NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

Narratives Reference Guide

The Concepts: Narratives - Structure and Point of View

What?
A narrative is a particular mode of writing that involves storytelling. Narrative writing unfolds through a
sequence of events and actions, often referred to as the plot of a story. Narratives most commonly unfold
chronologically, in a sequence in which events are recounted as they occurred in time, from first to last.
Narrative writing also involves a voice the story is told in, often referred to as its narrator, narrative point of
view, or perspective. Narratives are most commonly told in the third or first person. The most familiar types
of narratives are short stories and novels, which are fictional narratives. But narratives can also be
nonfictional, presenting stories from history or an author’s personal life. Most documentaries and feature
films are a visual form of narration.

When?
When following any narrative account, you attend to how it unfolds and is sequenced or structured. A
narrative makes sense when you are able to identify and follow its events and elements, even when they are
not presented chronologically. As you read and discuss a narrative more closely, you pay attention to how
literary elements and devices are used to tell the story. You examine not only the story’s sequence, but also
its setting, atmosphere, plot development, and point of view: who tells it and the purpose and perspective
behind the narrative. When writing a narrative, you think about the interplay of all of these elements so that
your story, fictional or personal, comes alive for a reader.

Why?
Narration is one of the most common modes of writing, used not only in telling stories but also in recounting
any sequence of events or actions; historical and scientific accounts often have a narrative structure.
Understanding the elements of narration, especially narrative structure and point of view, is therefore
important, whether you are reading and analyzing a short story, following a historical account, or writing a
personal narrative. Authors make choices about how they craft their narratives based on the meaning or
purpose they intend to convey. When authors are successful in their craft, their texts hold readers’ attention

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 1 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

and create engaging and meaningful stories, accounts, explanations, and even narrative essays or
arguments, which often use narrative examples or case studies to make their points.

Narratives: Characterization
Note that the section below, Characterization in Narrative Works, provides information on this essential
element of narrative writing.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 2 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

The Process: Analyzing the Structure of a Narrative

Whether you are analyzing a story or preparing to write one, it is important to know the components, or
elements that authors use to construct a narrative and convey meaning. Below is a glossary of the basic
elements of narrative writing, their purposes, and steps to take when reading, analyzing, or writing a
narrative.

Grounding a Narrative Using Elements of Setting and Atmosphere

Setting and atmosphere are often the first things established in a narrative. Think about how these elements
influence a story you are reading or writing.

1. Setting: The setting is an element of a story and involves where and when a story takes place, often
including the story’s physical and historical background.

a. Pay attention to how an author establishes a story’s setting, and its impact on the atmosphere,
mood, and events of the story. Thinking about the setting of a narrative will help you when you are
reading a story and also when you are crafting your own narratives.

2. Atmosphere: The atmosphere is the general, pervasive feeling that an author creates by using literary
elements, such as setting, description, and characterization. An author also uses literary devices such as
figurative language, mood, and dialogue to establish atmosphere in a narrative.

a. As you read or write, note language that contributes to the mood and atmosphere of the story.
What do these words make you feel or think about? Identify words you might use to characterize
the mood or atmosphere (e.g., tense, dreamlike, stormy).
b. Think about the relationships among the atmosphere of the story, the events of its plot, its
characters’ actions and interactions, and the themes that are developed.

Developing Narrative Plot through Elements of Organization and Structure

Most writers organize events and the structure of their narratives before they begin writing. This
organization is the basis for the narrative’s plot, structure, and sequence of action and events in a story. Plot
structures and sequences might be developed through a story outline or a storyboard. Take note of whether
or not, and how, a story you are reading or writing follows the classic plot sequence outlined here.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 3 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

1. Exposition: The exposition is the introduction of a story. In the exposition, the writer usually introduces
one or more characters and establishes the setting and atmosphere.

a. Take note of how a story is introduced and what you know, or do not know, about its setting,
events, and characters. Anticipate where you think the story might go.

2. Rising Action or Complication: The rising action includes the events, actions, and interactions that
build and complicate the story.

a. Notice how the story’s characters are developed through events that occur, conflicts that arise,
descriptions, and dialogue. New events and characters might also complicate the narrative.
b. Determine if the story seems to be moving in a linear sequence, or if it has been complicated
through flashbacks or foreshadowing.

1. Climax: The climax is the turning point of a story, which includes the most dramatic scenes or moments
when the characters’ actions, interactions, and conflicts become most intense or significant.

a. Identify the moments, events, or actions of the story that seem to be most dramatic or significant
as it nears the end of its rising action.
b. Anticipate where the story will go following its climactic moments—to an expected resolution or an
unexpected turn of events.

