WRITING 3: TASK 5

Description of NARRATIVE writing

Narrative writing is a text focusing some specific participants that have several structural features making different from other genres. Narrative text is writing in which a story is told; the details may be fictional or based on fact. Typically, the events described in narrative text are written sequentially. The primary purpose of narrative writing is to entertain. Novels depict numerous episodes of action. Short stories may only contain a few or even one episode. Nevertheless, both relate a causal chain of events: each event in the story leads to another, as the protagonist, or main character, tries to reach a goal or solve a problem. Elements that are basic to narrative text include: setting, characters, plot, conflict, and theme. Some literary experts label these elements "story grammar." That is, just as sentence grammar is used to explain and specify how sentences are constructed, story grammar delineates the basic parts of a story and how those work together to create a well constructed tale (Vacca and Vacca, 1993).

How Narrative Writing Differs

What is the difference between narrative and descriptive writing?

·         Narrative writing doesn't emphasize adjectives to give the physical details of characters, setting or events in the story.

·         Unlike descriptive writing, narrative writing uses the first person to relay the author's opinions, values and memories; it is more general, while the content of a descriptive piece focuses on one event, object or place. Sometimes, the author will use the narrative writing style to speak about the past or the future in general terms. The tone is casual and conversational.

What is the difference between Narrative and Recount?

·         Recount is chronological and describes events as they took place in the past

·         Narrative is an art of storytelling that can make the story more interesting and exciting than it is.

·         Narrative gives an account of crises inside the story and a way to solve them.

·         There is a basic difference in the structures of narratives and recounts.

What is the difference between Expository and Narrative?

•         Narrative is a style of writing that can be called story telling while expository is descriptive in nature.

•         Expository is factual and contains a lot of details in the form of facts whereas narrative contains figures of speeches and is a lot more flowing than expository.

•         The content is organized in expository while it can be without chronology in narrative style of writing.

•         Narrative can be both fact and fiction whereas expository is mostly factual.

•         Expository is used by authors mostly in text books whereas narrative style is used by authors writing novels and short stories.

 

How the way to write narrative text?

To write narrative text, you should know the framework of the narrative text itself.

Here are the framework of Narrative: 

1.      Orientation

Sets the scene: where and when the story happened, introduces the participants of the story: who and what is involved in the story.

Eg. Once upon a time, there lived as neighbours, a bear and a rabbit. The rabbit is a good shot. In contrary, the bear is always clumsy ad could not use the arrow to good advantage.

2.      Complication

Tells the beginning of the problem which leads to the crisis (climax) of the main participants.

Eg. One day, the bear called over the rabbit and asked the rabbit to take his bow and arrows and came with bear to the other side of the hill. The rabbit was fearing to arouse the bear's anger so he could not refuse it. He consented and went with the bear and shot enough buffalo to satisfy the hungry family. Indeed he shot and killed so many that there was lots of meat left after the bear and his family had loaded themselves and packed all they could carry home.

The bear was very gluttonous and did not want the rabbit to get any of the meat. Th e rabbit could not even taste the blood from the butchering as the bear would throw earth on the blood and dry it up. The poor rabbit would have to go home hungry after his hard day's work.

3.      Resolution

The problem (the crisis) is resolved, either in a happy ending or in sad (tragic) ending.

Eg. The bear was the father of five children. The youngest child was very kind to the rabbit. He was very hearty eater. The mother bear always gave him an extra large piece of meat but the youngest child did not eat it. He would take it outside with him and pretended to play ball with the meat. He kicked toward the rabbit's house and when he got close to the door he would give the meat with such a great kick. The meat would fly into the rabbit's house. In this way, the poor rabbit would get his meal unknown to the papa bear.

4.      Re-orientation

This is a closing remark to the story and it is optional. It consists of a moral message/lesson, advice or teaching from the writer.

SHOWING THE TOPIC SENTENCES OF THE STORY

The Best Student of the Month!

This story was one of my good stories that I have when I got the predicate as the best student of the month in IDeA Indonesia. This story happened last August, before facing Ramadhan month. The best student? I did not even understand why I got this special predicate. I thought I was not excellent, but I belief I was different. I just did what I supposed to do. They called me Iris, the western name of my real name, Riris.

