Teaching Plan for Integrated Course Book 1 Unit 1 Writing

Unit One Growing Up

Writing --- How to Write a Narrative (1)

1. An introduction

If you choose to write a narrative, it should be a story in which either you or someone you know well was actually involved. You should avoid stories that simply recount accidents, that is to say, a good story needs to have the element of choice in it. The story should be about people, about the decisions they make and the consequences that follow.

A narrative is a moving picture. Like description, narratives need to have a rich texture of details so that the reader is seeing, hearing, smelling, and touching. The reader should experience the story, not simply hear it.

Stories add the element of time to description. Often stories start at the beginning and then follow the sequence of events chronologically.

There are two extremes you want to avoid in writing a narrative. First, you can simply tell the story, event by event, without giving it any texture because you leave out descriptive details and dialogue. At the opposite extreme is a narrative that attempts to tell everything, painting detailed descriptions of every scene, quoting everything that is said, even speculating about the thoughts of the characters. A good narrative has texture, but it is suggestive rather than exhaustive. After all, the reader’s imagination needs some room to fill in details. Giving too many details not only overwhelms the reader’s imagination, it also slows the pace of the narrative.

As with description, point of view is important. What position is the story being told from? As a mode of writing, the narrative approach, more than any other, offers writers a chance to think and write about themselves. We all have experiences lodged in our memories which are worthy of sharing with readers. Yet sometimes they are so fused with other memories that a lot of the time spent in writing narrative is in the prewriting stage.

In this stage, writers first need to select an incident worthy of writing about and, second, to find relevance in that incident. To do this, writers might ask themselves what about the incident provided new insights or awareness. Finally, writers must dredge up details which will make the incident real for readers.

2. Principles of writing narrative essays

Once an incident is chosen, the writer should keep three principles in mind.

(1) Remember to involve readers in the story. It is much more interesting to actually recreate an incident for readers than to simply tell about it.

(2) Find a generalization, which the story supports. This is the only way the writer’s personal experience will take on meaning for readers. This generalization does not have to encompass humanity as a whole; it can concern the writer, men, women, or children of various ages and backgrounds.

(3) Remember that although the main component of a narrative is the story, details must be carefully selected to support, explain, and enhance the story.

3. Conventions of narrative essays

In writing your narrative essay, keep the following conventions in mind.

1 大学英语第一教研室 王祥玉, 李明君 Teaching Plan for College English Integrated Course Book 1 Unit 1

1. Narratives are generally written in the first person, that is, using “I”. However, third person (“he”, “she”, or “it”) can also be used.

2. Narratives rely on concrete, sensory details to convey their point. These details should create a unified, forceful effect, a dominant impression. More information on sensory details is available.

3. Narratives, as stories, should include these story conventions: a plot, including setting and characters; a climax; and an ending.

4. Assignments

1. Write a story about an experience that was particularly significant for you. Think about your experiences. Ask yourself these questions for idea gathering: Why is this experience important for me? What details are necessary for me to re-create the experience in an engaging and interesting way? What will be the point of sharing this story?

2. Think of a person who is now important to you or has made a lasting impression on you. Write a story about how you came to know that person and what that person did that impressed you. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and include specific details in your response.

3. Think of a time when someone showed you kindness or a time when you showed someone else kindness or a time when you witnessed someone else showing kindness to another person. Choose one of these times and write a story about what happened. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and include specific details in your response.

4. Your teacher has given you an assignment to write a narrative essay. Think of a childhood memory that you recall clearly. Write a story about what happened. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and include specific details in your response.

5. Your teacher has given you an assignment to write a narrative essay. Think about an event in your life that you will always remember. Write a story about what happened. Be sure to narrate an event or series of events and include specific details in your response.

2 大学英语第一教研室 王祥玉, 李明君