...Which Essay is Better: A Narrative or A Descriptive? Ever read a story and say to yourself, “What’s happening?” Whenever I read a descriptive essay, that’s what I would say. In this essay I would be comparing and contrasting two types of essays, a narrative and descriptive. I have chosen “Are the rich happy?” by Stephen Leacock 1916 and “Sister Flowers” by Maya Angelou, n.d. By writing my essay, I want to give my views on each and decide which I would rather write. Narrative Essay A narrative essay reflects a personal opinion that is based on your own experiences. This helps you bring a reader into your very own mind and shows him/her the topic you’re writing about through your eyes. Telling a story or event the way it happened for you. It also could provide a sort of lesson or moral to be learned from the outcome of the story as well as what the writer did that contributed to it or not. It’s more on a personal level that any one reading could say that happened to them or that they learned from the story by not doing whatever it was that the writer did. In Stephen Leacock’s “Are the Rich Happy?” the author writes about his experiences with his friends, with of modest income. Most of it, all in his opinion, points out the problems or troubles those with an existential amount of funds in their bank accounts. He goes on to give some examples that he encountered several of his friends going through. “A friend of mine who has ten thousand dollars a year told me the other...
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...Parks English 121 May 19, 2014 I. Introduction- The Narrative, “This Old House: The Heart is a Lonely Menagerie” leaves more to the readers imagination than the Descriptive essay, “Once More to the Lake”. II. First Difference: Specific word usage and paragraphs A. The narrative has dialogue and uses action to get the reader’s attention. The paragraphs can be short even one word, depending on if the writer is showing a conversation between two or more people. For example in the Narrative, “This Old House: The Heart is a Lonely Menagerie”, David has multiple conversations with people throughout the essay giving you an idea of what is actually taking place and helping to put you into the situation. B. Descriptive essays normally have longer paragraphs which include a lot of detail. These types of essays also require carefully chosen words so that the reader can visualize what the writer is intending to say. For example in “Once More to the Lake” He makes it a point to tell you every detail you could possibly imagine about the lake. III. Second Difference: The Structure of the essay A. A narrative should have a plot, setting and characters. It should also cover all important events. In the Narrative the plot is about how David wants the little things in life to be of importance and not have to worry about all the hub bub of showing off your belongings. He wants to relax and lead a simple life. The setting is in a couple different homes, one being his childhood...
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...The Narrative Essay The narrative essay is simply a complete account of an incident or incidents contained in one cohesive essay. The narrative essay is useful when writing an incident report, such as an automobile accident or a criminal action. By far, one of the best uses of the narrative is when introducing the thesis for a longer work, i.e. a research paper. Your audience for this essay is your fellow classmates and the teacher. Assignment Write a narrative essay, the purpose of which is the serve as evidence for the position you have taken on an issue. The issue in the sample essay is how the writer lost his teeth. The essay must be a minimum of 380 words and no more than 400 words. You will superscript the number of the comma rule that justifies it over each comma. When you turn in your final draft, you must turn in a minimum 100-word, process paragraph expressing what you learned as a result of this assignment. Learning Objectives • To format documents correctly in accordance with MLA; • To understand the structure of a narrative paragraph; • To understand your own unique voice (syntax and tone); • To eliminate sentence fragments, run-ons, and comma splices; • To eliminate point of view errors; • To eliminate verb tense errors; • To eliminate punctuation errors – commas; • To have fun. The Narrative Structure A narrative is a story, and like a story has a definite underlying structure. The parts of a narrative are the situation, conflict...
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...more sarcastic narrative. Arguably both writers do a great job in their story telling skills. Both stories are respected and pleasing, yet similar but different at the same time. The authors’ choice of writing style is what gives one story more of an advantage to the other. Though descriptive and narrative essay have identical intent – to tell the reader a story- narratives are more effective in capturing the audience because the uses of different voices, they bring ideas into perspective and they are relatable. There are special components that both style of writing possesses. Narrative writing usually does not stress adjectives to give the physical details of characters, setting or events in the story. Nothing like descriptive writing, narrative writings are written in the first person in order to convey the author's attitudes, beliefs and memories. Narratives are conventional, while descriptive writings content often emphases on a single event, object or place. Occasionally, writers utilize narrative writing style to tell about the past or the future in broad terms. A narrative often reflects personal experience, clarifying what happened during some sort of incident. Narrative essay topics include recounting an experience where the learned something significant, such as losing a tooth, first day of high school, or any type of life changing experience However, narration are not always a personal experience. Narratives are a form of storytelling. Narratives tend to have more...
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...Literacy Narrative In: Other Topics Literacy Narrative I grew up in a very fortunate family; we never really had to worry about a low income, and we were able to buy extra stuff and go on other trips unlike other families. I never really understood how we were able to do this seeing as my parents did not go to college. They also rarely ever read; if they did it would be a magazine or an article online, and they never wrote. My parents would always push me to read more and always do well on my writing assignments and review them over and over again so they would be the best of my ability. Back then I never really understood why they would make me do all of this, but now that I am a bit older and understand how important these traits are, I understand why they did this. I’ll never forget my English teacher my junior year of high school, Mr. Stanizzi. He was the most inspirational teacher I have ever had in my life. He genuinely loved his job and made English class fun, and fascinating. By this time I thought for sure that no teacher was ever going to change my opinion on writing, but he proved me wrong. There was something he did while teaching and analyzing poems that really struck my interest. Every week we would have a period just focusing on either writing our own poems or analyzing them. There was one particular poem that I was extremely proud of and showed Stanizzi the poem. He was shocked that I wrote such a good poem. He liked my poem so much...
