Five day (sail) or four day (motor) course with a second Trainer joining on the final day as course moderator.
Five years, after which candidates will need to attend a RYA Cruising Instructor revalidation. Revalidation is carried out over one day on the water.
During restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, an online revalidation is available. If revalidating online, the certificate will be valid for two years, after which time the normal on-water revalidation will be due.
18 | |
for consideration for a more direct route | |
| At least two years part-time or one season full-time as an RYA Cruising Instructor and be an experienced skipper Theoretical and practical knowledge should be well in excess of the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certificate of Competence Logged more than 7,000 miles sea time |
| Four days (sail) or three days (motor) course. A combination of learning and assessment with the final day as a moderation with a different Trainer.
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| RYA practical courses beyond Day Skipper. |
| Five years, after which you will need to attend an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor revalidation. Revalidation is carried out over one day on the water for motor and two for sail. During restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, an online revalidation is available. If revalidating online, the certificate will be valid for two years, after which time the normal on-water revalidation will be due. |
A typical class on a school boat takes in a diverse range of ages, backgrounds and aspirations.
First published in Sailing Today , Clive Loughlin looks at why RYA qualifications are worth more than the paper they are printed on. As published in Sailing Today – August 2018 ( pdf version )
Five days spent on an RYA Competent Crew course, followed by at least 40 hours of sustained effort on shorebased theory , and then another 5 days on a Day Skipper practical , should see most people walking away with an RYA Day Skipper certificate.
It is then largely a formality to obtain an ICC (International Certificate of Competence), and these two combined or individually are usually sufficient to allow chartering a yacht in the Med and many other international destinations.
For many this is as far as they want to go, and having acquired the means to this end why should anyone bother paying good money and using up valuable holiday time to attain higher qualifications?
The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) was founded in 1953 in response to the highly variable training that was on offer from private individuals. By providing a structure for training in a variety of water-based activities, combined with some excellent publications, the RYA makes it relatively easy to obtain first-class instruction and experience, and its qualifications are recognised throughout the world.
Of course it is quite possible to become a very good sailor and to skipper a yacht successfully without any qualifications at all – plenty of notable sailors have proved that point.
Similarly rocks, shallows, pontoons and mega yachts care not a jot how many certificates you can wave at them.
Preparing to go sailing for the day. RYA courses establish a strong routine making it easy to learn
Chartering a yacht can make a truly wonderful holiday for friends and family alike. In the glossy charter magazines the sun always shines, the waters are crystal clear, and relaxing lazy afternoons are spent sailing in a gentle warm breeze, or swimming off the boat in a secluded anchorage.
Life can be like this, but its rich tapestry also includes scary blasts of katabatic wind that push the boat over to jaunty angles, fouling someone else’s anchor, and arriving in harbour to find the only space available requires shoe-horning your way in between earlier arrivals.
All this happens while previously deserted cockpits become crowded with spectators offering conflicting ‘helpful’ suggestions and scorn and derision in equal measure.
Not all will agree with me, but I think that one of the great appeals of sailing is that it continually presents new challenges. Learning how to handle these is how we build up experience, and as we gain more competence so our enjoyment is further reinforced.
Things can and do go wrong when you are sailing, and even a qualified instructor will mess things up occasionally. What really matters is how you approach the problem and this only comes with experience and training.
A very important part of learning to be a skipper is learning how to handle the crew, and this is very much part of the Day Skipper and higher qualifications.
The crew may well be very inexperienced and it may even be their first time on a yacht. It is therefore most important that the skipper is able to explain what is going on and what will happen in advance – ‘when we change direction the boat will tip over’.
It can be quite frightening for novice crew when things go wrong, and if they can sense that the skipper is not in control then it can be really scary and this is when accidents are most likely to happen.
Scared crew don’t go sailing again, but happy crew will always come back for more. There is no sadder a spectacle than a would–be skipper who’s crew have mutinied and no longer wish to go sailing with them.
Good skippers make full use of their crew and make sure they know what to do. Bad skippers try to do everything themselves and shout a lot.
So – to return to this articles theme of ‘Why get qualified?’, my answer is that it helps make sailing less scary and in so doing makes it more fun for everyone on board.
Although RYA courses are about learning – often in tight corners – yet there is plenty of time to enjoy yourself.
My sailing used to be limited to a week’s or fortnight’s charter every year, and I found that I had forgotten just about everything I had ever previously learned by the start of the next charter, and then was just about getting the hang of things again when it was time to fly home.
My solution was to book a 5-day course with a sailing school a month or so before I was due to go on a charter holiday. This not only gave me an extra holiday but also meant that I was far more confident to skipper the charter yacht.
I actually did my Yachtmaster Prep course five times. Not I hasten to add because I kept failing, as I was fortunate enough to pass first time, but because it was such super fun.
Although RYA courses are about learning – often in tight corners – yet there is plenty of time to enjoy yourself. One of the really great things about doing a sailing course is that not only do you get 5 days sailing for less than the cost of a weekend’s charter, but you also get the benefit of personalised tuition and loads of hands-on experience.
You also get the chance to practice a lot of the manoeuvres that you hope you will never need, such as MOB recovery; as well as the more challenging activities like entering an unlit anchorage, or navigating a river at night.
Many of these are activities that you simply would not have the time or inclination to do if on holiday with family or friends.
These are all great fun but probably best done, at least the first few times, with an instructor on board who has done them many times before. And you never know when you may need these skills for real and be very glad of them. The ability to sail onto a mooring buoy will be worth its weight in gold dubloons if ever your engine conks out with a rope around the prop.
The Day Skipper course covers a very wide variety of seamanship training so that the candidates achieve a good basic standard of boat handling expertise under sail and power, as well as a pretty good working knowledge of navigation.
The emphasis for Day Skipper is on making short passages in familiar waters by day.
The Coastal Skipper course places emphasis on longer passages, and includes quite a bit of night sailing. This requires a different mind-set to the short hops of a Day Skipper course.
Chart plotter work has become part of the RYA syllabus
I am currently planning a 5-day Coastal Skipper course with four crew doing Coastal Skipper and one Comp Crew.
I am hoping we can go from Southampton to Dartmouth and back (about 240nm) taking in a variety of Lyme Bay, Jurassic Coast and Solent attractions in the form of rivers, harbours, marinas and anchorages. This is probably aiming to cover more miles than a typical course, but with four Coastals I want to be sure to give each a good chance to be skipper for an extended passage, and the Comp Crew will also get a great variety of experience.
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal and Yachtmaster Offshore exams are like the Day Skipper on steroids. Whereas the Coastal Skipper requires much the same level of skills as Day Skipper, but with more endurance thrown in, the Yachtmaster exams represent a significant step up in terms of required knowledge and boat handling skills.
The Yachtmaster Offshore qualification is often regarded as the gold-standard for seamanship, and you will need to demonstrate that you have logged over 50 days and 2,500 miles, including at least 5 passages over 60 miles, with two being overnight and two while acting as skipper. Cruises on passenger liners do not count!
Although you do not need to have passed any previous RYA courses you can expect to be examined on any part of the RYA syllabus except RYA Yachtmaster Ocean, and you will need to have obtained certificates for First Aid and VHF radio.
Yachtmaster Coastal candidates have lesser requirements for logged passages and are only examined on the syllabus up to Coastal Skipper standard.
The exam takes place on board and lasts either 6-10 hours per candidate for Yachtmaster Coastal or 8-12 hours for Yachtmaster Offshore. The exam comprises a combination of practical exercises and also tests your theoretical and navigational knowledge and expertise.
For many, taking their Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore exam is a rather daunting prospect and most will choose to go on a Yachtmaster Prep course immediately before the exam itself.
The idea of the Yachtmaster Prep course is not for you to learn something new, but to practice what you already know.
You will be quizzed on theory and collision regulations and given the chance to practice the trickier manoeuvres, such as picking up a mooring under sail and MOB recovery. The Yachtmaster is primarily a sailing exam and so you will be expected to demonstrate high levels of boat handing under all points of sail.
Be sure to use your crew and delegate tasks clearly. This is what being a good skipper is all about and is a very important part of the exam.
Clive Loughlin is an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor and regular Sailing Today contributor. Clive teaches for First Class Sailing in the Solent area.
Discover more about the RYA here: www.rya.org.uk
Posted by: First Class Sailing
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Cruising instructor certification.
This course is designed for those already holding a Yachtmaster Offshore certificate of competence and who want to teach on the water, up to Day Skipper level. This is a great stepping stone towards Yachtmaster Instructor.
The syllabus is broken down into instructional techniques, knowledge, safety and personal skills and taught in a ratio of (4:1) students to instructor.
Any candidates booking on to an RYA Cruising Instructor course will be required to complete the RYA Cruising Instructor pre-course knowledge interactive on-line course before attending the five day practical.
At the time of booking your RYA Cruising Instructor course, UKSA will automatically enroll you on to the RYA Interactive website and send through your login details, enabling you to complete the on-line course before attending the practical course at UKSA.
Includes all food, accommodation, tuition and certification.