2. Falling Action: The falling action includes the events, actions, and interactions within the latter part of a
story after its climax. This part of the plot can be rich and detailed, further developing the elements and
themes of the story, or it can be brief, even nonexistent.

a. Pay attention to what happens—or does not happen—following the climactic events of the
narrative.
b. Think about how these plot events continue to complicate the narrative, change the characters,
and suggest the themes.

3. Resolution or Denouement: The resolution is the final part of a story in which the strands of the plot
are drawn together. Matters are explained or resolved, and characters meet their fates.

a. Determine what kind of ending the narrative has—expected or unexpected, happy or sad, tragic or
ironic.
b. Think about how a story’s ending has been foreshadowed by previous events or how it connects
back to the exposition, complication, and climax (completes the story’s circle).

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 4 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

c. Analyze the ending in light of the entire plot, and identify themes that seem to be communicated
through plot structure.

Using Literary Techniques that Impact Narrative Structure and Plot

The plot of a story can be straightforward or extremely complicated. Sometimes, a plot follows the order of
events in which they occur, called chronological or linear order. Other times, authors move the events
around through the use of flashbacks to create clarity, mystery, or tension. When authors hint at what is to
come, it is called foreshadowing. Pay attention to how time unfolds in a narrative you are reading or writing
and how this influences the experience and meaning of the story.

1. Episodic Narration: Episodic narration is a way of telling a story through a series of episodes, separate
incidents in a larger work. There might not be obvious connections among episodes, though taken
together they might add up to a full narrative.

a. Notice if the story seems to play out in a seamless narrative, or if it is told through a series of
separate incidents, episodes, substories, or vignettes.
b. If the story seems more episodic, make connections among its incidents or substories to
determine what they add up to.

2. Chronology: The chronology is the time sequence in which a story is told. A story is chronological, or
linear, when the events are presented in the order in which they occurred, from first to last.

a. Pay attention to time and how it unfolds in the story. Does the time flow in a linear sequence, or
does it skip around between past and present?
b. Notice indicators of time shifts, sometimes communicated through time-oriented connecting
phrases (e.g., “An hour earlier…” “Two months later…” “In an earlier part of his life…”). Pay
attention to verb tenses and shifts they indicate, from past to present, or vice versa.

3. Flashbacks: A flashback is an episode in a story in which the events or character’s thoughts move
backward to a previous point in time. The purpose of a flashback can be to clarify or to confuse. It can
fill in details, further develop the character, reveal motivations, introduce conflicts, or complicate the
narrative structure.

a. Look for moments in the narrative when time shifts backward to fill in details about the plot or
characters.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 5 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

b. Think about how these flashbacks are used to develop characters, conflicts, and themes in the
narrative.

4. Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is a device an author uses to give the reader a hint of events or
developments that will occur later in the story.

a. Pay attention to words, descriptions, thoughts, or actions that might suggest what will happen
later in the story. Sometimes, these clues suggest an expected ending, but often they provide
subtle hints that something unexpected will occur.

5. In Medias Res: In medias res is a term derived from Latin, meaning “in the midst.” In a narrative, in
medias res occurs when an author plunges directly into the events or actions of a story with little or no
exposition. In this type of narrative, the story typically moves forward through events and actions, with
the background and exposition presented only through flashbacks.

Presenting a Narrative through Voice, Perspective, and Point of View

Who tells a story, and how they tell it, often influences the story’s meaning and a reader’s experience as
much as the elements of its structure and plot. As you read a narrative, think about the voice and
perspective it comes from, and whether they are the author’s, or your own when writing a narrative.
Determine whether the story is told in first person or in third person, and whether the narrator can see inside
the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Take particular note of places in the story in which the voice,
perspective, or point of view shifts. Think about how a story’s narrative point of view is a fundamental
element of its characterization. Through a story’s point of view, characters either tell their own stories in the
first person or a narrator presents the story’s characters in third-person limited or dramatizes characters’
thoughts and feelings in third-person omniscient.

1. Author’s or Narrator’s Perspective: The perspective from which a story is told reflects how the author
or a narrator seems to view events, characters, and themes. Sometimes, a story is clearly told in a way
that indicates the author’s views. Other times, an author will use a narrator to tell the story in a way that
may not reflect the author’s own perspective. If the narrator’s perspective seems untrustworthy or
clouds the reader’s view of events, characters, and themes, the narrator might be referred to as
unreliable.

a. As you begin to read or write a narrative, consider who is telling the story. Ask yourself if the
storyteller is the author or another narrative voice that might or might not reflect the author’s
perspective.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 6 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

b. By examining or writing the descriptions and views presented by the story’s narrator, determine if
the narrative perspective is one a reader can trust.

