#How to organize your life essay how to#

College application promptRecount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. When applying for college, you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities.įor example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay.

Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.įor example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. Write about an achievement you are proud of.Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself.You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic. Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.Write a story about your first day of school.You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with. Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense. These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing.

#How to organize your life essay how to#

You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.Ī narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way.

When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Frequently asked questions about narrative essays.Interactive example of a narrative essay.