thirdly, dedicate a better portion of your time to brainstorm on the topic. You might have an idea of what you want your essay to be about, but you need to develop an appropriate topic. As much as the content of your essay matters, so does the topic. This is because the topic is the first impression of your essay to the reader. Your topic needs to be catchy, and that is why you need to dedicate the right amount of time to it.

Finally, formulate a thesis statement for your narrative essay. A thesis statement is the guiding principle of the direction you are going to take with the essay. Therefore, you need to develop the thesis so that from it, you can create the topic for your narrative essay.

Tips for writing a narrative essay topic

•    Keep the title brief and clear - As already mentioned, the title of your narrative essay determines whether the reader will keep reading or not. Making the title brief and straight without putting complex words in it will help you attract the attention of the reader.

•    Use active verbs in the topic - A narrative essay is a storytelling text. Hence you need to identify who is performing what to create a vivid image in the mind of the reader. Active voice in any writing means that the subject of the sentence comes first and performs the action described by the rest of the sentence. Using an active verb ensures that you effectively present your ideas, creating a vivid image in the mind of the reader.

•    Keep the title short - Unlike a research paper, a narrative depends mostly on creativity. You do not need to describe the contents of the essay in their entirety. Instead, you just need to give your reader a glimpse into it. Therefore, a short topic is most appropriate.

Tips for writing an excellent Narrative Essay

Before we detail a few tips to help you write a good narrative essay, there are two things you need to understand about these kinds of essays. First, they reflect the author’s point of view, and secondly, you, as the author, need to make points and support them. Below are just a few of the tips you need to know to write a great narrative essay.

•    Avoid complex words - A narrative is more like telling a story. Therefore, you do not want your reader to keep checking the dictionary for the meaning of words. This is not an opportunity to show your prowess in the language, but a chance to show your creative side. Therefore, avoid using tricky words or phrases that may put your reader off.

•    Avoid describing every movement in the essay - Descriptions are useful in creating vivid images in the mind of the reader, but too many of them will bore your reader. Besides, they may derail you from the real reason for writing the essay in the first place. Therefore, keep your descriptions to a minimum.

•    Use the first-person narrative - The first-person narrative is the most appropriate point of view in telling a story. This is because a second person point is useful in instructing. A third person narrative may sound impersonal; therefore, failing to connect with the reader, which is an essential aspect of storytelling.

•    Use active voice - Just like the topic to a narrative essay, the essay itself has to use active voice. This will help the reader connect with your writing by visualizing the descriptions you make within the text.

•    Describe events in your essay chronologically – Narrative essay relies on the proper flow of information. Maintaining an appropriate chronology of events in your essay will help your reader follow you throughout the essay and avoid any confusion that may arise. Remember that your reader is relying on your prowess of storytelling to understand your narrative. Otherwise, you will lose the reader when details get confusing, and you ultimately fail to put your point across.

•    Limit the number of references you use - Writing a narrative essay depends mostly on one’s creativity; therefore, if you have too many references, this turns into a research paper and not works of creativity. However, keep in mind not to plagiarize your paper. Narrative essay writing assignments will ask for references for your work; however, this does not mean you need to write in-text citations. Instead, you only need to cite your source on the reference page.

Narrative essays may seem like the easiest kinds of essays, especially to creative minds. However, this is not always the case for most people. Following the guidelines provided above will help you create the perfect topic for your narrative essay and create a great narrative essay.