Continuing to Write the Narrative

Hi class,

Today we talked about what goes in the intro and concluding paragraphs of the narrative essay.

Intro:

1)  Hook: (a thought-provoking question, a preview of the anecdote's action, some interesting dialog, a bold statement, a famous quote, etc.)

2)  Background/Set up the story.  Tell the who, what, when, where of your anecdote and lead into it.

3) *optional* a Thesis statement.  Some people prefer to save the thesis for later in the anecdote, or even the conclusion.

Conclusion:

1) Tie up most loose ends.  It's okay to have a little bit of a cliffhanger, but your reader is going to want to feel like they have heard the complete story.  We are not writing novels here, or sequels.

2) Thesis.  If you haven't stated the main point of your essay earlier, you need to spell it out here.

3) Leave the reader with something to think about.  Make to make connections from your story to something else, or have another hook.  Many writers find it effective to leave with a thought-provoking question, statement, or even a quote.

Homework:  We will be spending 15 minutes of class time going to the book fair, but other than that, you have until the end of class to have a typed, rough draft of your essay in MLA format.