It was a pretty hot day, the sun shone so brightly without covered by any cloud. I was sitting while thinking of my assignment that given by my lovely instructor, brother Andy, a person who said, “If you do not do this assignment, you are not my students, guys!” All of my friend decided to do not did this assignment because actually we were free but we still have a class and we had many assignments from our campus. There was no time to do that assignment. But what did I do was success made them said, “Yeah, just do it, Iris. You are a good student, right!” Rebecca, Rose, Angelica, and Pauline judged me as the diligent person, but in the wrong way. Extraordinary, freak, queer, or whatever.

One day, as usual, I and friends prayed in the hall together with all people in the dormitory. We chose the back row for making us easy to run away after praying together because there was speech and we had to listen it whereas we had something important to do, assignment. “Come on, pray then go!”, the words that always be breathed by their lips. They went back to our room, but I, I stuck in that place until the end. I did not why I did not do like they did, I just felt uneasy to the people inside the hall. But in several conditions, I followed them.

Today was not like usual, in the evening class, my lovely instructor, brother Bastian looked so happy when he told me and friends about something but actually I did not get it at all. “I have a special news for my special students. One of you will make me proud! Just wait the announcement, I have tried my best to make it true.” Hearing word “Special”, I suddenly remembered about my other instructor words, brother Ahmad, he said “Keep in good way, ris. You are a special student. Trust me.” That words was success made me bloomy.

Started from several months ago, I was always be the best and the most active student in the class. Almost all events that held by dormitory I followed, but they did not. I always got the highest score in every test, so my friends always relied on me when we had an assignment or test, it made me almost always be the last person who left the class room with the instructor. I seldom left the class, and seldom broke the regulations.

Until someday, when I broke the regulations, I did not do the assignment, almost never attended the class and I got punishment. Brother Bastian felt so disappointed of me, someone who usually always give his sweet smile. I was so shy with him, with everyone who trust me, even with myself. Feeling bad all the day and thinking the way out to make him smile again. It was totally rushed my mind. “Sorry, I did not mean to do that!” then brother Andy gave addition suffer by saying “You guys cannot go somewhere in the night to buy some food or do your assignments outside” and made me more be a naughty girl and almost hated him. But alright, I could not be like this. I had to change. I followed the regulation properly. Doing all assignments, no breaking the regulations, giving my best speech, following in almost every events, being the member of IMUN, all I did to get them trust back.

Finally, two days after brother Bastian announced me and friend about the special news, the true news were announced. When maghrib praying was done, Mr. Eko, the head of IDeA Indonesia announced about the best student of the month. All the members listened to his words, full attention. Last month who got the reward was Hadi, the senior high school students, the clever and diligent one. Everyone thought that he would get the reward again this month, but what did Mr. Eko said, Me? I was the best student of this month! “Keep studying hard, being good student, and giving your best speech. Congratulation!”

I just realized that always doing the different thing with the others will created something special. No matter how loud the others screamed that I pretended to be a diligent or smart, or said I was queer or something like that. One that I knew, BEING DIFFERENT MAKES ME SPECIAL.

Topic Sentence of the narrative story of mine is “This story was one of my good stories that I have when I got the predicate as the best student of the month in IDeA Indonesia.” Because that sentence is the main of the story, the handler and the head of the story. That sentence is the soul and the spirit of the story which build the story properly. All sentences after that sentence are the supporting sentences of the topic. They explain the whole events that make the topic happens.

Why I call them topic sentences?

Pr	Topic Sentence	Reason
1	This story was one of my good stories that I have when I got the predicate as the best student of the month in IDeA Indonesia.	It is the topic sentence because it is the main idea that build the next sentences.
2	I was sitting while thinking of my assignment that given by my lovely instructor, brother Andy, a person who said, “If you do not do this assignment, you are not my students, guys!”	This is the topic sentence because the next sentences are the supporting sentences of that sentence.
3	One day, as usual, I and friends prayed in the hall together with all people in the dormitory.	It called as topic sentence because this is the sentence that is told by the next sentences.
4	Today was not like usual, in the evening class, my lovely instructor, brother Bastian looked so happy when he told me and friends about something but actually I did not get it at all.	This sentence is as the topic sentence because it tells the story in general about why brother Bastian was happy which is told completely in the next sentences.
5	Started from several months ago, I was always be the best and the most active student in the class.	It called topic sentence and the next sentences tell the full story of this paragraph.
6	Until someday, when I broke the regulations, I did not do the assignment, almost never attended the class and I got punishment.	It is topic sentence because in the next sentences tell the result of breaking regulation.
7	Finally, two days after brother Bastian announced me and friend about the special news, the true news were announced.	This is the topic sentence because the next sentences tell about the announcement.