The 5 days is spent living onboard.
View RYA Cruising Instructor information here.
Below is the RYA Cruising Instructor Course syllabus. Candidates should have a depth and breadth of experience which far exceeds that of a newly qualified Yachtmaster with minimum logged seatime, so those whose knowledge and skills do not go beyond RYA Cruising Scheme competencies are unlikely to complete the course successfully. If in doubt this should be discussed with our Course Advisors.
Candidates whose experience is largely based on inshore racing are also likely to struggle unless they take steps to refresh their cruising skills and knowledge.
English is the language of delivery of all RYA courses so all candidates should be very comfortable with using nautical English with an extensive vocabulary.
RYA Cruising Instructor Endorsement on successful completion of the course.
Course | From | To | All-inc |
---|---|---|---|
RYA Cruising Instructor | 19/09/2024 | 23/09/2024 | Full |
Need help finding the right course for you?
Who is it for.
The RYA Cruising Instructor course is the first step if you would like to teach RYA sailing courses. The certificate will allow you to teach RYA Day Skipper and Competent Crew courses.
– Minimum age: 18 years old – Yachtmaster Offshore (or Ocean) certificate, with Commercial Endorsement – Online PPR (Professional Practices and Responsibilities) course certificate – RYA Basic Sea Survival certificate or STCW Personal Survival Techniques – Valid First Aid Certificate – RYA membership – In-date Medical Certificate (ENG1) – not older than 2 years – Pre-course knowledge check (online course prior to attending the instructor course).
Please click HERE to download a document to guide you to obtain the commercial endorsement and the commercial endorsement application form
The objective is to provide you with a number of teaching techniques to enable you to deliver the lessons effectively, and in a constructive and motivating manner. You will learn about the ‘Praise burger’ and the EDICTS system to teach practical skills and provide appropriate feedback. After the four days of preparation, you will:
– have learned a number of teaching techniques
– have practiced and refined the way you provide clear, positive, and constructive feedback to the students
– have seen your peers in action, and learned various styles to deliver a lesson
– feel confident to start teaching RYA sailing courses
Scroll the list of the courses in the box to the right (desktop) or at the bottom (mobile) of the page, choose the date that suits you, and click on it to start the booking process. If no courses are shown, please give us a call at +43 664 88360842 or send us an email at [email protected] , so we can discuss how we can help
After you sign up and pay, you will receive from us the joining instructions and the login credentials to access the pre-course online check. Candidates are required to pass an online pre-course module prior to being eligible to attend the course. We will spend four days learning various techniques to teach effectively, provide clear and fair feedback and motivate students to improve further or address their gaps. You will take turns and play the role of the teacher or the student, thus practicing the arts of observation, listening, providing feedback, etc. All of the above whilst performing the various sailing maneuvers and theory notions included in the Competent Crew and Day Skipper syllabus and perfecting your way of delivering them.
With a maximum of 4 candidates per yacht, your instructor can devote plenty of time to your needs and focus the program on the areas you need most.
You will spend four days with your instructor, learning, practicing, and perfecting various techniques of teaching. On day five you will be joined by an RYA ‘moderator’ whose task is to evaluate your suitability to be an Instructor.
Included:
Start: Monday at 9:00 End: Friday at 17:00
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Marina Kremik, Primosten (HR) is conveniently located only 30 min drive from Split International Airport.
The course starts on Monday morning at 9.00 am. You are more than welcome to arrive the night before (Sunday) and sleep onboard. Once you arrive, you will settle in your cabin and then go with the other participants to provision the boat for the week.
The course ends on Friday afternoon at around 17:00, but you are welcome to stay onboard until the Saturday morning at 9:00 .
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For over 10 years now we have been training people to fulfil their ambition to become a rya instructor. we are really proud of the start that we can give instructors as they begin a hugely satisfying career. , we have courses scheduled throughout the year for rya powerboat instructor, advanced powerboat instructor, rya cruising instructor as well as all the specialist instructor courses which we run on behalf of the rya. we also run courses to help people prepare for their instructor course., all our instructor courses are run from our centre in rhu marina using our vessels and our modern classroom facilities.
RYA Powerboat Instructor Skills Assessment
RYA Powerboat Instructor Course
RYA Advanced Powerboat Instructor Course
RYA Cruising Instructor Motor Course
RYA Navigation Instructor Course
RYA Radar Instructor Course
RYA SRC Assessor Course
RYA Diesel Engine Maintenance Instructor
RYA First Aid Instructor
RYA Teaching In the Classroom
IMO 6.09 Train the Trainer
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Take a look at the RYA practical sailing courses we offer, from complete beginner to expert we have sailing courses that will appeal to everyone!
Learn to sail in the vibrant and exciting Solent! We have a great range of sailing courses for complete beginners, such as the RYA Start Yachting, or the RYA Competent Crew course for those complete beginners wanting to gain valuable hands-on experience. For those next steps on from RYA Competent Crew, the RYA Day Skipper theory and practical and combination courses are for those wanting that all-important driving licence for the sea, all the way up to RYA Yachtmaster and RYA Cruising Instructor courses for those wanting to go professional!
NEW – Finance now avalible on all courses, spread the cost of sailing throught out the year.
The RYA Start Yachting practical sailing Course is a gentle yet exciting and informative two day introduction in learning to sail for complete beginners with no prior experience to the world of sailing.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Start Yachting course!
The perfect sailing course for beginners, the five day RYA Competent Crew practical RYA course will give you the best building blocks to start your sailing journey with.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Competent Crew course at Gosport Marina!
The RYA Day Skipper Course runs over five days and brings students with at least the RYA Competent Crew qualification and some sailing experience, up to skipper level.
Take a look at our live day skipper practical course calendar for dates for the RYA Day Skipper Practical course!
The RYA Day Skipper Combined Theory and Practical Course runs over nine days. The course brings students with at least the RYA Competent Crew qualification, or some sailing experience, up to RYA Day Skipper level, through undertaking both the theory and practical courses.
Accommodation during the theory side of the course is available at extra cost
(subject to boat availability).
Take a look at our live course calendar for RYA Day Skipper Theory and Practical Combined Course dates, taking place at Gosport Marina.
The RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course is the next progression step from being a qualified RYA Day skipper. With more advanced skills and valuable techniques being taught along with the planning and executing of much longer passages, it’s the next natural step-up from the RYA Day Skipper course, giving you more confidence in planning those all-essential Channel crossings.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Coastal Skipper Practical course!
The RYA/MCA Yachtmaster™ Fast Track course takes you from limited or zero sailing experience all the way up to a fully qualified RYA/MCA Yachtmaster™ , with all the required practical, theory courses, mile-building and sailing experience you’ll need to help get you qualified*.
Developed by some of the best RYA Yachtmaster Instructors and world-leading Marine industry experts, our Yachtmaster Fast Track scheme is far more comprehensive and better value than the competition – Compare what we offer against others!
Why go elsewhere? Book your place on our next RYA/MCA Yachtmaster™ Fast Track course!
The RYA Yachtmaster™ Coastal/Offshore qualification is the next progression step from being a qualified RYA Day/Coastal skipper, and is one of the most useful, credible, and accepted profressional qualifications in Yachting.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Yachtmaster™ Coastal/Offshore Preparation week!
The Day Skipper Skills Weekend Course aims to help students who have not yet passed their RYA Day Skipper practical course and have a small action plan to achieve the qualification. It’s also a great refresher course for qualified sailors looking to hone and polish skills.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Day Skipper Skills Weekend Practical course!
The Yachtmaster Skills Weekend helps students who have not yet passed their RYA Yachtmaster exam, RYA Coastal Skipper course or those wanting to refresh skills before undertaking the RYA Cruising Instructor course. It’s also a great refresher course for qualified sailors.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the Yachtmaster Skills Weekend Practical course!
The RYA Cruising Instructor practical sailing Course is a designed for RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore qualified sailors to enhance their career and gain the much coveted RYA Cruising Instructor qualification, and begin your Instructing career.
Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Cruising Instructor course!
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A fantastic weekend of sailing, almost 130 NM in all, with a relaxed, but fully engaging skipper. Great set up and brilliant on the admin. Thanks Stef, Tom et al!
I did a weeks coastal skipper course getting ready for my yacht master and I have to say it was one of the best training weeks I’ve had - our training instructor was superb, exactly the sort of person that you want. He could inspire, provide discipline and impart knowledge as well as let you learn through your own mistakes. Tom and Steph run an excellent operation there and I highly recommend it. They’re flexible and very helpful when it comes to your journey into being a qualified sailor.
Yachting monthly.
In an age of digital navigation and walk ashore pontoons, how hard can the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore be? Theo Stocker prepared to take the test to find out
Many very competent and highly experienced yachtsmen and women don’t have any qualifications at all and are content to keep it that way, but for some reason, not being a Yachtmaster bothered me. I was pretty sure I was up to the standard, but I didn’t know.
