The purpose of a narrative is to tell a story from a particular point of view. The narrative has characters, a plot, setting, and one or more themes. Typically, students are required to compose three types of narratives: the Personal Narrative, the Fictional Narrative, and the College Admissions Essay. The Jane Schaffer Academic Writing Program® guides teachers to help their students write all three types of narratives effectively.
A personal narrative is a story about ourselves– autobiographical accounts of our lives – from a special moment to an entire lifetime. Personal narratives can also be written to tell a story about a person, a place, or a thing in one’s life that the writer might like or dislike, admire or disrespect, find joyful or sad, appreciate or reject.
A fictional narrative, on the other hand, is a story that is written from one’s imagination rather than from real-life experiences. The short stories and novels that young people and adults read are fictional narratives. And the movies and dramas young people and adults watch are primarily fictional, rather than autobiographical narratives.
To teach personal and fictional narratives, the Jane Schaffer Academic Writing Program begins with guiding teachers to help students discover a topic on which to write. JSWP trains teachers and their students how to organize a dramatic structure with an exposition at the beginning; how to develop the rising action, which builds suspense and unveils tension or conflict; how to develop characters and lead them and the reader toward the climax or highest point of the story; how to end the story through the falling action, where the resolution or unraveling of the plot takes place; and how to develop and reveal universal truths. Who knows? By teaching the personal and fictional narratives, teachers might uncover a future poet or novelist in their classrooms!
Personal narratives are also typically written for college admissions essays. Some college admissions essay topics ask students to (1) share their backgrounds, interests, or talents; (2) provide lessons they have learned from obstacles encountered in their lives; (3) recount times when they might have been questioned or challenged; (4) reflect on something that other people did that made the students thankful; (5) discuss accomplishments, events, or realizations that sparked a period of personal growth; or perhaps (6) describe captivating and meaningful topics, ideas, or concepts in their lives. JSWP also provides high school student workshops to guide students to select appropriate and interesting college admissions essay topics to set the students’ writing apart from other college admissions entries and then leads students through the process to develop their essays.
Whether a student writes a personal narrative, a fictional narrative, or a college admissions essay, the narrative is a story designed to express one’s feelings about life from a particular point of view. All three types of narratives include or create characters who live, work, or play in a certain setting and who experience and engage in resolving both large and small conflicts. In addition, choosing the appropriate diction, imagery, details, figurative language, and syntax are all critical in writing a compelling narrative. JSWP provides teachers with a step-by-step approach to writing narratives so that students can successfully record special times in their lives, create imaginative stories, perform well academically, and enroll in the college of their choice.
After thirty-five years of reviewing writing samples for ever-evolving high-stakes tests, including state and national tests, Dr. Deborah Louis and the Jane Schaffer Academic Writing Program provide teachers and students with insight and skill regarding narrative writing to achieve higher scores.
JSWP teaches students and teachers how to discover a topic for a narrative, develop interesting characters, design a meaningful setting, determine point of view, and create a narrative plot and structure that grab the audience’s attention.
Personal and fictional narratives take time. JSWP provides time and assistance in a calm and inviting environment that promotes thinking, creativity, and imagination.
With all writing, students feel a sense of accomplishment; however, the personal or fictional narrative taps uniquely into a student’s being and self-worth. Creating a piece of writing from one’s own history or imagination can be extremely rewarding.
