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NARRATIVE WRITING

The various segments of the narrative should be included in your story:(a) Orientation: Provide additional details about the year-long programme overseas. You may

include the name of the location or school.

(b) Events: Describe the preparations you made for the trip and how you handled the passport. Makesure that the details are relevant to the story and, in particular, the resolution segment

(c) Complication: This segment has to do with you not being able to find the passport. You mayinclude other adverse developments, such as the postponement or even cancellation of the trip.

(d) Resolution: Most narratives have a happy ending, and it is wise to stick to this norm. Describehow and where you eventually found the passport.(Nevertheless, there are also narratives with sad endings, where the hero dies and the villaintriumphs. The issues raised in such narratives, however, also tend to be complex ones, which isnot the case in this particular example.

(e) Coda: Provide a few closing remarks to sum up how the experience affected you. This provides aproper ending to the account.

Example:Write a story about what happened when, on the morning of your journey to spend a year studyingoverseas, you were unable to find your passport.

Planning stage:1. Some ideas to approach this topic:

(a) Orientation: You were in a school exchange programme to study overseas for a year.

(b) Events: You did not heed your fathers advice to keep the passport properly. Instead, in thedays leading up to your departure you were distracted by other less important concerns suchas your clothes. You loved the coat your mother bought for you for the overseas trip, and youmodelled it repeatedly.

(c) Complication: When you arrived at the airport, you could not find the passport. A big searchfollowed, including a trip back home.

(d) Complication/Climax: You father and school authorities then discussed delaying the trip untila new passport was issued.

(e) Resolution: While the discussion was going on, you reached into the pocket of your coat and

found the passport you actually had it with you all along.(f) Coda (Optional): You learned an important lesson and vowed never to be so forgetful again.

2. To hold the readers attention, your story should not be too formal. Try to keep the language livelyto capture the range of emotions in the narrative excitement (at the forthcoming trip), dismay (atnot being able to find the passport) and relief (when you eventually found the passport).

3. To add a touch of realism, include direct speech in the narrative. This may display certainfeatures of informal language, such as contractions (e.g. wasnt, didnt, etc) and incompletesentences (e.g. What?, Not me!, etc.)

Adapted from Leong, P, Free and Situational Writing for GCE N and O levels.

7/28/2019 Different Sections of a Narrative Writing

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Sample Essay

Adapted from Leong, P, Free and Situational Writing for GCE N and O levels.

7/28/2019 Different Sections of a Narrative Writing

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Adapted from Leong, P, Free and Situational Writing for GCE N and O levels.

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YOUR TURN

Choose one of the topics below and come up with a plan or mindmap containing the varioussegments of a narrative: orientation, events, complication, climax, resolution and coda(optional).

1. An unsuccessful shopping trip.

2. A visit to an amusement park.

3. Write about the rivalry between two elderly people.

4. Write a story about what happened when a family moved to a new home and found that the keysprovided could not unlock the front door.

E.g. An embarrassing situation in a restaurantOrientation: Jeiyi was pleased when her boyfriend suggested that they have a meal at

Seafood Centre at East Coast Park.

Event: She was on the bus home from school when she received a text messagefrom her mother. Her father had an important business associate in townand they (the whole family) were going out to dinner with the client MrSaunders whom she knew very well. She dared not tell her mother why shecould not go by feigning illness. She met Wee Min at the restaurant.

Complication: A familiar voice surprised her. It was Mr Saunders. He told her that theychanged their plan. Instead of having a drink at her fathers club, theydecided to meet at this restaurant.

Climax: To make things more embarrassing, Mr Saunders said that he would helpher keep the secret that she was meeting someone though he was told that

she was supposed to be sick. He also suggested that he would go to theentrance to see whether her family was coming. Then he would ask them togo to another restaurant instead.

Resolution: Mr Saunders also mentioned that he would keep her family there as long aspossible and she must return home before them.

Adapted from Leong, P, Free and Situational Writing for GCE N and O levels.