Once you’ve got the ticket, you become an RYA Yachtmaster, something I’ve wanted to do for years. My friend Andrew and I have been talking about doing it since before his son Daniel, now 16, was born. Perhaps it was time to finally get on with our RYA Yachtmaster Offshore.
Every course I have done up to this point, from RYA Dinghy Level 2 all the way up to Coastal Skipper (some 20 years ago) has been one of the RYA’s ‘course-completion’ qualifications – do the week and if you can do what’s on the syllabus, you get the ticket, signed off by your training centre.
The RYA Yachtmaster Certificates of Competence (Coastal, Offshore and Ocean), however, are run by the RYA under the authority of the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) and as such, they are the pinnacle of training for amateur sailors, and the start of the ladder of commercial qualifications, required for anyone who wants to work as a professional seafarer. You have to meet the pre-entry requirements, but passing is based purely on how you fare during a potentially gruelling day-long practical exam.
It’s now 51 years since the RYA took over examining Yachtmasters from the Board of Trade (now the MCA) in 1973, and Yachting Monthly was, in a small way, involved in shaping some of the practical seamanship elements of the exam.
Clearly, a lot has changed in the intervening years – navigation technology, engines, deck-gear, marinas, and not least the boats themselves. I was eager to see how the RYA Yachtmaster scheme has changed with the times, and if, like many other aspects of sailing, it has simply become easier, or whether it is still the challenging test it always was.
The crew (L-R): Matt Sillars, Andrew Eastham, Row Staples and Theo Stocker
From the outset, the RYA were keen to emphasise that Yachtmaster is not an attendance-based course, but a one-day exam in which an examiner will form an objective opinion of your abilities, and will recommend you to the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Qualification Panel to become a Yachtmaster, or not.
Technically, no instruction is required before the exam and the theory course is not compulsory. However, taking the exam is a significant investment of time and money if you’re not confident of passing, and you will certainly need theory knowledge of the level of the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased course, with practical experience and skills to match that, to stand any chance of passing.
It is strongly recommended, therefore, that you have a few days’ preparation, ideally immediately before the exam, with the same boat and crew as you’ll have for the exam so you’re at the top of your game. You don’t want to be getting to know the foibles of a boat or crew whilst trying to exude an air of calm and knowledgeable competence.
A hearty meal every evening, and the occasional beer, keep the crew going
Many sailing schools offer places on a Yachtmaster preparation course, normally of five days, for four candidates, with two days of examination at the end of it, as only two candidates can be examined in any one 24-hour period, the exam being a marathon 8-12 hours for one person, and 10-18 hours for two. No more than four candidates can be examined at a time, as they are long days for candidate and examiner alike.
It was also made abundantly clear that while we had four days to prepare, this was not a course on which we could be taught what we needed to know; this should have been gained over our years of experience. The week’s aim was to run through the whole Yachtmaster syllabus to strip away any bluster, revealing to the cold light of day our weaknesses and bad habits.
Rough edges would be polished, but if we were learning new skills for the first time, then we probably were not quite ready for the exam just yet. No pressure!
The week is not a course to learn to be a Yachtmaster Offshore. You need to have done 90% of the work beforehand. The preparation days are about checking skills and finding where you need more work, rather than being taught skills. It’s also very difficult to fake experience and an examiner will spot someone exaggerating their skill set very quickly.
Matt helps Theo and Andrew with some last-minute revision of tidal corrections
As I prepared for the week, I quickly found I’d had significant ‘skills fade’ in my detailed knowledge of the Collision Regulations, particularly lights, shapes and sounds, and buoyage light characteristics.
You’ll need a good working knowledge not just of the most common parts of the rules, but of the whole lot, including some of the more esoteric corners of the rule book. Professional seafarers are expect to know every word verbatim; Yachtmasters need to be getting at least 80% of the lights and shapes right, and importantly be able to demonstrate that they understand them, to pass.
Article continues below…
The RYA started examining Yachtmaster candidates in 1973 but in fact the very first Yachtmaster certificates were awarded much earlier.…
Rupert Holmes outlines the skills that mark out the good sailors from the great ones, with experience and reflective learning…
The lights shown by trawlers shooting gear, towed vessels of the bizarest dimensions and sizes, and the sound signals of vessels in all sorts of pickles were initially, at best, a little foggy.
It’s easy to feel that in normal, coastal sailing you come across these intricacies so rarely as to make them irrelevant, but the point of the Yachtmaster is that you are able to operate at sea not as an amateur, but on a par with professional seafarers.
Indeed, with a commercial endorsement to your RYA Yachtmaster, you could easily be one of them, if you ever fancied a career change. Knowing the rules also diminishes the chances of ending up in front of an inquest. The detail is fiddly, but it’s not impossible to learn.
Everyone knows the motoring cone, but do you use it? And what about the other shapes?
IRPCS are something you just have to know, and it would be a real shame to fail your Yachtmaster because you hadn’t brushed up beforehand. For ease, many examiners will use packs of flip cards to test your knowledge of lights, shapes, buoyage and collision avoidance during a quiet moment on exam day. It’s not meant to be an interrogation, but if you’re getting more than two in ten wrong then the examiner won’t be able to pass you.
One little tip with sound signals are that it is easy to get overwhelmed once you start adding in all the extra sounds to the basic signals, but there are only a few distinct meanings to remember. These then get added together, but can easily be broken into their composite parts to help you decipher their meanings.
A safety brief can be tailored to your crew, their level of experience and their familiarity with your boat
The forecast for the week couldn’t have been much better. Typically, the only day there wasn’t sunshine and a decent breeze was the day we had the photographer on board, but the rest of the time there was enough wind to get our teeth into – there’s nothing like trying to sail onto a mooring if there’s no wind, and it’s often a stiff breeze that makes marina manoeuvring tricky.
The aim for day one was to run through the full gambit of skills that would be tested in the exam for Matt to get an idea of where Andrew and I were at. With the food and kit stowed, the day began with the usual safety briefings, engine checks and discussion regarding firefighting.
A good skipper will always make sure their crew have had a safety brief. If you sail with the same crew on a regular basis, you don’t need to give them the same briefing every time, but an occasional reminder of the main points is probably a good idea, as the details quickly fade. For us, the safety brief was about making sure the people we had on board knew where everything was on a boat they hadn’t sailed before.
Keep tethers and first-aid kit somewhere accessible
For a crew of novices, we would have included things like how to use a fire extinguisher and how to put on a lifejacket, but for experienced sailors, it is sufficient to show them where safety kit is, so things like tethers, fire-fighting equipment, seacocks and softwood bungs, as well as how the distress and MOB functions on this boat’s particular chartplotter and VHF radio work, are all relevant.
On deck, knowing were the MOB recovery kit, engine fire extinguisher and liferaft are is all important.
I’ve been doing engine checks for years, and it’s easy to be familiar with your engine at a basic level. Various acronyms exist to help remind you about what to check, but advice has changed recently to add in one sensible step to an engine check and that is to isolate the engine before opening the case.
You may do this already, but if you don’t, there’s a risk that in the usual melee of getting ready to set sail, someone on deck goes to start the engine while you’ve got your hand on the drive belt. Better switch off the isolator so this can’t happen until you’re done.
The acronym I found most helpful was: IWOBBLE: Isolate; Water (strainer); Oil (level and colour, engine and transmission); Belt (wear and tension); Bilges (empty); Leaks (no oil or fuel spills); Exhaust (clean, and water once the engine has started).
Every boat is different, such as MOB marking systems
It’s worth making sure any experienced sailors on your boat also know how to do some of these so that you as skipper don’t have to be the one with your head stuck in the engine bay when the engine fails on the way into harbour.
Dabs of high-vis paint on the relevant fittings can help direct you to the correct nut to loosen or tighten for each job.
In the exam, you may not have to bleed the engine, but you will need to talk through how you would handle various engine emergencies, from fires to fuel starvation, overheating and prop wraps, so spend time getting familiar with the fuel, water and cooling systems on your boat’s engine so you can point at the right bits.
Marina manoeuvres fill many cruising sailors with dread
With the boat and crew ready to go, it was time for our first go at ‘pontoon bashing’. It’s always going to be a little nerve-wracking handling a boat you don’t know well in the confines of a windy and tide-swept marina, so it’s a useful tool for the instructor to quickly get a gauge on your level of confidence and ability.
As someone who normally keeps a boat on a mooring and anchors at every available opportunity, tricky marina berths are something that I rarely visit, so this was a skill that needed a little more attention for me.
‘Parking’ can sometimes look a little boring to the outside observer, but serried ranks of expensive boats and vicious bow rollers and anchors makes this an exercise to really focus the mind. It also forces you to attempt berths that in normal sailing you would often rather avoid, but may be forced to use in a busy marina.
Check prop kick astern when alongside, then try out how the boat responds in open water
To start, we took time to check the depth sounder was accurate using a leadline, and checking whether it was set to depth below the keel or below the waterline – a critical piece of information. While alongside, put the engine astern and have a look which side the prop wash emerges. The stern will kick to the other side when engaging astern.
We checked the boat’s pivot point too in ahead and astern, and how long the boat needed to get steerage in either direction. All of this can be done in open water.
