Narrative Essay Outline Example
There are two times when you will write personal narrative essays – for a college admissions essay requirement and as a course assignment in an English com class. Usually such essays will be written in response to some prompt and will entail your depiction of an experience or experiences that in some way have shaped what you now believe or value, or even the person you have become. Some students find this type of essays to be the most difficult one. That’s why we have decided to give you some tips and help with it. Whether for admissions or assignment, the personal narrative essay outline is essentially the same and should at least roughly conform to the following structure.
Introduction
As written in the outline for narrative essay, you should start by giving the setting and background of the story. Every story has a setting and background against which it is narrated. For example, it may be a rural setting, religious setting, political setting, etc. Ensure that you mention the right background so that the readers understand what they are reading better.

- How to Write a Narrative Essay. Narrative essay definition, writing tips, structure, outline, narrative essay topics and examples.
- Narrative essays are one of the most difficult essays due to their technical nature. Check out our samples of Narrative essays to understand more about how to write one of your own.
The Hook: Your first sentence should be compelling and make the reader want to continue. Let’s say you are going to present a tale about your travel abroad, specifically an experience of being “pick-pocketed” in Florence, Italy. You might begin with a startling fact about the number of incidents of this crime in a day in that city or the fact that child gypsies are sent out by their families to pick-pocket as a means of supporting those families. On the other hand you may start with a description of your feelings caused by this accident. It will be an intriguing start, because the reader would like to know what the reason for your fear or despair was.
Set the Scene: Here you want to give the reader the general place and time of the experience(s) you will be relating. Sometimes, the experiences may occur over a period of time (for example, growing up in poverty) or they will relate to a single incident (being in Italy for a week as a part of family vacation). You must always include such information in the introduction. The reader should know from the very beginning where and when the action takes place.
The Thesis Statement: They can be a bit different from the statement you would write for another type of essay. You can actually begin your story, for example, “The morning began like any other, with breakfast and decisions about what we would visit that day, but it certainly ended up differently,” or you can offer a lesson learned, “I now know why travelers are encouraged to protect their valuables with one of those pouches that can go inside their clothing,” or some theme that your story will portray, “Hardships and lack make us all innovators of sorts.” It should also be interesting so that the reader would want to know more and continue reading the essay.
Read also: Where is it safe to buy essay online?
The Body
Usually, the body paragraphs will tell the story of the experience. However, this is not always the case. Suppose your essay is about growing up in poverty and you have used the theme that this condition turned you into an innovator (your theme). Each paragraph will then provide the reader with an example of how you became an innovator. Perhaps you learned how to fashion “toys” from objects you found in the neighborhood; perhaps you learned how to mix unlikely combinations of food when there was very little in the cupboard; perhaps you started to design and make clothes when there was no money to buy them.

Remember that every argument should always be followed by examples.
Remember to use good transition sentences between your body paragraphs – they can come either at the end of a paragraph to introduce the next one, or at the beginning of the new paragraph with some reference back to the previous one. All the paragraphs should be connected and the narration should be logical.
The other point is this: you need to “show” the reader your story, not just “tell.” You can do this by injecting actual conversation or by descriptions that paint a picture. Remember that you should avoid direct and dry statements here. Show your story in bright colors and use more description paragraphs.
The Conclusion
Reflect on your experience(s) by asking yourself a couple of questions. What have you learned? How has your life been impacted? Would you act differently if you could relive that situation again? It’s very important to understand the lessons that you have received. It will explain your choice to write about this event and show that you are mature enough to learn from your experience, even if it’s bad.
Read also: Why do you need a cheap custom writing service?
Some Additional Tips
Usually these essays are written in the first person, so you will be using a lot of “I’s.” After you have written the piece, go back and see if you can replace some of those “I’s” by altering sentence structure. You may want to use passive constructions here also. There shouldn’t be many repetitions in the text.
You will obviously move from past to present and back to past tenses in this essay, and that is expected. Try to make it easy for a reader to understand when you give a retrospective and when the narration is in the present time. Don’t mess it up too much.
Read also: “How GrabMyEssay can help me write my essay?”
The Ideas On Writing
1. Choose an incident or experience that is a bit “extreme” – extremely frightening, extremely humorous, extremely sad or poignant, or different from the experiences that most people have. This will make your narration far more interesting to the reader. Try to avoid boring and obvious things. But also don’t forget to include the lessons you have learned from this extreme experience, otherwise the story will seem incomplete or even senseless.
2. If you are responding to an essay prompt for college admissions, you will have options. For some students it makes the task easier, while others struggle even more with these given options. Read those options carefully and make a list of what you might write about for each prompt. Then review your lists and choose the one about which you have the most passion and emotions. This will make your writing more interesting as the chosen topic will be the most appealing for you.
3. If you are looking at a college admissions essay, and you have time to generate topic ideas, set up a file on your phone. It is with you every day, and you can enter ideas as they come to you. Some people also prefer using notebooks for all their thoughts. Choose the variant that is more suitable for you and write down all the topics that come to your mind during the day. Then, when you get ready to choose a topic, you will have lots of options. You can also try mind mapping to choose the topic you want to speak about. There are a lot of tips and information about mind mapping on the web, so it’s not difficult to find out more about it.
4. If the assignment is due shortly, and you do not have much time, sit quietly some place, go back to your childhood and move toward the present. What incidents or experiences really stick out in your mind? Which do you remember in great detail? These are your options. Consider using them.
This is a rather simplistic explanation for narrative essay construction, but it should get you started. You can find a great guide 'how to write a personal narrative essay' on many college websites, so if you need more details, check those out! Also if you find yourself in a situation where you need professional help with writing your narrative essay – don’t hesitate and contact us! Our expert writers will provide an excellent academic essay writing service for you no matter how short your deadline is and our support team will help you to place an order. They will also keep you informed of all the details of the ordering process. Thus you may be sure that your narrative essay will be written on time in an interesting and exciting way.
Sample research paper outlinePersonal Narrative Essay Outline Examples
Research Paper Outline Examples Most college students or teachers who are majoring in social sciences, such as Psychology, Sociology, History, Linguistics, use the American Psychological Association or APA guidelines for writing research papers and assignments in this field of study Standard Research Paper Outline Format. The following is the standard research paper outline format. It is the basis for creating a successful, more detailed, and high-quality research paper. Introduction. Hook statement. Define the audience. A strong Thesis statement. Body Paragraphs. Arguments to support your thesis statement. Conclusion. Summary of arguments Research paper requires detailed examination of the topic according to a specific outline. This blog discusses research paper example to help you write better. +
APA Outline Examples - PDF Examples
Published on January 7, by Sample research paper outline Gahan. Revised on November 19, A research paper outline is a useful tool to aid in the writing processproviding a structure to follow with all information to be included in the paper clearly organized. Table of contents Research paper outline example How to write a research paper outline Formatting your research paper outline Language in research paper outlines.
Research paper outlines can consist only of notes or be extremely detailed. Your teacher might provide guidance as to the kind of outline they wish to see; if not, choose what works sample research paper outline for you. Topic: Measles and the vaccination debate. Scribbr Plagiarism Checker. There are three different kinds of research paper outline: alphanumeric, full-sentence and decimal outlines.

