Download - Effective Narration
Thanks to B-T and Pomerantz
Effective NarrationTaken from Seeing the Pattern
Kathleen T. McWhorter
Narratives Make a Point Event or series
of events portrayed
Writer’s thinking changes› About self› About world
Epiphany shown
Point (your thesis) › directly stated › implied
Narratives Present a Conflict
Reveals a struggle, question, or problem
Works toward its resolution
Can be internal or external
Narratives Create Tension Tension
suspense created as the story unfolds› how will the
conflict be resolved?
Climax the point just before (or as) the conflict is resolved
Freytag’s Plot Triangle
Narratives Sequence Events
Chronological order Flashback returns to
events that took place in the past
Flashforward jumps ahead in time
Foreshadowing hints at events that will happen in the future
Narratives Incorporate Dialogue Reveals
character Builds tension Emphasizes
conflict
Dialogue Should be
Natural
Stiff and U
nrealisticM
ore Natural
Eva said to her grandmother, “The stories you tell of your childhood in Mexico are very interesting. I wish I could go there with you.”
Eva told her grandmother, “I love the stories about Mexico when you were a kid. I wish I could go there with you.”
Narratives Are Told from a Point of View 1st I, my, me
› Personal› Direct to
Audience› Feelings and
Commentary
3rd he, she, his, her, him her› Distance› Objective› Insights not
available to protagonist
page 100Graphic Organizer for Narrative Essays