Assessing the wind and tide is essential before you start a manoeuvre, factoring in what these will be doing in the berth itself, and not just out by the marina entrance. At Mercury Yacht Harbour, when the tide is in full spate, you can get a nasty diagonal cross-current across the berth, and some owners simply avoid coming or going at anything other than slack water.
Letting the boat come to a stop will show how she will want to lie.
Approaching a finger berth will be easier if it is on the outside of your turn
We then tried a number of different berths of ascending difficulty – coming alongside an open hammerhead was straightforward, where slotting in between two already-moored boats took a little more planning.
Getting in and out of a large bay in which several boats are moored adds complication. In this case, with a strong westerly and an ebbing tide, I concluded it would be easier to do the whole manouevre in astern rather than switching direction and losing steerage part way through.
Don’t forget to think about how you’ll get out of the berth, how other boats will lie, and whether you want wind or sunshine in the cockpit and companionway.
Communicate to crew which lines you want let go first, before you start the manoeuvre, then keep them updated with what you’re doing
Getting into finger berths was straight-forward if they were ‘open’ berths, on the near side of the pontoon so that as the boat slides around the turn, her momentum carries her onto the berth. ‘Closed’ berths, on the far side were trickier, and often demanded going in past the berth, then either turning or reversing direction.
Switching which way you want to lie in the berth may necessitate starting the whole thing in astern rather than ahead. Be ready for this to be a spectator sport as onlookers wait for a victim like Romans in a Colosseum.
Judging what the tide and wind will do to your boat are key to marina manouevring. You also need to know which way the boat will ‘want’ to go in any given situation, and then use it to your advantage – think about stern kick, slide and pivot points.
It’s easy to think about bow and stern springs, but a midships line is one of the most useful. Drive against it in forwards while steering away from the pontoon to bring the bow in and hold the boat parallel.
Motor against a stern line to hold the boat alongside
It is also helpful to think about the ‘favoured’ side every time you enter a marina row. Given the prevailing conditions, you will be pushed to one side or the other, and you want to stay on the upwind or uptide side to keep your options open and your hull clear of the bow rollers waiting to leeward.
A ball fender is a really useful tool as it won’t roll out in the same way as a sausage fender and it has more give in it. Rig it at the point of main load before a manoeuvre.
Don’t forget to have an exit strategy if the approach doesn’t go according to plan so you can get out and try again.
It’s not cheating to have worked out in advance the tidal heights for where you will be sailing on the day of your exam (the beer is optional, but also helps)
Getting a boat from A to B safely and effectively is still at the heart of the RYA Yachtmaster qualification, as it has been from its inception. The tools available to help us navigate have changed dramatically since 1973, however, and even in the last decade have been transformed.
GNSS, chartplotters, AIS, smartphones and internet access have resulted in a revolution. Many sailors have ditched paper almost entirely these days, so have the traditional navigation skills of the Yachtmaster scheme become irrelevant?
On our first evening, Matt set us homework; Andrew would take us from Hamble into the Beaulieu River and I would bring us back. Hardly a challenging trip, and one I’ve often done with little more than cursory planning. That’s not the point though, as if these were unfamiliar waters, I would need to navigate us much more accurately and actively, so this short trip was designed to test our pilotage and passage planning skills.
There was a good list of things to prepare for each day, and ahead of the exam
Electronics and internet-based sources of information were not only allowed, but expected and encouraged for this exercise, albeit we also had to demonstrate our ability to use the ‘old-fashioned’ methods of calculating secondary port tidal heights, tidal streams and courses to steer.
While chartplotters on your phone may have freed us up from the old cliche of the skipper bobbing up and down to the chart table like a rabbit, it is equally as easy to fall into the trap of staring dumbly at our phones, driving a triangle across the screen, all but unaware of where we are in relation to the real world.
The trick is to be able to use every source of navigation information to make sense of the world around you and to sense-check that information against multiple sources of data.
It takes time to put your passage plan into the plotter and to make sure the plotter is set up to give you the information you need
It felt like cheating to be able to get tidal heights from my phone, but I also found the planning stage almost busier as a result. Many online sources of data, especially data, come from unknown origins and can vary a surprising amount, so don’t assume that what a screen is telling you is accurate data. Navionics and Admiralty EasyTides can disagree by up to an hour at times.
It’s also easy to let a machine work something out for you and suggest a route that makes sense on screen, but doesn’t work well in reality. It won’t factor in a good offing from a shallow lee shore, and nor will it care if the waypoints, and therefore the courses you’re steering, are easily identified visually from on deck. A single, long course, with an obvious headmark will be much easier for the helm to steer than lots of short ‘artificial’ courses. Secondary port calculations caused us both headaches as we dragged the process out of our long-term memory. Which way to interpolate and between which numbers is surprisingly easy to get wrong under pressure.
Inputting our plans into the chart plotter also takes time, as much from finding where all the dratted functions are in the plotter’s menu options as form the basic principles. For most plotters, planning remains something they do not do well, and using paper is often still faster and easier to get an overview of where safe water is. I’ve also yet to find a way to calculate a proper course to steer on a chartplotter yet, even for a single hour, let alone a longer passage.
When it comes to pilotage, a plotter or phone on deck is enormously helpful to see where you are. It isn’t however, the easiest way to present the essential information you need at your fingertips, and a notebook with pre prepared information is the best place to list expected tidal heights, alongside a sketch of buoys, lights, courses, radio comms and anything else you’ll need to know.
A sketch chart can quickly convey a huge amount of information
In many ways, the job of a small vessel navigator has got harder rather than easier, as more and more tools are at our disposal to use. Not only do you need to be able to read a chart and plot a fix, but you need to be able to navigate your way through multiple phone apps, plotter menus and be able to extract the right information from your radar and AIS.
It is very easy to get distracted from the main thing, which is keeping your head up and out of the boat, and for your bubble of awareness to shrink as you become more and more reliant on flicking from one screen to the next.
Coming out of Beaulieu, I was able to quickly check on my phone that although the height of tide promised on Navionics wasn’t huge, it was rising, and the Bramblemet tide guage was showing an extra 30cm of water. We would be fine.
A good crew will hold an accurate course and feed you information as you go
I’d put in a direct route, but used the cross track error function on the plotter to keep us to starboard of track, increasing our offing to windward, clear of Stansore Point and Calshot Sands. I had also tried to pick waypoints close to easily visible marks, even though this gave us a slightly longer route.
I knew we could cut the corner with an eye on Navionics once we got closer. At no point did me pulling my phone from my pocket or referring to the plotter raise any eyebrows, though I realised at the end that having been asked to plot a visual fix at some point, the objects I’d picked for a three-point fix weren’t on the chart, and I’d omitted to go back and plot a proper one.
Practising using just one of these tools to find your way forces you to get familiar with what it can do and how it works
There’s nothing quite like losing one of your senses to sharpen your use of another. While the traditional ‘blind navigation’ exercises known and loved by sailing instructors are less ‘blind’ than they used to be, they are no less challenging than they ever were. They are also the best way to learn how to use one method of navigation that you might otherwise avoid if at all possible.
Over the four days, we conducted various exercises, all within a pretty small area at the bottom of Southampton Water, finding arbitrary spots of water given to us by Matt to locate. He would pick spots on the chart, and ask us navigate from one, to the next, to circle another and to stop at another.
Even on deck with all the tools at your disposal, it’s a good simulation of finding your way into an unknown narrow channel or rock-strewn harbour approach. We tried it using the charplotter route functions, just the radar, and just visual pilotage.
The harder part came when we were asked to verify one means against the other so that we had to juggle different systems in short order – information overload and unfamiliarity with the radar, plotter or phone app being the thing that was likely to distract us at the critical moment.
Using VRM/EBL from an identifiable radar target to follow a course to an unmarked position
How do you, for example, make sure that you stay precisely on a line between two imaginary points using radar alone? There is a way, it turns out, using the VRM/EBL function (Variable Range Marker/Electronic Bearing Line), by measuring to the imaginary point from a known, identifiable and charted point on the radar screen, then floating the VRM/EBL centre to this point, measuring the course and range from this point to your current location, then floating the centre back onto your known radar contact.
Simply steer to keep the object sliding along the EBL and when it reaches the intersection with the VRM, you’re there. Knowing the buttons to press to make this happen on your radar is another matter entirely and caused us many headaches.
Electronics are definitely not cheating. You’ve got to be able to use them, and to know what info you can trust and what you need to cross-reference. Navigation hasn’t really changed – you’ve still got to use multiple sources of position information to reliably work out where you are and where you need to go.
Rather than three bearing lines, it might be a GPS fix or a radar range, a depth and a transit, but relying on one source of information alone to determine your position never has been considered good seamanship.
Next month – Find out how Theo and Andrew got on with the rest of their prep week and whether they actually passed their Yachtmaster Offshore exam at the end of the week…
With thanks to the Hamble School of Yachting for the use of their Sun Odyssey 37. Hamble School of Yachting offers a range of sailing course, charters and adventures, from Competent Crew up to professional MCA qualifications.