2. Narrative Point of View: The point of view in a narrative reflects the author’s choice about how the
story is told. A story can be told through first-person narration in which the storyteller is also a character
and uses first-person pronouns, such as I. Or, a story can be told through third-person narration in
which it is told from a perspective outside any of the individual characters and uses mostly third-person
pronouns, such as he, she, and they.

a. To determine the point of view from which a story is told, consider the nouns and pronouns used
as the subjects of sentences in the narrative. Determine whether the narrator is also a character in
the story, telling their own story or views, or whether the narrator presents characters from an
outside point of view.
b. First-Person Narration: If I and me are used, and the narrator seems to be a character in the story,
which is told directly through that character’s thoughts and words, it is using first-person point of
view. If so, determine if the narrator is a main or secondary character in the story, and if you think
the narrator’s perspective is reliable or not.
c. Third-Person Narration: If the story is told from a point of view outside any of the characters and
uses third-person pronouns in the narration, it is using third-person point of view. Once you have
identified the narration as third person, determine if the voice telling the story is the author’s or a
third-person narrator the author has created. Look at character descriptions to see whether the
narrator has the ability to see inside characters’ minds and describe their thoughts and feelings,
which is known as omniscient, or if the narrator is only able to describe characters’ actions and
interactions, which is known as limited.
d. Omniscient Narration: When a narrator has the ability not only to describe characters’ actions and
interactions, but also to go inside their heads and reveal their thoughts and feelings, the narrator is
referred to as omniscient. This word suggests that the narrator is all-knowing or all-seeing and
comes from the Latin roots omni (all) and scire (know, which is also the root word for “science”).
Decide if the narrator has this ability or not, which will greatly affect how the characters are
developed and described.

3. Stream of Consciousness: Look for places in a story in which the point of view might go deeply into the
consciousness of a character, revealing the character’s inner thoughts or feelings as they are being
experienced. Stream of consciousness narration is a somewhat experimental way of telling a story that
focuses on the inner thoughts experienced by a character and is often presented in the way people
think: in images, phrases, and associations. It is not always structured by sentences and paragraphs, as

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 7 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

writing and speaking typically are. Thus, some writers use minimal punctuation when depicting a
character’s stream of consciousness. Stream of consciousness can occur in either a first-person or third-
person narrative.
4. Shifting Point of View: Once established, the point of view is usually consistent throughout a story, but
an author might occasionally use a shifting point of view as a narrative technique. Note places in which
the point of view changes—moving from third- to first-person narration or from one first-person
narrator to another. See if a limited third-person narrator, who can only describe events, actions, and
interactions, suddenly becomes omniscient and can now see within characters’ minds. Think about
places in the story that might shift into or out of stream of consciousness, or among the minds of
various characters. When you identify situations like this, try to determine why the author chose to shift
point of view, and how that affects the story’s meaning or your experience as a reader.

Guiding Questions
Use questions such as the following to help you examine the structure, plot, and point of view of a narrative:

• What stands out about where the story, play, or poem takes place, or its setting?
• What happens in the story, play, or poem? What meaning might be suggested by the events and their
sequence?
• Does the story unfold chronologically in time? If not, how are devices such as flashbacks or
foreshadowing used?
• How has the author structured and used the elements of plot (exposition, complication, climax, falling
action, and resolution) to develop the work?
• Is the work continuous or more episodic in its presentation of its events and actions?
• How do individual episodes, vignettes, or scenes contribute to the overall work?
• In what ways might the setting and events in the work be based on, or related to, experiences from the
author’s life?
• Who is telling the story or providing the voice in the poem? Is the narrative voice the same as the
author’s?
• Is the narrative told through first or third person? Is the narrator omniscient—able to reveal characters’
minds and thoughts?
• If first person, is the narrator a reliable storyteller, one whose views can be trusted?
• Does the work use stream of consciousness or other creative narrative devices? Why?

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 8 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

Literacy Toolbox: Studying or Using Narrative Structure

Use these tools and resources found in the Literacy Toolbox to help you analyze how an author structures a
narrative or to help you, as an author, develop your own narrative.

Tools

Analyzing Relationships Tool

Use this tool when a text-specific question or your reading purpose leads you to attend to the narrative
structure, plot, or point of view. The tool guides you through a process of identifying key details, analyzing
the relationships among those details (e.g., they depict a plot twist that is unexpected), and then explaining
your conclusions about how the narrative’s details and relationships contribute to a text’s overall irony,
theme, or meaning.

Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

Use this tool when a text-specific question or your reading purpose leads you to form a claim about the use
of narrative structure or point of view in a literary work. The tool guides you through a process of identifying
key details, analyzing and explaining connections among the details, and using this evidence-based analysis
as the basis for forming and stating a claim.

