NARRATIVE
WRITING
Texts used to communicate a particular idea.
Writing that tells a story.
Narrative texts have a plot, characters and usually a narrator – the voice that
describes the events that take place.
A story has a particular setting and is usually structures to show how actions
and emotions develop over time.
Writers often use a story arc to structure narrative texts. This includes a beginning, a middle and an end.
At the start of a story, you find out about the main characters and their situations. There may be mysteries
that make you want to find out more.
Narrative texts also tells you about the time and place in which they are set.
Plot: the events that make up a story and how they relate to one another.
Setting: where and when a story takes place.
Characters: Protagonist, Antagonist
Story arc: a continuing storyline with rising tensión and excitement in the middle.
Audience and purpose
Informative writers craft their texts carefully so that each feature suits the audience they are targeting
and achieve the text’s purpose.
Writers choose to use formal or informal writing depending on the purpose and audience of their text.
For example, the writer of Text B uses informal English to sound friendly and knowledgeable, so readers
would listen to their advice.
The audience are the group of people that the
text is written for.
The purpose is what the writer hopes to achieve
through the text.
Examples:
AUDIENCE – WHO? PURPOSE – WHY? BECAUSE
….
Students in school Inform about covid-19 measures
Judges deciding legal cases Inform about driving laws
Teenagers interested in football Inform about scholarships
Adults concerned about their family Inform about what food to give young
health children
How to communicate ideas in stories
Story writers choose their words carefully to communicate their ideas and make the purpose of their writing clear.
The use of correct adjectives depends on the purpose of your writing.
Look at the picture and try to think about the point of view to describe
this haunted house. Could it be…
a. Welcoming and friendly
b. Mysterious and exciting
c. Unpleasant and unwelcoming
What adjectives could you use to describe this house to make it seem sinister and threatening?
Key Terms
Viewpoint: the carácter from whose perspective the reader experiences a story.
First person: a narrative viewpoint in which a story is told by a carácter, using the pronouns
“I” and “me”.
Third person: a narrative viewpoint in a story that describes events and characters using the pronouns
“he”, “she” and “they”.
Tension: nervous excitement or anxiety.
Suspense: tense uncertainty about future events.
Creating Characters
Read the following description about a boy.
What do you discover about Eragon’s age, appearance and character?
“Dark eyebrows rested above his intense brown eyes”. What features or qualities does this description
suggest about the boy’s character?
Creating Characters
When writing a narrative texts, you can give your reader hints about a character or setting by choosing
specific words to describe them. The correct use of adjectives can help you to give the reader a better idea
of him.
Use appropiate adjectives and verbs to create detail.
Use a mixture of short and long sentences to include action and description.
For example:
The boy was brave and strong.
The man was cowardly and weak.
Creating Settings
In narrative texts, writers often use settings too tell their readers something about the story and the
characters in it.
They also use descriptions of the setting to create the mood or atmosphere of the story.
Writers also use settings to reveal things about what kind of person a character is.
Look at the following words, which ones would you choose to create a setting that is beautiful and calm?
gleaming soft rocky peaceful rough pearly dark
Creating Settings
Look at the picture of a forest. What words and phrases would you use to describe
this forest if you wanted to present it as a mysterious and frightening setting?
Creating Settings
What kind of character is suggested by a house
with a garden containing so many animal traps?
Choose an adjective from the list and explain
your choice. Think about the kind of reaction
many people have to snakes.
mysterious suspicious
friendly gentle
Story Structure
Stories are structured to get the reader interested and involved. They usually include a series of problems
and difficulties that are resolved by the end.
Narrative texts with a story arc have a three-part structure:
• Beginning: the reader learns about the characters and the situation they are in.
• Middle: the characters encounter problems or obstacles that must be overcome, and tension
or excitement increases.
• End: the problems are solved and the characters’ goals are achieved.
For example:
Imagine you are going to write a story called “The Treasure Hunt”.
Which of these events would be obstacles to the hero or heroine
finding the treasue?
• They lose the treasure map.
• They finding digging tools.
• The weather is perfectly calm.
• They are captures by thieves.
• The key does not fit the treasure chest.
Story Arc for “The Treasure Hunt”
He cannot read
the writing on it. He loses the map.
Starting point End goal
A boy finds an He searches for the He uncovers
old treasure map. Location on the map. The treasure.