Unit 6 Narrative Writing

1 Teaching objectives：

In this unit, we’re going to:

A) Understand the basic principles of the narrative essay;

B) Read and analyze sample narrative essays and grasp their main features; C) Practice writing a narrative essay;

D) Practice using time transitions when writing narrative essays;

E) Have a try at past narration and present narration so that we can see the differences between the two;

F) Learn to improve revision skills.

2 Review

3 Principles of narrative writing

In this unit, we will focus on the narrative essay. To narrate is to tell a story or to give an account of a single experience or a series of related events. Narration often goes hand in hand with description. The experience or event may be in the past (past narration), may be what people usually do or may be going on now (present narration). To write the narrative essay, all we have to do is tell what happened / has happened / is happening in a coherent way.

4 Task 1 Read to learn about writing

Sample A My Sister’s Wedding

1）Read the following essay about a wedding, and pay attention to ● how the writer begins her narration; ● how she presents the events;

● what effect the dialogue at the end of the essay brings.

2） Learn the usage of time transitions:

“When”, as a conjunction, is used to introduce a time adverbial clause. e.g. She was only twenty when she had her first baby.

He was quite shocked when I told him about it. Usage:

“After” in the sample essay is used as a conjunction to indicate a time which is later than another event. It is often used in chronological narration. e.g. After we joined the motorway, the car started to make a strange noise.

I went to the post office straight after I left you. Practice

Fill in the blanks to show that you understand the structural elements of the essay.

Sample B Butterfly

1） Answer the quesions on content and structure 2） Language points snip off:

to cut sth. with scissors, usually with small quick cuts 剪断, 剪去 e.g. Have you seen the scissors? I want to snip off this loose thread. emerge v.

to appear by coming out of sth. or out from behind sth. 出现, 出来 e.g. She emerged from the sea, blue with cold. force v.

use physical strength to move (oneself) against resistance; use physical strength to move (sth.) 用强力推动

e.g. We forced our way through the crowd at the trade fair. cripple v.

to cause serious damage to someone or sth., making them weak and ineffective 严重影响, 削弱 e.g. In this computer game, players can “win” by finding a way to cripple the war machines of their enemy.

Task 2 Enlarge your vocabulary

Exercise A

Now underline the adverbial phrases indicating time in the following paragraph, which shows how culture can influences a person.

Exercise B

If you do not like the classification mentioned above, we may just look at time transitions, that is, words frequently used in a narrative to indicate time relations between events. Time transitions help move the reader from one moment to another. The following are some of them:

after afterward at last at once before earlier first former immediately in the past later on latter meanwhile next now often once previously second third then today tomorrow until when while years ago yesterday

Task 3 Write your own essay

The following essay topics are offered to you for your own writing practice. Select one or more topics that you are interested in and write your own narrative essay. 1) The day Mother (or Father) cried

2) The day everything went wrong (or right) 3) The happiest moment in my life 4) A bad habit that got me into trouble 5) The toughest experience I ever had 6) My best holiday or special occasion 7) An event that gave a hard lesson

8) A very special first day or last day

Task 4 Learn to revise your essay

Rewriting is one of the most significant and rewarding steps of writing. It offers you an opportunity to discover ways of improving your writing by identifying problems and working out intelligent solutions. The following is a sample student essay. Read it, and try to revise it.

5 Assignments

Read the additional reading material in P158, and answer the questions. Review.