What’s a personal narrative essay?

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A personal narrative essay is a nonfiction essay in which the writer shares their experiences through a story. The topic can be anything meaningful to the writer, and the style should resemble prose works of fiction or nonfiction. It should have a beginning, middle, and end that tell a definite story or convey a certain experience.

A personal narrative essay is a type of essay in which a person writes about their experiences, usually as a narrative story. While someone may write about their opinions or personalities in such an essay, the “narrative” aspect of the essay typically comes from a story. This type of essay is usually nonfiction and often related to real events that happened to the writer or someone close to the writer. A personal narrative essay is often used when applying for colleges or joining prestigious groups, as such essays measure a writer’s abilities and allow someone to reveal interesting personal information.

There is no single topic that should be used in writing a personal narrative essay, as most writers choose a topic that has particular meaning to them. Someone might write about the death of a loved one, for example, to use the essay as a cathartic experience or to help others find someone else who understands what they are experiencing. A personal narrative essay could easily be about something humorous that happened to the writer. Such a wide range of potential topics can lead to such quite interesting essays, although they can also be difficult for some writers to boot.

For people who find it difficult to get started with a piece of writing without a clear sense of direction, a personal narrative essay can be a little daunting. It’s often best to have someone start brainstorming potential topics. This can be done by a person thinking about things that have happened to them that evoked strong emotions such as fear, sadness, happiness, or anger. It is often easier for someone to write about something they have a vested interest in, and the emotional connections to a topic can make that topic more meaningful to a writer.

How a personal narrative essay is written, however, often separates such works from other essays. A personal narrative essay should generally be somewhat looser in style than informational or argumentative essays, since the narrative aspects of such essays should resemble prose works of fiction or nonfiction. Writers may use dialogue in such essays, separating them from essays written in a more formal tone, and the writer might choose to narrate the essay or allow the narrative to unfold through a third-person perspective. Ultimately, a personal narrative essay should feel like a structured narrative, with a beginning, middle, and end that tell a definite story or convey a certain experience.




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