Storyboard Tool

Use this tool when you are planning or diagramming a story’s structure. The tool sets up a visually based
planning process, in which pictures and captions are used to map out the narrative structure and sequence,
as is often done for movies and graphic novels.

Resources

Glossary - Types of Narratives

A narrative is any work that is designed, organized, and crafted to tell a story. Recognizing and
understanding the narrative form an author uses can give you insight and knowledge about a text. If you are
composing a narrative, it is important to understand the different kinds of narrative forms at your disposal. If
you know what makes some narrative forms unique, then you can choose the best form to fit your purpose

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 9 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

and style. Use the following glossary to help you understand and distinguish various narrative types and
forms.

Point of View

Use this table to help you identify and distinguish different points of views authors use to tell stories.

Reference Guides for Other Literary Elements and Devices

Use these reference guides from the Literacy Toolbox to provide you with more information on other
elements and devices used in narrative writing. Each guide explains the concept, a process for studying the
element or device, and how, as a writer, you can use the element or device in your own writing.

• The Characterization Reference Guide, which follows, extends and complements the Narratives
Reference Guide. It focuses on how characters are presented and developed within a narrative and can
be referenced in conjunction with studying or planning a story’s narrative structure and other elements.
• See the Mood Reference Guide and Tone Reference Guide for more information on what these devices
are and how to create them. The Words to Describe Mood resource chart can also help you determine
the kind of mood that you want to create for the reader, so you can establish a tone to help you achieve
that. You can use the Words to Characterize Tone resource chart to search for the kinds of words that
signal a specific tone of a text.
• Use the Irony Reference Guide to help identify and analyze how authors use irony in narratives. This
reference guide can also help you make a decision about whether or how you want to develop irony in a
narrative you are crafting.
• Use the Symbolism and Motif Reference Guide to support identification of symbols and motifs, which
can also help you identify themes. If you are crafting a narrative, use this guide to help you plan how to
imbed symbolism or a motif into your story.
• See the Theme Reference Guide to help you determine the theme of a story you are reading. It can also
help you develop a theme if you are crafting a narrative.
• Use the Style Reference Guide to dig deeper into how to recognize and analyze an author’s style so you
can develop your own style in writing.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 10 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

Point of View

The table below distinguishes different points of view an author can use to tell a story and notes some
benefits and limitations of the different approaches and options.

Point of View Benefits Limitations

First-person point of view occurs This allows the author to portray scenes, The narrator can
when the author uses a narrator to experiences, and feelings through the interpret, but not share or
tell the story in the narrator’s narrator’s eyes. The logic of the narrator’s know, thoughts or
words. actions makes more sense because the feelings of other
reader knows what the narrator is feeling. characters.
First person can be in stream of
consciousness, which is the flow of This allows the author to mislead the The narrators cannot
thoughts within the head of the reader. By making a narrator unreliable, the describe their appearance
character; often this uses limited narrator can manipulate the reader. without it seeming self-
punctuation. indulgent.
In any first-person narration, the First-person narrators
narrator uses pronouns I, me, my. cannot know everything;
they can only experience
the world from their own
perspective.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 11 of 12

 NARRATIVES REFERENCE GUIDE

Second-person narration occurs This allows the narrator to appeal directly Second-person narration
when the narrator uses pronouns to the reader. This can build the reader’s is rare in story narratives
that include you, your, yours, trust because the narrator is carrying on a because it limits how
yourself, yourselves. one-sided conversation with the reader. much information the
narrator can provide.
Second-person narration appears in letters,
speeches, and other forms of nonfiction,
such as advertising, business, and
technical writing.

Third-person point of view can be This allows the author to provide the Third-person narration
third-person omniscient or third- perspective of multiple characters. prevents the reader from
person limited. getting too close to the
The author can show what a character is
characters, limiting the
In third-person omniscient, the experiencing or thinking, as well as what is
reader’s capacity for
narrator knows everything about really going on. This allows the reader to
empathy.
all characters and events. This can see the bigger picture of the story.
also just be referred to as Third-person narration
This can create additional suspense
omniscient. does not allow for an
because the reader doesn’t know which
unreliable narrator
In third-person limited, the characters will survive.
because while a narrator
narrator’s sight and knowledge are
can lie in first person, the
limited to one character. In third-
writer cannot.
person limited, the reader learns
about events as the story
progresses.
In third-person omniscient and
third-person limited, the narrator
uses the pronouns he, she, her, his,
they, them.

© 2023, Odell Education. CC BY-SA 4.0. Download for free at [Link] 12 of 12