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The RYA Yachtmaster® Certificate of Competence is often the ultimate aim of aspiring skippers. It is a well known, highly respected qualification worldwide, proving your experience and competence as a skipper. Unlike other qualifications in the cruising programme, there is no formal training course to become an RYA Yachtmaster. Instead, provided you have sufficient experience, certification and seatime, you can put yourself forward for an exam to test your skills and knowledge. There are a number of RYA navigation courses that will help you prepare for your exam. Many RYA Yachtmaster candidates also choose to book themselves into an RYA training centre for some specialised exam preparation training, but this is not compulsory.
You are capable of coastal passages
You are competent to undertake passages up to 150 miles offshore
You have the knowledge and experience to sail worldwide
The Coastal and Offshore exams are practical tests afloat, and the Ocean is an oral exam. Find out more about qualifying passages, exam fees and how to book.
With an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore or Ocean Certificate of Competence you can start a career at sea.
You'll need to have the appropriate qualification for the vessel and area of operation.
If you want to work commercially, you'll need a commercial endorsement.
Find out more about other RYA professional qualifications.
Can you really become an RYA Yachtmaster in as little as 14 weeks? Check out our top tips for getting the most from a Yachtmaster Fast Track course...
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BACKFLOW TESTER REFRESHER - Written Exam Review & Hands on Training
Instructor: Ben Bennett
6 hour course (F 8am-3pm), Includes 1 week of Wet Lab access, $375.00
6 Contact Hours
Prerequisites: High school diploma or equivalent education, Must be over 18 years old, Effectively communicate in English (speaking and writing skills)
This course is for currently certified backflow testers to prepare for their re-certification exam. This class offers a combination of classroom and hands-on practice covering the required range of knowledge for re-certification. Topics include:
Introduction to Backflow Prevention
Backflow Prevention Terms and Definitions
Types of Backflow Prevention Assemblies
Cross-Connection Control Program Administration
Installation Requirements for Backflow Prevention Assemblies
Field Test Procedures for Backflow Prevention Assemblies
Maintenance of Backflow Prevention Assemblies
Record Keeping Requirements
This course also includes 1 week of access to our hands-on Wet Lab following the course.*
*Wet Lab hours are 8am-5pm M-Th, 8am-3pm F
Upon successful completion of the training course the student is issued a certificate of completion from Water Industry Training Specialists, Inc. Contact hours are also provided upon completion of the course.
WITS is privileged to host the hands-on portion of the AWWA Backflow Assembly Tester Recertification exams at our facility in Sunnyvale. Please see course calendar for exam dates. Written exams must be scheduled at an AWWA computer lab. Please note: the cost of this course DOES NOT include cost of AWWA exam. Water Industry Training Specialists, Inc. has no affiliation with AWWA. All exam applications and fees must be sent directly to AWWA.
Time | 6 to 48 hour exam (dependant on the number of people) after a potential prep course of up to 5 days |
Prerequisites | 30 days spent at sea 800nm sailed, with at least 50% in tidal waters 12 night hours 2 days as skipper |
Min. Age | 17 |
Exam | 6 hours to 2 days on the water |
Aim | To work commercially on a sailing vessel under 24m in length within 20nm of a harbour. |
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor ticket is a highly useful and credible motor cruising qualification. Administered on behalf of the UK Maritime and Coastgaurd Agency by the RYA the qualification is accepted as a worldwide standard. To gain an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor qualification you must sit a practical exam.
Gaining an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor will allow you to work commercially on small motor vessels.
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam certifies that you are competent to skipper a motor yacht on coastal voyages within 20nm of a harbour.
The exam can be organised via the RYA to be done on your own vessel or via an RYA training centre, to be done on an RYA training vessel. It should be noted, that to complete the exam on your own vessel, your vessel must be up to an appropriate safety standard.
Most RYA training centres offering the RYA Cruising Scheme offer some form of pre exam preparation or coaching for those looking to take an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam.
These courses are often referred to as ‘RYA Yachtmaster Prep’ courses. This is unique within the RYA training framework in that it does not have a fixed course syllabus, length or course completion certificate.
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam is open to anyone who meets the minimum criteria, with all experience within the last 10 years.
If you have exceeded all of the above by large margins, then the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Motor exam might be for you.
If you have the miles, but not the skippering experience, it is suggested that you charter a vessel in order to gain the skippering experience.
Additionally, exam candidates must also hold a relevant GMDSS VHF certification and an RYA First Aid certificate or recognised equivalent.
You can indeed jump straight into the RYA Cruising Scheme at this stage, however, it is imperative that you understand the levels that are required of you, both in your knowledge and practical skills.
It is suggested that as a minimum you have completed (and passed) the RYA Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster Theory course as the knowledge in here is both required for you to be at the level required, but will be formally tested during your RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam, both orally and in practical applications.
You, of course, need to be a suitably experienced skipper and this involves meeting the prerequisites mentioned above to be eligible. You should be able to handle your vessel competently in close quarters and at sea. You should be comfortable applying this in various day and night time passages.
As mentioned, it is strongly recommended to have completed the RYA Coastal and Yachtmaster Theory as the depth of knowledge gained from this shore based course will be tested throughout your exam.
If you are looking for aa sailing equivalent course then you want RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Sail course .
The exam itself can take anything from 6 hours to 2 days depending on how many candidates are being examined on one vessel at a time. Up to 4 candidates can sit the exam at once and this would last for a maximum of 48 hours if so.
An RYA Yachtmaster Prep course is generally four and a half days long and is usually directly followed by the practical exam.
No, this is the one time that while there is a recognised ‘course’, there is no syllabus. It is up to the experienced instructor on the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor Prep course to tailor the learnings to your needs. This is more about refining your skills rather than teaching new ones.
You should be honest with yourself and your instructor in order for learnings throughout the week to be tailored to improve yourself on any weak areas that you may have.
These courses run as a standalone course and while there may be students on another course, generally everyone onboard is a candidate for an RYA Yachtmaster Exam. The courses should however be run with no more than 4 students on board.
The content will depend on the needs of all students and is aimed at fine-tuning existing skills rather than teaching new ones. This will involve a lot of night time cruising and navigation, carrying out challenging boat handling while using theory knowledge and ensuring general skippering skills are up to scratch.
There is a basic syllabus that is used to help shape the exam content, but in reality, you can be tested on anything from the RYA cruising scheme within the exam.
Before choosing the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor Prep course you need to be honest with yourself and your own abilities. While on the course you need to take on the advice and guidance given by the instructor on what areas need work. If you speak to your instructor before the course, they can tailor the instruction to your needs.
On the exam, you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and competence. You will be expected to take full responsibility for your vessel and crew. The examiner will be looking for you to demonstrate competence and show your broad range of experience.
The exam will be an intensive experience and even when you are not the designated skipper, you will still be asked questions and observed and examined as a participant of the crew.
During the exam you will be asked to complete various tasks, ranging from leaving the dock, skippering a short passage, casualty recovery, night pilotage and even blind navigation. Additionally, you will be tested on theoretical aspects such as how to deal with an engine failure, knowledge of your vessel’s stability, meteorology and IRPCS.
As a potential RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor, these tasks are ones that should now be second nature to you and should take minimal time to plan while the theoretical knowledge should be able to roll off your tongue.
The following topics make up the basis for the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam syllabus. IRPCS, safety, boat handling, seamanship, responsibility as skipper, navigation, meteorology and signals.
But, as mentioned above, anything from the whole RYA cruising syllabus scheme can be tested.
As ever, many schools differ in price. We would recommend that you take a look around at the various options and find what suits your needs the best. Cheapest is not often better.
This can range from knowing if you will have to share a cabin while onboard to whether food and berthing charges are included to how many other students you will be sharing your week with.
The exam fee is usually not included, which is currently £208.
As always there are many thoughts and pros and cons on this, and as a potential RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor, you should consider yourself experienced enough to sit the exam anywhere. However, if you choose to sit the exam in an area that you are familiar with then you will take a lot of the stress out of learning a new area and start with a small advantage of having that all important local knowledge at your disposal.
Your instructor should be able to update you on your ability levels throughout the course. They will be highly experienced and it is suggested that you listen to their advice given.
If you are learning something for the first time you should consider if you are ready for the exam. Talk to your instructor and they will be able to guide you on if you are ready for the exam or if they would advise further training.
There is no pass mark as such and the examiner will be looking to see that you are a competent and complete skipper, capable of looking after both your vessel and crew in a safe manner.
Every exam is different and no examiner will be setting out to fail any candidates, but they must ensure and check that each candidate is able to demonstrate their ability, knowledge and skills in a safe and timely manner.
If you were to fail to reach the levels of an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor certificate of competence then the examiner will give you a thorough debrief complete with action points to work on before you have another attempt at the exam.
After completion of the exam, you will have gained the credible achievement of an RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor certificate of competence and you can get this commercially endorsed by adding a sea survival certification, a personal medical and a PPR course, all of which, along with your GMDSS VHF and First Aid should be sent off to the RYA for certification upgrade. This will now allow the holder to skipper a vessel commercially, in coastal waters, up to 20nm from a harbour.
