Download
1 / 118
1.2k likes | 1.41k Views
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE. Presented by. Neil Patrick. Order of Play. Academic Writing The Narrative Narrative Elements Narrative Structured Narrative Worth Questions. Academic Writing. Academic Writing Features. The author covers a selected topic from an authoritative point of view.
E N D
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE Presented by Neil Patrick
Order of Play • Academic Writing • The Narrative • Narrative Elements • Narrative Structured • Narrative Worth • Questions
Academic Writing Features • The author covers a selected topic from an authoritative point of view. • The writing is ‘thesis-driven’. • Meaning that the starting point is a particular perspective, idea or 'thesis' on the chosen topic. • Simply describing a topic without the questions does NOT qualify as "academic writing."
Academic Writing Essay • The Academic Essay • Aims to persuade readers of an idea based on evidence • Present the appropriate data or information to illustrate the point • Present in a logical sequence • Academic writing has a formal structure
Academic Writing Structure Essays contain the following basic elements: • Introduction • Body Paragraphs • Conclusion
AN ESSAY STRUCTURE Beginning Middle End
Academic Writing Structure • Essays contain the following basic elements: • Introduction • Hook • Connecting Information • Thesis • Body Paragraphs • Topic Sentences • Supporting Sentences • Conclusion • This refers back to the introduction - how the aims were met. • Offer Final Thoughts: Opinion/Prediction/Suggestion
Academic Writing Essay • Comparison and Contrast Essays • Definition Essays • Descriptive Essays • Process Essay • Persuasive Essays • Narrative Essays
Academic Writing Essay • Comparison and Contrast Essays • Look at the similarities or differences of two things
Academic Writing Essay • Definition Essays • Explains what something means
Academic Writing Essay • Descriptive Essays • Portrays people, places, things, moments and theories with vivid detail to help the reader create a mental picture
Academic Writing Essay • Process Essay • Tells the reader how to do something or describes how something is done.
Academic Writing Essay • Persuasive Essays • Show that one idea is more legitimate than another idea.
Academic Writing Essay • Narrative Essays • Tells a story that makes a point.
WHY NARRATIVE? INFORM
What is Narrative? A narrative is a perceived sequence of non-randomly connected events, typically involving, as the experiencing agonist, humans or quasi-humans, or other sentient beings, from whose experience we humans can ‘learn’. Michael Toolan: “Narrative: a critical linguistic introduction”
Types of Narrative • There are two types of narrative • Fiction • NOT REAL • Non Fiction • REAL
Types of Narrative • Fiction • This includes novels, plays, short stories and mini sagas. • In each instance the focus of the writing is what the writer’s imagination has created, the world and the situations and the characters he/she has conceived of and written about.
Types of Narrative • Non Fiction • This includes: • Personal narratives • Real life stories about yourself or someone else • Bibliographies • Autobiographies • Feature stories: • Magazines • Newspapers • Travel articles
Academic Narrative Structure • An academic narrative is a story with characters and there is a definite plot line. • An academic narrative normally has a beginning, a middle and an end. • At the end of an academic narrative, the reader is provided with the lesson or moral they learnt from the story.
A NARRATIVE ESSAY A Story Beginning Middle End!
THE INTRODUCTION BEGINS THE STORY
THE INTRODUCTION HOOK SETTING CHARACTERS ACTIONWARNING THESIS
A NARRATVIE HOOK • A Narrative Hook • The beginning of the story • ONCE UPON A TIME • Gets the reader or audience: • Aroused and interested • “Sets the Stage”
MOOD/FEELING CHARACTER A NARRATVIE HOOK • 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. BACKGROUND INFORMATION SETTING
THE INTRODUCTION HOOK CONNECTING INFORMATION SETTING CHARACTERS ACTIONWARNING THESIS
HOOK INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH 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. Now. as I watched the bus driver set my luggage on the airport sidewalk. I realized that my frustration had only just begun. CONNECTING INFORMATION THESIS
The Thesis • Usually the thesis states the main idea of the essay and tells what the organization of the information will be. • However, in a narrative essay, the thesis introduces the action that begins in the first paragraph of the essay.
The Thesis: Examples • Now, as I watched the bus driver set my luggage on the airport sidewalk, I realized that my frustration had only just begun. • I wanted my mother to watch me race down the steep hill, so I called out her name and then nudged my bike forward.
The Thesis • The example sentences do not tell the reader what happens. They: • Introduce the action that will follow • The paragraphs in the body will develop the tory
HOOK INTRODUCTION PARAGRAPH 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. Now. as I watched the bus driver set my luggage on the airport sidewalk. I realized that my frustration had only just begun. CONNECTING INFORMATION THESIS
THE BODY • In this method each paragraph gives more information about the story as it proceeds in time: INTRODUCTION FIRST EVENT SECOND EVENT THIRD EVENT AND SO ON….
Transitional Sentences • In a chronological organization, each paragraph usually ends with a transitional sentence.
Transitional Sentences Transitional sentences have two purposes: • to signal the end of action in one paragraph • to provide a link to the action of the next paragraph. Sometimes, transitional sentences do both. Sometimes, transitional sentences cover one option.
Paragraph 2: Body 1 I had been in Japan only a few days, and I was feeling restless. I wanted to make some fresh bread, so I set out for the store with the simple intention of buying some flour. I had taken some Japanese language classes before I arrived in Japan. Although I knew my Japanese skills were limited, my lack of knowledge did not stop me from going to the store to buy flour. I thought that I would locate the section where the grains were displayed and find the bag that had a picture of either bread or flour on it.
Paragraph 3: Body 2 The small town where I lived had one tiny store. I wandered around the store a few times, but I did not see a bag of anything that appeared to be flour. In the United States, flour usually comes in a paper bag with pictures of biscuits or bread on it, so this is what I was looking for. I finally found a few clear plastic bags that had bread crumbs inside, so I thought that flour might be located nearby. No matter how many bags I examined, I could not find any flour.
Transitional Sentences • These sentences are vital because they give your story unity and allow the reader to follow the action easily.
The Conclusion • Like academic essays, narrative essays need to have concluding ideas. • In the concluding paragraph, you finish describing the action in the essay.
The Conclusion The final sentence can have two functions: • It can deliver the moral for the story, or tell the reader what the character(s) learned from the experience. • It can make a prediction or a revelation about future actions that will happen as a result of the events in the story.
The Conclusion: Examples MORAL The little boy had finally learned that telling the truth was the most important thing to do. MORAL A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event.
The Conclusion: Examples MORAL A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event.
COMMON MORALS • Better to be safe than sorry. • Don't judge people by the way they look. • Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me. • Slow and steady wins the race. • Your overconfidence is your weakness.
The Conclusion: Examples PREDICTION/REVELATION I can only hope that one day I will be able to do the same for another traveler who is suffering through a terrible journey. Every Christmas Eve, my wife and I return to that magical spot and remember the selfless act that saved our lives.
