NARRATIVE COMPOSITION
To narrate is to re-tell some event.
Basically narrating is telling a story
Narrating is a plain exercise that does not require any artificial additions
What is important in this composition is that there must be a chronology or order of
events.
The narration must unfold chronologically from the first thing to the next and to the
last.
This type of composition is usually in the past tense because we narrate events that have
already occurred.
The narrative composition may be in the form of a story or an actual event you
experienced.
The strength of a good narrative composition lies in good command of English, use of
variety of sentences ranging from simple, compound to complex ones.
The strength also rests in the ability to arouse the reader’s curiosity, anxiety and to keep
the reader suspended until the climax of the story.
Every day when we tell stories to our friends we spice them up, we stir up the curiosity
of our listeners and so it is with composition writing, especially the narrative.
Our aim is to catch the interest of the reader, at the same time staying within the given
topic.
The first step to catch the reader’s interest would be to have an effective introduction.
Consider these topics:
Write a story based on the following:
(a) As he burst into tears, he remembered the saying “crime does not pay”.
(b) The abandoned baby lay on the hospital steps, crying pitifully.
(c)Write a story, which ends with the words “I knew I would remember his face as long as I
lived”.
All the above topics are narrative accounts.
What is presented on any of these must be a straight forward account without incredible
(unbelievable) things although some creativity or slight exaggeration may be necessary.
Write about realistic things
A narrow Escape
Introduction
John Tshuma stood with a menacing smile as he gazed at the shattered skull. That smile had
always been his seal, it meant business. Many man had fallen by his hand. The man was death
itself, he was the grim reaper’s right hand man.
Explanation
From this introduction the reader already wants to know what has happened.
Why has the man been killed? Who is this murderer? What business?
Pupils should desist from introductions that have turned into clichés.
These have been used so many times to the extent that they sound boring to the reader.
Examples of poor introductions
It was during the holiday...............
It was on Tuesday afternoon..........
It was on a hot afternoon...............
Structure
Introduction
Should be an appetizer
Should captivate the reader
Body
This is where you write the whole story from the beginning
Must have characters or people
Must be chronological, telling events one after the other
Must have a setting or place where the event has happened
Use figurative language, adverbs, adjectives to describe scenes
Plot- how the story unfolds
Conclusion
The conclusion is also important. Lazy pupils leave their compositions without a
conclusion some end by writing “In conclusion”.
The purpose of a conclusion is to wrap up such that the story is not left hanging.
The conclusion can be a dramatic one like in the case of, “A narrow escape.”
You could conclude as follows:
The man bolted from the bush and dived into the cold green water as a bullet whizzed inches
past his head. The killer’s face turned into an ugly scowl as he glared at his quarry diving into
the crocodile infested river. Tsuma’s luck had run out, what a narrow escape the man had made!