The next step is of course to get out on the water and to keep learning, keep gaining experience and keep improving on the skills and knowledge learned so far. No skipper is the finished article and we should all keep seeking to improve.
Once you have gained more experience, knowledge, mileage and time on the water it will be time to progress to the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Motor exam.
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Join our talented crew and become an RYA Instructor. Not just a job, it's a lifestyle too. Instructing RYA courses can be a rewarding, challenging and fun career or hobby. The strength of the RYA's training schemes is dependent on the quality of its instructors and trainers, so if your love an outdoor office and want the chance to shape and ...
Yachtmaster Instructor courses and Yachtmaster Instructor/Cruising Instructor revalidations will remain non-residential for 2021. ... Five years, after which you will need to attend an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor revalidation. Revalidation is carried out over one day on the water for motor and two for sail. During restrictions imposed by the ...
The RYA's training courses and qualifications are recognised and respected all over the world. With more than 2,400 recognised training centres across 58 different countries and more than 100 courses, there's something for every age, interest and ability. ... Instructors, coaches and careers. ... From RYA Yachtmaster® to Advanced Powerboat ...
This is probably aiming to cover more miles than a typical course, but with four Coastals I want to be sure to give each a good chance to be skipper for an extended passage, and the Comp Crew will also get a great variety of experience. Yachtmaster. The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal and Yachtmaster Offshore exams are like the Day Skipper on steroids ...
5 60nm passages, 2 as skipper. Min. Age. 18. Exam. 8 hours to 2 days on the water. Aim. To work commercially on a sailing vessel under 24m in length within 150nm of a harbour. Course Info. The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Motor ticket is considered the most useful and credible of all motor cruising qualifications.
Prerequisites. Below is the RYA Cruising Instructor Course syllabus. Candidates should have a depth and breadth of experience which far exceeds that of a newly qualified Yachtmaster with minimum logged seatime, so those whose knowledge and skills do not go beyond RYA Cruising Scheme competencies are unlikely to complete the course successfully.
The RYA Cruising Instructor course is the first step if you would like to teach RYA sailing courses. The certificate will allow you to teach RYA Day Skipper and Competent Crew courses. Pre-requirements (RYA Cruising Instructor) - Minimum age: 18 years old - Yachtmaster Offshore (or Ocean) certificate, with Commercial Endorsement
Price: from £995 (Finance now available) Location: Starts from our base at Premier Gosport Marina, and visits different ports around the Solent and adjacent waters. Duration: 5 days. The RYA Cruising Instructor practical sailing Course is a designed for RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore qualified sailors to enhance their career and gain the much ...
RYA Instructor Courses. For over 10 years now we have been training people to fulfil their ambition to become a RYA Instructor. We are really proud of the start that we can give instructors as they begin a hugely satisfying career. We have courses scheduled throughout the year for RYA Powerboat Instructor, Advanced Powerboat Instructor, RYA ...
An RYA Yachtmaster Prep course is generally four and a half days long and is usually directly followed by the practical exam. ... It is up to the experienced instructor on the RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Sail Prep course to tailor the learnings to your needs. This is more about refining your skills rather than teaching new ones.
The RYA Cruising Instructor practical sailing Course is a designed for RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore qualified sailors to enhance their career and gain the much coveted RYA Cruising Instructor qualification, and begin your Instructing career. Take a look at our live course calendar for dates for the RYA Cruising Instructor course!
RYA Yachtmaster Ocean Theory course online. Learn anywhere at your own pace, explore the latest content and new features with unlimited access to our expert instructors ... On average, our professional RYA instructors respond to student questions via live chat within 1 minute! Try it out now if you don't believe us. Web + App. Access your RYA ...
RYA Cruising Instructor certificate for sail or power as appropriate, or. If an RYA Yachtmaster Instructor in the other scheme (sail or power) with significant experience in the scheme they now wish to become a YMI in, send your relevant CV evidenced where possible, to [email protected] for consideration for a more direct route. Experience.
An RYA Yachtmaster Prep course is generally four and a half days long and is usually directly followed by the practical exam. ... It is up to the experienced instructor on the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Sail Prep course to tailor the learnings to your needs. This is more about refining your skills rather than teaching new ones.
The RYA set up a committee to govern its training activities in 1967 and the Yachtmaster Qualifications Panel was set up in 1971. Training is carried out in 58 countries and there are in excess of 25,000 RYA instructors across the world, (although many of these Instructors are not Yachtmaster Instructors but instruct in other disciplines (such as dinghy sailing, windsurfing and power-boating).
The RYA Yachtmaster Offshore prep and exam course is the final step on a student's journey to becoming a fully qualified, professional skipper. For a student, achieving the Yachtmaster Offshore qualification means that he or she can sail commercially and work towards becoming an instructor or other sailing professional.
RYA Coastal Skipper & Yachtmaster Offshore Shorebased (6 days or online) ... you prefer to take the sail exam we can put you in touch with a sail school once you have all of the above shorebased courses. During the prep week our Instructor will take you through many of the exercises the examiner is likely to throw at you on the final day. We ...
What Yachtmaster Offshore instructor Matt Sillars says. The week is not a course to learn to be a Yachtmaster Offshore. You need to have done 90% of the work beforehand. The preparation days are about checking skills and finding where you need more work, rather than being taught skills.
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The gold standard. The RYA Yachtmaster® Certificate of Competence is often the ultimate aim of aspiring skippers. It is a well known, highly respected qualification worldwide, proving your experience and competence as a skipper. Unlike other qualifications in the cruising programme, there is no formal training course to become an RYA Yachtmaster.
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RYA Yachtmaster offshore & Diving instructor Fort Lauderdale, FL. Connect 鈴木康仁 ヤンセンファーマ株式会社 - 営業 ... Add new skills with these courses 3h 19m. Cert Prep ...
BACKFLOW PREVENTION ASSEMBLY TESTER- Written Exam & Hands-On Training. Instructor: Ben Bennett. Prerequisites: High school diploma or equivalent education, Must be over 18 years old, Effectively communicate in English (speaking and writing skills) 40-hour course (M-F 8am-5pm), $1600.00 .
The RYA Yachtmaster Coastal Motor exam is open to anyone who meets the minimum criteria, with all experience within the last 10 years. 17 years of age or older. 30 days spent at sea. 800nm cruised, with at least 50% in tidal waters. 12 night hours.
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To sit the RYA Yachtmaster offshore exam, you are required to have the following miles and experience. All completed within the last ten years:
** Note: All five passages must have been on a vessel between 7m and 24m in length.
If you hold the RYA Coastal Skipper course completion certificate, then the miles required for Yachtmaster Coastal are reduced to 400.
An area is deemed tidal if published stream, current or tidal range data is available, the influence of which is significant enough to require the effects to be taken into account to plan and execute a safe and efficient passage.
Good news! The RYA accepts 50% (1,250) of your qualifying sea miles gained on a vessel over 24m.
It’s crucial to provide a Testimonial or Discharge book as proof of your 1,250 sea miles.
The other 50% (1,250 miles) must be from vessels between 7m and 24m in length.
Some Superyachts have large tenders and chase boats. In this case, any miles and qualifying passages gained at the helm go some way to 1,250 sea miles.
Depends on your goal.
Technically, you don’t need it to sit your Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore exam, however:
To become an RYA Yachtmaster, you need to be able to navigate using traditional and electronic navigation techniques. The RYA Yachtmaster Theory Course teaches you everything you need to know to navigate a yacht offshore and we recommend it to everybody thinking of sitting the RYA Yachtmaster practical exam.
RYA Yachtmaster Theory is a requirement for Officer of the Watch 3000GT.
At Flying Fish we combine both Yachtmaster Theory and a practical prep week into one course.
To convert from Yachtmaster offshore sail to power you must have completed, in the last 10 years:
Your experience would have been built up over some time on various types of yachts. The miles that you have gained on vessels between 7 and 24 meters in length in the past ten years can be recorded in either:
Please note, when recording your miles and experience, make sure you detail the following:
Flying Fish has created a personal log that you can use to record your sea miles.
You must have a valid, in-date First Aid qualification to sit the RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or Offshore exam.
The RYA, STCW, and Seafish First Aid certificates are all accepted by the RYA.
The RYA First Aid certificate is valid for 3-years.
STCW First Aid certificates do not have an expiry date. However, It is accepted that after 5 years, our knowledge of CPR and other life-saving techniques tends to fade.
Therefore, the RYA requires holders of STCW First Aid to refresh every 5-years from the date of issue.
At flying Fish, we offer STCW Elementary First Aid courses that coincide with our Yachtmaster Power Theory and practical courses. If you need to update your STCW Elementary First Aid qualification, we invite you to click on the link below to book an update.
By commercially endorsing your Yachtmaster qualification, you not only meet the necessary requirements for taking paying passengers on a commercial vessel but also equip yourself with the confidence and readiness for professional opportunities.