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...Writing the literacy narrative was a very interesting experience. Not only did I learn more about how to implement sociological factors and bring in a second lens, but I also got the opportunity to write about a single event in detail. I would say that throughout the course of writing this narrative, I have enjoyed employing the five vivid senses the most. This holds true because I prefer writing in ways that have the capacity to evoke realistic feelings, much like Markus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief. Since this was the first time I have really written a narrative about an event related to reading and/or writing, it was difficult for me to even choose what to write about. Hence, I believe that the biggest challenge that came my way...
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...Descriptive vs. Narrative Essays Camille Hall English 121 Instructor James Welch March 17, 2013 Descriptive vs. Narrative Essays Descriptive essays are much more detailed and expressive than narrative essays and are more apt to hold the reader’s attention by ejecting more emotion. The narrative essay uses detail to advance the story, while the descriptive uses to detail to describe an unfamiliar subject. The ability to describe something convincingly is always important to both the writer and their audience. Both descriptive and narrative essays use detail but for different purposes. In this essay I will compare and contrast two essays; “I Want A Wife” and “Caged Bird” in order to give insight into each type of essay. The aim of a narrative essay is to describe a course of events from a subjective point, is usually told in chronological order, and is usually written in first person. Narrative essays are used to tell a story in a way so that the reader learns a lesson or gains insight, much of this is done through lots of detail about the subject that is being written about. The best narrative essays are those inducing images in the reader’s minds about what's happening by using concrete, specific verbs and nouns rather than a lot of adverbs and adjectives. To write a narrative essay you will need to tell a story (usually about something that has happened to you) or it could be fiction. The purpose is for your reader to learn a lesson or gain insight of...
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...University Generate a list of narrative essay components “The four components of essays are Expository essay, Descriptive essays, Narrative essays, and Argumentative essays.” (ack Baker Allen Brize) The expository essay is a essay” that requires the student to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition,” (ack Baker Allen Brize) The descriptive essay is a essay” that asks the student to describe something object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation. This encourages the student’s ability to create a written account of a particular experience.” (ack Baker Allen Brize) A narrative essay,” These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.” (ack Baker Allen Brize) Explain what strategies you will use to select a topic for an essay The strategies I would use to select a topic for my essay is I would” first call or write someone from my past an ask them questions that would help me learn more about my past history”, (Composition of everyday life, 2012) I would then “visit my old school or even look for old photos” (Composition of everyday life, 2012) .Lastly I would try to think of things that happen to me on my own that would make a great topic for an essay. The argumentative essay is a essay that requires “the student...
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...Compare-Contrast Essay The thought of doing an essay for most people can at be quite intimidating because of the need to be technically proficient, following the mandatory expectations outlined and some might find them boring because they feel like it is too restrictive in nature. That is merely just a common misconception though, there are several different styles of essays and the two that are going to be discussed are descriptive and narrative essays. The narrative essay's main purpose is to tell a story using characters and a plot, where perhaps a problem is given, and the events that unfold eventually explain a solution to the problem or issue presented. In contrast the descriptive essay can be very powerful in the fact it is written using the five senses (visual, audible, taste, tactile sensations and smells) this allows the author to bring a scene or object to life in the mind of the reader. While narrative essays are almost like a movie that is played out in the judgment of the reader, the descriptive essay paints a vivid photograph or place the reader can experience and this is why descriptive essays are the superior of the two styles. One of the best qualities that narrative essays are able to offer over descriptive essays is they are structured to appeal to the simplest of mankind's urge to share a good story. There are various forms in which we can find a narrative writing example such as a poem, play, novel and the obvious essay. There are times...
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...1102 Paper One Assignment Narrative Essay A narrative essay is the story of a significant or memorable event in your life. A narrative should include specific details, descriptions, and perhaps even dialogue. A narrative is a story told from your perspective that includes not only a narration of the event, but also an evaluation of this event. For this essay, I want you to focus on food as the guiding theme behind your narrative. In order to write this essay, please consider some of the following questions: 1) What is your food story? 2) What role does food play in your gatherings with family and friends? 3) How much does your culture influence what/how you eat? 4) Are there recipes that are particularly significant to you? Why? Where did you get them? 5) What is your most significant memory involving food? 6) How does food affect other aspects of your life? The essay will be graded on the following criteria: 1. ASSIGNMENT FULFILLMENT (Basic Elements): Is the essay 2-4 typed, double-spaced pages? Does the title introduce the subject of the narrative? Is this work a clear-cut narrative with a proper timeline? Is it formatted properly (page numbers, MLA manuscript form)? 2. CONTENT (Hook, pacing, conclusion): Does the introduction have a good hook, one that captures the reader's interest? Is the essay's narrative pacing o.k.- neither too fast nor excessively slow? Does the conclusion wrap-up the essay effectively, providing a revelation...
