Ideas For Writing A Personal Narrative

Narrative essays are a cornerstone of language or composition classes. Whether you are in elementary school, middle school or college, you will need narrative essay topics. Writing a narrative essay is something you'll encounter very often.

A Narrative Essay is basically an essay that tells a story. It can be any kind of story – a fantastic adventure, a story about a personal experience, a simple telling of an incident, etc. They are a great way for students to practice their writing and storytelling skills.

Both of these are necessary skills in life. That is why narrative essays are a core part of what is taught in language classes.

Generally, writing begins with choosing topic ideas. It might actually be the hardest part of writing a narrative essay. Good narrative essay topics are hard to find.

We've compiled a list of topics for narrative essays. There is essay ideas list, so you can choose the one that seems the most unique or exciting!

How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay?

There are a lot of nuances to choosing a topic. It depends on whether you are a teacher looking to assign students a selection of topic, or a student freely looking for a topic to write on. So, here's a quick talk on how to choose ideas for narrative essays.

Easy, relatable topics

As a teacher, the goal is to choose interesting narrative essay topics for your students. Try to select a topic for a narrative essay that reflects on them. You want the students to be able to understand the topic, apply their own experience to it, and then write.

Be mindful of your audience as well – narrative essay topics for middle school students could be a little more limited compared to narrative essay topics for college students. After all, there is a significant gap in their experiences.

Be comfortable in your style

As a student, the topic for a narrative essay could determine how well you are able to write it. This will, in turn, determine your grades. So, it's really important to decide on good narrative topics for yourself. Think about what kind of writing you are most comfortable with.

If you are good at reflecting on yourself and introspecting, then a personal narrative might be the best option. On the other hand, if you love to write longer stories, then narrative essay topics about a childhood incident or a holiday adventure could be best for you!

Add some complexities!

Just keep in mind that essay topics and ideas aren't interesting by themselves. It is up to the writer to make them interesting narrative essay topics. The writer has to weave a narrative and give the reader a glimpse into their experience.

If you can work some kind of lesson, moral or personal significance into the essay, it will be better for it.

Some Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

Writing can be tough and stressful. So, before you choose a topic, here are a few tips that could come in handy!

Remember, that the goal is to tell a story!

It's a narrative, ultimately meant to teach or entertain. You are not trying to convince anyone of an argument or persuading them. Nor are you simply discussing the different sides of an issue.

Hence, you should focus on creating a story that is fun and immersive to read. That means paying attention to the setting and the characters in the story.

Keep the essay structure in mind.

While it is not absolutely necessary to follow the essay structure of intro, discussion and conclusion in a narrative essay, it will still help you organize the story.

Typically, a narrative essay will start off with an introduction to the story. Next, it will set up the issue or conflict. Finally, the essay will conclude with a solution.

Through this issue and the way it is resolved, a narrative essay could express any moral or significance you want it to.

Outline and draft the whole essay before you start writing it.

An outline is simply a skeleton of the essay that shows its exact structure. It simply lets you know what you are going to write before you start it.

Using a structure, you could decide the order of events in each section. Drafting the whole essay will also give you a chance to get some words on the paper. You will get a rough idea of how the narrative will be shaped. You can always ask for help and buy a narrative essay from a trustworthy writing service.

Try to take advantage of your personal experiences.

It is possible to write a narrative from a completely different point of view about a fictional character. But if you do that, it will be harder to stand out or make the essay feel genuine.

On the other hand, if you can draw on your personal experiences and put them on paper, it will enhance the essay.

Write in the first-person point of view.

There are typically two ways of writing narratives – third and first-person. While the third-person limited perspective is very useful for writing stories, the first-person perspective might be a better idea for you. If you are drawing on personal experiences, writing in first-person will let you express that better.

Now that you have gotten some tips about writing personal narrative topics, it's time to get started with writing narrative essays. Here is a list of narrative essay ideas grouped up.

Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students

Your favourite class
Your favourite teacher
What do you do after school?
The craziest thing that happened on prom night
The most shocking incident on campus
When you placed first on a sports event
Rehearsing for a drama
Preparing for a debate competition
Travelling to school through bad weather
A day when school was cancelled
The time when you lost a sports match
Your least favourite class
Failing a class
Getting caught cheating
Topping a class

Good Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

Your favourite Course
Your favourite Professor
First Day at College
Last day of High School
Meeting a Significant Other
Ending a Relationship
Your most memorable incident from High School
Most memorable incident in college
A fun incident on Campus
Your first time at your college campus
Moving Day
Meeting your Roommate
Travelling to a new place for College
Meeting an old friend after many years
Making new friends at college

Personal Narrative Essay Topics

The scariest moment in your life
Would you like to start your life all over again?
The scariest moment ever
The happiest moment ever
The worst moment of your life
The best moment of your life
The toughest decision you ever had to make
When you were forced to make a bad decision
The moment that changed your life
When you risked your life for someone else
Getting lost in the city
A trip filled with disaster
Growing up in the city
Growing up in the countryside
Moving around as a child

Personal Experience Narrative Essay Topics

Your first time trying out Japanese food
What if you were transported inside your favourite book?
What if you were transported inside the last movie you watched?
A trip to the beach
A trip to the zoo
Your first experience with loss
The greatest moment of your life
The happiest memory you have
An accident you witnessed
Losing a precious object
The most memorable Christmas ever
The most memorable Halloween ever
What makes you a special person?
Your first job interview
Your first promotion at a job

Narrative Essay Topics About Childhood

Your first pet
Your first day at school
The first time you got into a fight
A story about your childhood role-model
Your first big sports event
The first time watching a Football match
Visiting a park for the first time
Your first visit to Disneyworld
A scary incident when you were younger
A funny incident when you were younger
The earliest birthday party you remember
Your first time meeting a relative
Your earliest childhood memory
The first time you got sick
Your favourite childhood teacher

Relationship Narrative Essay Topics

The first time you met a friend
How your first romantic relationship started
An incident involving your crush
Your first confession
The first time you went on a date
An incident that changed one of your relationships forever
What if you had never met your best friend?
A defining moment in your relationship with your parents
How you spent a romantic day
The time when you saved someone from bullying
Your favourite thing to do with your significant other
The movie that defined a relationship for you
Your favourite movie about relationships
The most helpful advice about relationships you ever got
How you fixed up a broken relationship

Personal Narrative Essay About Friendship

An incident involving your best friend
The first time you got into a fight with your friend
Reconnecting with an old friend after a long time
The first time you met your best friend
Getting into trouble along with your friend
A moment when you had to cover for your friend
The time you first met your friend's parents
Encountering your friend's pet for the first time
Choosing between two friends
Resolving a fight between two friends
A friend you met out of school
A surprise encounter with an unexpected person
Making a friend on the internet
Meeting up with an 'online' friend
The childhood friend you miss the most

Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

Your favourite holiday
Your favourite festival
The best Christmas ever
A trip home for Easter
The scariest Halloween
What were you thankful for this Thanksgiving?
Family holiday traditions
How your family spends Easter
A sad thing that happened at Christmas
Spending Christmas with a friend
The most meaningful holiday for you
A foreign cultural event
A foreign religious event
When you had to work through a holiday
Spending a holiday alone

Personal Narrative Stories Ideas on Traveling and Holidays

Your first time travelling abroad on Holidays
The time you nearly missed a flight
The time you were held up at the Airport
Exploring a new City on Holiday
The most memorable incident during a holiday
A shocking incident during holiday
A scary moment during a holiday
The time when you got lost in a foreign city while on holiday
Making a new friend while on Holiday
Meeting a friend by surprise while on Holiday
Your first time travelling by yourself
The first time travelling on a Cruise
The first time travelling on an Airplane
Returning home after a long trip abroad
A lesson you learned while travelling

Narrative Argument Essay Topics

Choosing to do a good thing that is against the rules
Choosing to go a bad thing while following the rules
A time when you had to decide between right and wrong
Is it ever right to snitch on someone?
Playing a prank on someone
Taking the blame for someone else
Shifting the blame to someone else
Ignoring something bad happening
Getting involved in a conflict
Getting into a fight with a bully
The most valuable life experiences
Wrong place, wrong time
Who taught you about right and wrong?
Is it right to eavesdrop?
A regretful choice

Overview

Hopefully, some of these narrative essay topic ideas are come in handy for you! Whether you choose personal narrative ideas or topics about culture and morality, make sure to draw on your own experiences. That will elevate your writing and impress anyone who reads it!

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Prof Miriam

Prof Miriam holds a Master's Degree in Education Arts from Stanford University. She is a competent writer with five years experience in online academic writing. Over the years, she has gained enough expertise in fields such as Business, Medicine, Psychology, Engineering, Communication, and Philosophy, among other areas of specialization.