The differences relate to formatting and style of writing. An alphanumeric outline is most commonly used. It uses Roman numerals, capitalized letters, arabic numerals, lowercase letters to organize the flow of information. Text is written with short notes rather than full sentences. Essentially the same as the alphanumeric outline, but with the text written in full sentences rather than short points.
A decimal outline is similar in format to the alphanumeric outline, but with a different numbering system: 1, 1. Text is written as short notes rather than full sentences. To write an effective research paper outline, it is important to pay attention to language. This is especially important if it is sample research paper outline you will show to your teacher or be assessed on.
Parallel structure or parallelism is the repetition of a particular grammatical form within a sentence, sample research paper outline, or in this case, between points and sub-points. This simply means that if the first point is a verb, the sub-point should also be a verb. Your chosen subheadings should sample research paper outline the same significance as each other, as should all first sub-points, secondary sub-points, and so on.
Subordination refers to the separation of general points from specific. Your main headings should be quite general, and each level of sub-point should become more specific.
Your headings should be divided into two or more subsections. There is no limit to how many subsections you can include under each heading, but keep in mind that the information will be structured into a paragraph during the writing stage, so you should not go overboard with the number of sub-points.
Ready to start writing or looking for guidance on a different step in the process? Read our step-by-step guide on how to write a research paper.
Have a language expert improve your writing. Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes, sample research paper outline. Do the check. Generate your APA citations for free! APA Citation Generator. Home Knowledge Base Research paper Research paper outline. Research paper outline Published on January 7, by Courtney Gahan.
A quality outline can make writing your research paper more efficient by helping to: organize your thoughts. understand the flow of information and how ideas are related. ensure nothing is forgotten. A research paper outline can also give your teacher an early idea of the sample research paper outline product.
What is your plagiarism score? Compare your paper with over 60 billion web pages and 30 million publications. Alphanumeric Full-sentence Decimal An alphanumeric outline is most commonly used. Example: BODY PARAGRAPH 1 First point Sub-point Sub-point of sub-point 1. Example: First body paragraph of the research paper First point of evidence to support the main argument Sub-point discussing evidence outlined in point A Additional sub-point to conclude discussion of point of evidence introduced in point A.
Example: 1 Body paragraph one 1, sample research paper outline. Example of parallelism: Introduce the immunization debate, addressing two sides: why immunization is recommended and why there are groups questioning it Include different regions, focusing on the different arguments from those against immunization. Example of coordination: Introduce outbreaks in USA, Australia, Thailand Include immunization figures in affected regions Outline dangers presented by measles as linked to other diseases Illnesses that can result from the measles virus.
Example of subordination: V. MEASLES AND OTHER DISEASES Outline dangers presented by measles as linked to other diseases Illnesses that can result from the measles virus Fatal cases of other illnesses after patient contracted measles. Is this article helpful? Courtney Gahan Courtney has a Bachelor in Communication and a Master in Editing and Publishing.
She has worked as a freelance writer and editor sinceand joined the Scribbr team as an editor in June She loves helping students and academics all over the world improve their writing and learning about their research while doing so! Other students also liked. How to format a research paper The formatting guidelines for a research paper differ by style guide.
Download free templates to get started. How to write a research paper introduction The introduction to a research paper presents your topic, provides background, and details your research problem. How to write a research paper conclusion The conclusion of a research paper restates the research problem, summarizes your arguments or findings, sample research paper outline, and discusses the implications.
How to Write a Research Essay: Topic, Outline - EssayPro
, time: 4:51Research Paper Example - Outline and Free Samples
Narrative Essay Mla Format Example
Narrative Essay Outline Examples For College
Most usually, research paper outline looks like a list of titles for each section and subsection of your document. It helps you to understand how big will be your document and what will you write about, and to show this structure to your instructor if needed. For small essays, it can also be very small and contain only a few elements Research paper requires detailed examination of the topic according to a specific outline. This blog discusses research paper example to help you write better. + SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE This outline is only a general guide for your paper. As for other important information, You must use a size 12 Times New Roman font, double-space, with 1” margins at top, bottom, right and left. I. Introduction A. State your topic. (ex., “This paper will examine (your topic)..