Key features of literacy narratives
- A-95A well-told narrative shows readers what happened and why it matters. Lively details present the sights, sounds, and smells of the world in which the story takes place. Dialogue and action add interest and energy.
- A main idea or insight about reading or writing, sometimes written as a thesis statement, gives a literacy narrative its significance and transforms it from a personal story to one with larger, universal interest.
- A well-organized narrative, like all essays, has a beginning, a middle, and an end and is focused around a thesis or main idea. Narratives can be written in chronological order, in reverse chronological order, or with a series of flashbacks.
- First-person point of view (I) gives a narrative immediacy and authenticity. Your voice may be serious or humorous, but it should be appropriate for your main idea.
NOTE: Sometimes, especially with narrative writing, it is not possible or necessary to express a central idea in an explicit thesis statement. See Writing with an implicit thesis.