What is the Premise of a Story — Definition and Examples


Examine various narrative essay examples to understand how to write a narrative essay. When you read different samples, you see how others structure their essays, develop their plots, and use descriptive language. This can give you ideas for your own writing and help you learn effectively. Seeing how others express their personal experiences can inspire you. It also gives a clearer picture of what a well-written narrative essay looks like.


We've curated a collection of narrative essay topics that will spark your creativity and bring your experiences to life. Dive into the rich tapestry of your memories, explore the unique threads of your life, and let your narrative unfold.

A good narrative essay should draw readers in, tell them a story that leaves an impression on them and finish with a definitive conclusion. It includes all the familiar elements of a story without being as long as one. It should also let the reader know what you make of the story and your thoughts about it.

Write a Short Narrative Essay on a memorable moment with your family.

For example, if you are asked to describe a time you learned something important, think of a moment that had a profound effect on you. This approach will allow you to provide detailed and meaningful insights into your narrative.

Even if the story or information you choose to center your narrative essay on is based on personal experience, in order to fully translate that into writing, research is still necessary. You might find that there are gaps during your brainstorming stage that will then require you to do further research. Especially for certain phenomena that require a more logical explanation for your readers to fully understand. Remember that in order to inform anyone correctly, you need to be informed yourself which you can do through the research process.

Writing a good story from start to finish is difficult without proper planning. This is why you should create a narrative essay outline and draft first. Break down your story into key points, organize them logically, and ensure each part flows smoothly into the next. After outlining, draft your essay and refine it until it meets all the requirements.

You should be able to weave your truth into a story that matters. A strong narrative essay tells a story you care about and are eager to share. Choose a subject that highlights your strengths and captures the interest of your audience. For instance, focus on your academic successes or your dedication to community work.


Here’s a basic outline structure for a narrative essay:

As for a short story, this is fictional, and what happens is the product of the writer’s imagination. It doesn’t require a thesis statement, and its structure is much more fluid than a narrative essay. There’s no set way to approach one and you can be as creative as you like with the content.

Here are a few narrative essay topics:

There are multiple types of narrative essays. Most college and university assignments require your work to be factual. Your work will be fictional for some courses, such as creative writing. You’ll find some of the main types below:

Narrative essays work to surface meaning from lived experience.

Your story should make sense, whatever type of narrative writing you choose. The paragraphs should connect in a clear and logical way. If you choose a non-linear style, the reader should be able to tell that the events aren’t in the right order.

A narrative essay is a gripping story in three acts:

If you’re stuck on how to write a narrative paragraph, remember that it should be concise. It should also connect with the one before and after it. Your work ideally won’t have any blocks of text that stand out or are separate from the rest of the writing. For your essay to read well, there should be links from one paragraph to the next.

Narrative Essay Outline Example"A Memorable Camping Trip."

You’ll have to rely on facts when writing a narrative essay for a college or university assessment. Your writing should give the reader a clear summary of what happened. You’ll also have to stick to a word count, if there is one, and follow the general narrative essay structure that markers are looking for. A thesis statement in the opening section should summarise your paper’s key argument.

Follow these narrative essay writing tips to write effectively.

The body of your narrative essay is where you get to detail every supporting fact that leads to your thesis statement. The body of your essay can have at least three topic sentences that form your paragraphs. The topic sentence is usually at the beginning of each paragraph. Assuming you’ve done the brainstorming step, you will easily find the words from techniques like listing and clustering. You’ll also be able to work easily as you’ve already created your outline as well as fine-tune your free-written ideas.