Superyacht tenders are usually registered as a “tender too” the larger yacht, and in most cases, Commercial Endorsement is not required.
Many individuals choose to endorse their RYA Yachtmaster for commercial use. This endorsement prepares you for potential opportunities, such as working as a professional skipper. If this is your goal, in addition to First Aid and VHF, you will need the following:
Once you have completed these three steps, you can apply for commercial endorsement through the RYA.
Complete STCW Basic Safety Training , then the RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Offshore certificate will be endorsed to allow the holder to skipper a commercial or privately owned vessel up to 200 gross tonnes, which may be greater than 24m in length.
If you are considering a Yachtmaster Prep course then Flying Fish will provide some pre-course reading. If you did some background reading before your prep course, it would help if you had a good knowledge of the following:
Wildfire training instruction & refresher courses.
We generally offer the RT-130 to contractors in the Spring of each year, and the other courses as needed or requested. The annual RT-130 training courses are offered in Grangeville, ID and Moscow, ID. Depending on class size and need we are also able to provide on-site courses at times and locations that best meet team needs. Class sizes range from 15 to 80 or more for the RT-130. Call us for minimum class sizes and alternate locations.
Our staff are a team of active wildland firefighters who can provide various trainings through an agreement with the USFS. We follow the guidance of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group for all our trainings and provide these trainings to area contractors to enable them to supplement local, state, and federal fire suppression programs.
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Moscow Rural Fire Department 1201 S Mtn View Moscow Idaho 83843 Tuesday April 16 Tuesday June 11
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Cottonwood Community Center 506 King St, Cottonwood, ID 83522 Wednesday April 17 Wednesday May 22
In 2001, Northwest Management, Inc. and Idaho Forest Associates initiated a unique conference for professional foresters targeted to promote continuing education, ethics and pride in our profession. Over the years, this annual conference has grown to include valuable information and workshops for all natural resource professionals. The conference delivers high quality workshops on new ideas, technologies, and emerging policy and professional issues.
The Annual Foresters Forum will be held at The Coeur d’Alene Resort in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The forum is a fantastic venue for Inland Northwest foresters and resource professionals to focus on their profession, share information and learn new ideas, techniques and technologies. We are pleased to present high achieving and richly experienced speakers from all over the nation. Over 90% of the material presented at the forum is new every year, and this year will be no different.
Sacramento, CA • October 25-28, 2023
The theme, “ Forestry: It’s in Our DNA ,” references both the proud legacy of forestry and the ongoing challenges and opportunities that foresters and natural resources professionals face. Forestry and what it means to be a forester is multi-faceted with many backgrounds, disciplines, and experiences shaping our profession’s past, present, and future. SAF2023 will bring together novel science and on-the-ground management techniques, while focusing on how to better communicate our passion to the public, and building a community that can tackle impacts from a changing climate.
Check back later this month for more details about the convention themes, location, sponsor and exhibitor opportunities, and call for proposal process.
By Jennifer Xue
Table of Contents
Why do we write personal narratives, 6 guidelines for writing personal narrative essays, inspiring personal narratives, examples of personal narrative essays, tell your story.
First off, you might be wondering: what is a personal narrative? In short, personal narratives are stories we tell about ourselves that focus on our growth, lessons learned, and reflections on our experiences.
From stories about inspirational figures we heard as children to any essay, article, or exercise where we're asked to express opinions on a situation, thing, or individual—personal narratives are everywhere.
According to Psychology Today, personal narratives allow authors to feel and release pains, while savouring moments of strength and resilience. Such emotions provide an avenue for both authors and readers to connect while supporting healing in the process.
That all sounds great. But when it comes to putting the words down on paper, we often end up with a list of experiences and no real structure to tie them together.
In this article, we'll discuss what a personal narrative essay is further, learn the 6 steps to writing one, and look at some examples of great personal narratives.
As readers, we're fascinated by memoirs, autobiographies, and long-form personal narrative articles, as they provide a glimpse into the authors' thought processes, ideas, and feelings. But you don't have to be writing your whole life story to create a personal narrative.
You might be a student writing an admissions essay , or be trying to tell your professional story in a cover letter. Regardless of your purpose, your narrative will focus on personal growth, reflections, and lessons.
Personal narratives help us connect with other people's stories due to their easy-to-digest format and because humans are empathising creatures.
We can better understand how others feel and think when we were told stories that allow us to see the world from their perspectives. The author's "I think" and "I feel" instantaneously become ours, as the brain doesn't know whether what we read is real or imaginary.
In her best-selling book Wired for Story, Lisa Cron explains that the human brain craves tales as it's hard-wired through evolution to learn what happens next. Since the brain doesn't know whether what you are reading is actual or not, we can register the moral of the story cognitively and affectively.
In academia, a narrative essay tells a story which is experiential, anecdotal, or personal. It allows the author to creatively express their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and opinions. Its length can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to hundreds of pages.
Outside of academia, personal narratives are known as a form of journalism or non-fiction works called "narrative journalism." Even highly prestigious publications like the New York Times and Time magazine have sections dedicated to personal narratives. The New Yorke is a magazine dedicated solely to this genre.
The New York Times holds personal narrative essay contests. The winners are selected because they:
had a clear narrative arc with a conflict and a main character who changed in some way. They artfully balanced the action of the story with reflection on what it meant to the writer. They took risks, like including dialogue or playing with punctuation, sentence structure and word choice to develop a strong voice. And, perhaps most important, they focused on a specific moment or theme – a conversation, a trip to the mall, a speech tournament, a hospital visit – instead of trying to sum up the writer’s life in 600 words.
In a nutshell, a personal narrative can cover any reflective and contemplative subject with a strong voice and a unique perspective, including uncommon private values. It's written in first person and the story encompasses a specific moment in time worthy of a discussion.
Writing a personal narrative essay involves both objectivity and subjectivity. You'll need to be objective enough to recognise the importance of an event or a situation to explore and write about. On the other hand, you must be subjective enough to inject private thoughts and feelings to make your point.
With personal narratives, you are both the muse and the creator – you have control over how your story is told. However, like any other type of writing, it comes with guidelines.
As a story, it must include an introduction, characters, plot, setting, climax, anti-climax (if any), and conclusion. Another way to approach it is by structuring it with an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should set the tone, while the body should focus on the key point(s) you want to get across. The conclusion can tell the reader what lessons you have learned from the story you've just told.
Your narrative essay should reflect your unique perspective on life. This is a lot harder than it sounds. You need to establish your perspective, the key things you want your reader to take away, and your tone of voice. It's a good idea to have a set purpose in mind for the narrative before you start writing.
Let's say you want to write about how you manage depression without taking any medicine. This could go in any number of ways, but isolating a purpose will help you focus your writing and choose which stories to tell. Are you advocating for a holistic approach, or do you want to describe your emotional experience for people thinking of trying it?
Having this focus will allow you to put your own unique take on what you did (and didn't do, if applicable), what changed you, and the lessons learned along the way.
It's a narration, so the narrative should show readers what happened, instead of telling them. As well as being a storyteller, the author should take part as one of the characters. Keep this in mind when writing, as the way you shape your perspective can have a big impact on how your reader sees your overarching plot. Don't slip into just explaining everything that happened because it happened to you. Show your reader with action.
You can check for instances of telling rather than showing with ProWritingAid. For example, instead of:
"You never let me do anything!" I cried disdainfully.
"You never let me do anything!" To this day, my mother swears that the glare I levelled at her as I spat those words out could have soured milk.
Using ProWritingAid will help you find these instances in your manuscript and edit them without spending hours trawling through your work yourself.
You, the author, take ownership of the story, so the first person pronoun "I" is used throughout. However, you shouldn't overuse it, as it'd make it sound too self-centred and redundant.
ProWritingAid can also help you here – the Style Report will tell you if you've started too many sentences with "I", and show you how to introduce more variation in your writing.
Tense is key to understanding. Personal narratives mostly tell the story of events that happened in the past, so many authors choose to use the past tense. This helps separate out your current, narrating voice and your past self who you are narrating. If you're writing in the present tense, make sure that you keep it consistent throughout.
Satisfy your readers by giving them an unforgettable closing scene. The body of the narration should build up the plot to climax. This doesn't have to be something incredible or shocking, just something that helps give an interesting take on your story.
The takeaways or the lessons learned should be written without lecturing. Whenever possible, continue to show rather than tell. Don't say what you learned, narrate what you do differently now. This will help the moral of your story shine through without being too preachy.
GoodReads is a great starting point for selecting read-worthy personal narrative books. Here are five of my favourites.
Jane Yolen, the author of 386 books, wrote this poetic story about a daughter and her father who went owling. Instead of learning about owls, Yolen invites readers to contemplate the meaning of gentleness and hope.
Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. This Holocaust memoir has a strong message that such horrific events should never be repeated.
This classic is a must-read by young and old alike. It's a remarkable diary by a 13-year-old Jewish girl who hid inside a secret annexe of an old building during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in 1942.