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...Write an "Accomplishment Essay" What are your three most substantial accomplishments, and why do you view them as such? — Harvard http://www.free-essay-writing-topics.com/index.php?page=mba-application-accomplishment-questions What is the most significant change or improvement you have made to an organization with which you have recently been affiliated? Describe the process you went through to identify the need for change and manage the process of implementing change. What were the results? — Kelley Describe your greatest professional achievement and how you were able to add value to your organization. — Johnson The goal in answering this kind of question is to analyze, rather than summarize, an achievement. This advice is particularly true if you're discussing an accomplishment that is listed elsewhere on the application. Your readers want to gain insight into your character, not read a factual summary of what occurred. Here are some guiding principles to use in constructing your answer: (1) Choose something that's meaningful to you. Some applicants feel obligated to choose the most objectively impressive accomplishments. You should write about something that has personal significance, even if you weren't formally recognized for it. What matters is that you write passionately and insightfully about your subject. Unless otherwise specified, you should feel free to draw on academic, personal, or professional successes. (2) Focus on details about the process. Show the reader...
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...Emmanuel Obeng Professor Rosalie Yezbick LITR220 25 March, 2016 Course Reflection It has been an amazing eight weeks of intense but fun time learning about American Literature. There were some awesome topics, essays and readings that were my favorites. However, there were also some few topics that even though were interesting to read were my least favorite. The body of this essay is going to be talking about my three favorite as well as my three least topic, essays, forums and reading throughout the course. My first is Anti-Slavery and Slave Narratives in week seven forum, some of the challenges Linda Brent faced while she lived under Flint. While reading, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” it actually made me feel very sad for this...
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...Project-Reflective Essay As I look back at the writings I have created in these past few years, I realize that other than my junior year, I haven't written any narrative pieces, in any classes. The focus throughout my high school curriculum has been toward argumentative, analysis, and informative writings. Only in my junior year did I write my first creative writings in the form of a short story and a poem. The first creative writing I had to write a "Vomit" Draft. A vomit draft was the very first draft of a paper with little to no guidelines. "Bring two minutes to life" was the only instruction. We had to throw down 500 words without paying any real attention to punctuation or grammar. This kind of freedom associated with such creative writing was an alien concept to me. Getting used to writing without a structure that we had to follow, without a set of guidelines we had to abide by took a while. But, this kind of writing really helped me learn and improve, not just my writings, my organization and my time management skills as well. Knowing that I had to write such a demanding paper (it turned out to be fourteen pages longs), I had to improve my time management skills, which, up till junior year, hadn’t really been a challenge. Forcing myself then, to distribute time wisely has really helped me now, with the terrific pressures and burdens of college applications. This creative writing segment in my junior year helped my prepare, in a way, for these college essays. It gave me...
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...Writing Center Structure of a Personal Narrative Essay “Narrative” is a term more commonly known as “story.” Narratives written for college or personal narratives, tell a story, usually to some point, to illustrate some truth or insight. Following are some tools to help you structure your personal narrative, breaking it down into parts. The “Hook” Start your paper with a statement about your story that catches the reader’s attention, for example: a relevant quotation, question, fact, or definition. Introduction Set the Scene Provide the information the reader will need to understand the story: Who are the major characters? When and where is it taking place? Is it a story about something that happened to you, the writer, or is it fiction? Thesis Statement The thesis of a narrative essay plays a slightly different role than that of an argument or expository essay. A narrative thesis can begin the events of the story: “It was sunny and warm out when I started down the path”; offer a moral or lesson learned: “I’ll never hike alone again”; or identify a theme that connects the story to a universal experience: “Journeys bring both joy and hardship.” “Show, Don’t Tell” Good story telling includes details and descriptions that help the reader understand what the writer experienced. Think about using all five senses—not just the sense of sight—to add details about what you heard, saw, and felt during the event. For example, “My heart jumped as the dark shape of the...
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...main idea of the essay is the fact that the author always had the desire to be a writer but he was faced with the difficult of writing during his time at school, his English classes were very hard and confused. The others points I found on this essay is: * The author faced and thought that only the rich people could write and that being a writer as professional did not have a good future, but even that he had begun to think about being a writer. So in his third year at college things changed for him. * When his class assigned to Mr. Fleagle, he was waiting another sad and dull year because the Mr. Fleagle was recognized as a person with no inspiration, no glare, his way of dressing or even his physical characteristics made the students in the city do not have a good conception of Mr. Fleagle. * Another important point that the author cites in his essay is he was not disappointed for a long time, because he expected an antipathetic professor. Also he cites the teacher wanted his students to like Macbeth, but the teacher didn’t know how to influence the students’ whit that passion he had for Macbeth. The author makes a citation which one the teacher always used in the classroom and is very interesting “do not you see”, the author claims it as his teacher was placed in front of students in a tone of mild surprise ignorance of them. What I realized at the end of the essay is the author decides to break the rules and finally begins to write about what he feels and...
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