This is a personal narrative written by a brave author renowned for her clarity, passion, and honesty. Didion shares how in December 2003, she lost her husband of 40 years to a massive heart attack and dealt with the acute illness of her only daughter. She speaks about grief, memories, illness, and hope.
Author Tara Westover was raised by survivalist parents. She didn't go to school until 17 years of age, which later took her to Harvard and Cambridge. It's a story about the struggle for quest for knowledge and self-reinvention.
Narrative and personal narrative journalism are gaining more popularity these days. You can find distinguished personal narratives all over the web.
Curating the best of the best of personal narratives and narrative essays from all over the web. Some are award-winning articles.
Long-form writing to celebrate humanity through storytelling. It publishes personal narrative essays written to provoke, inspire, and reflect, touching lesser-known and overlooked subjects.
It publishes non,fiction narratives, poetry, and fiction. Among its contributors is Frank Conroy, the author of Stop-Time , a memoir that has never been out of print since 1967.
Aimed at Generation Z, it publishes personal narrative essays on self-improvement, family, friendship, romance, and others.
Personal narratives will continue to be popular as our brains are wired for stories. We love reading about others and telling stories of ourselves, as they bring satisfaction and a better understanding of the world around us.
Personal narratives make us better humans. Enjoy telling yours!
Love writing? ProWritingAid will help you improve the style, strength, and clarity of your stories.
Jennifer Xue is an award-winning e-book author with 2,500+ articles and 100+ e-books/reports published under her belt. She also taught 50+ college-level essay and paper writing classes. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Business.com, Business2Community, Addicted2Success, Good Men Project, and others. Her blog is JenniferXue.com. Follow her on Twitter @jenxuewrites].
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Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.
A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a story about a personal experience you had. This type of essay , along with the descriptive essay , allows you to get personal and creative, unlike most academic writing .
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What is a narrative essay for, choosing a topic, interactive example of a narrative essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about narrative essays.
When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.
A narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way. You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace.
These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense.
Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with.
You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic.
In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.
For example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something.
When applying for college , you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities.
For example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay.
In this context, choose a story that is not only interesting but also expresses the qualities the prompt is looking for—here, resilience and the ability to learn from failure—and frame the story in a way that emphasizes these qualities.
An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” is shown below.
Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works.
Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.
Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.
A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.
The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.
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If you’re not given much guidance on what your narrative essay should be about, consider the context and scope of the assignment. What kind of story is relevant, interesting, and possible to tell within the word count?
The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to reflect on a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.
Don’t worry too much if your topic seems unoriginal. The point of a narrative essay is how you tell the story and the point you make with it, not the subject of the story itself.
Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a university application.
When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response.
The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.
Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.
If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.
Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Write a Narrative Essay | Example & Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/narrative-essay/
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Last Updated: December 12, 2023 Fact Checked
This article was co-authored by Grant Faulkner, MA . Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story, a literary magazine. Grant has published two books on writing and has been published in The New York Times and Writer’s Digest. He co-hosts Write-minded, a weekly podcast on writing and publishing, and has a M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 867,285 times.
Personal narratives focus on a particular real life event that was pivotal or important for the writer. You may have to write a personal narrative as part of a college application or as an assignment for a class. To write a strong personal narrative, start by coming up with an engaging idea. Then, write the narrative with an opening hook and a detailed, organized structure. Always review and revise the personal narrative before handing it in so it is at its best.
To write a personal narrative, start by choosing a memorable moment, event, or conflict in your life that you want to write about. Then, use your personal narrative to describe your story, going chronologically through the events. Try to use a lot of sensory detail, like how things smelled, sounded, felt, and looked, so your readers can picture everything you're describing. At the end of your narrative, include a lesson you learned or something you took away from the experience. To learn how to brainstorm ideas for your personal narrative, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No
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A narrative essay is one of the most intimidating assignments you can be handed at any level of your education. Where you've previously written argumentative essays that make a point or analytic essays that dissect meaning, a narrative essay asks you to write what is effectively a story .
But unlike a simple work of creative fiction, your narrative essay must have a clear and concrete motif —a recurring theme or idea that you’ll explore throughout. Narrative essays are less rigid, more creative in expression, and therefore pretty different from most other essays you’ll be writing.
But not to fear—in this article, we’ll be covering what a narrative essay is, how to write a good one, and also analyzing some personal narrative essay examples to show you what a great one looks like.
At first glance, a narrative essay might sound like you’re just writing a story. Like the stories you're used to reading, a narrative essay is generally (but not always) chronological, following a clear throughline from beginning to end. Even if the story jumps around in time, all the details will come back to one specific theme, demonstrated through your choice in motifs.
Unlike many creative stories, however, your narrative essay should be based in fact. That doesn’t mean that every detail needs to be pure and untainted by imagination, but rather that you shouldn’t wholly invent the events of your narrative essay. There’s nothing wrong with inventing a person’s words if you can’t remember them exactly, but you shouldn’t say they said something they weren’t even close to saying.
Another big difference between narrative essays and creative fiction—as well as other kinds of essays—is that narrative essays are based on motifs. A motif is a dominant idea or theme, one that you establish before writing the essay. As you’re crafting the narrative, it’ll feed back into your motif to create a comprehensive picture of whatever that motif is.
For example, say you want to write a narrative essay about how your first day in high school helped you establish your identity. You might discuss events like trying to figure out where to sit in the cafeteria, having to describe yourself in five words as an icebreaker in your math class, or being unsure what to do during your lunch break because it’s no longer acceptable to go outside and play during lunch. All of those ideas feed back into the central motif of establishing your identity.
The important thing to remember is that while a narrative essay is typically told chronologically and intended to read like a story, it is not purely for entertainment value. A narrative essay delivers its theme by deliberately weaving the motifs through the events, scenes, and details. While a narrative essay may be entertaining, its primary purpose is to tell a complete story based on a central meaning.
Unlike other essay forms, it is totally okay—even expected—to use first-person narration in narrative essays. If you’re writing a story about yourself, it’s natural to refer to yourself within the essay. It’s also okay to use other perspectives, such as third- or even second-person, but that should only be done if it better serves your motif. Generally speaking, your narrative essay should be in first-person perspective.
Though your motif choices may feel at times like you’re making a point the way you would in an argumentative essay, a narrative essay’s goal is to tell a story, not convince the reader of anything. Your reader should be able to tell what your motif is from reading, but you don’t have to change their mind about anything. If they don’t understand the point you are making, you should consider strengthening the delivery of the events and descriptions that support your motif.
Narrative essays also share some features with analytical essays, in which you derive meaning from a book, film, or other media. But narrative essays work differently—you’re not trying to draw meaning from an existing text, but rather using an event you’ve experienced to convey meaning. In an analytical essay, you examine narrative, whereas in a narrative essay you create narrative.
The structure of a narrative essay is also a bit different than other essays. You’ll generally be getting your point across chronologically as opposed to grouping together specific arguments in paragraphs or sections. To return to the example of an essay discussing your first day of high school and how it impacted the shaping of your identity, it would be weird to put the events out of order, even if not knowing what to do after lunch feels like a stronger idea than choosing where to sit. Instead of organizing to deliver your information based on maximum impact, you’ll be telling your story as it happened, using concrete details to reinforce your theme.
One of the best ways to learn how to write a narrative essay is to look at a great narrative essay sample. Let’s take a look at some truly stellar narrative essay examples and dive into what exactly makes them work so well.
Today is Press Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, and I’m supposed to be at the fairgrounds by 9:00 A.M. to get my credentials. I imagine credentials to be a small white card in the band of a fedora. I’ve never been considered press before. My real interest in credentials is getting into rides and shows for free. I’m fresh in from the East Coast, for an East Coast magazine. Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish. I think they asked me to do this because I grew up here, just a couple hours’ drive from downstate Springfield. I never did go to the state fair, though—I pretty much topped out at the county fair level. Actually, I haven’t been back to Illinois for a long time, and I can’t say I’ve missed it.
Throughout this essay, David Foster Wallace recounts his experience as press at the Illinois State Fair. But it’s clear from this opening that he’s not just reporting on the events exactly as they happened—though that’s also true— but rather making a point about how the East Coast, where he lives and works, thinks about the Midwest.
In his opening paragraph, Wallace states that outright: “Why exactly they’re interested in the Illinois State Fair remains unclear to me. I suspect that every so often editors at East Coast magazines slap their foreheads and remember that about 90 percent of the United States lies between the coasts, and figure they’ll engage somebody to do pith-helmeted anthropological reporting on something rural and heartlandish.”
Not every motif needs to be stated this clearly , but in an essay as long as Wallace’s, particularly since the audience for such a piece may feel similarly and forget that such a large portion of the country exists, it’s important to make that point clear.
But Wallace doesn’t just rest on introducing his motif and telling the events exactly as they occurred from there. It’s clear that he selects events that remind us of that idea of East Coast cynicism , such as when he realizes that the Help Me Grow tent is standing on top of fake grass that is killing the real grass beneath, when he realizes the hypocrisy of craving a corn dog when faced with a real, suffering pig, when he’s upset for his friend even though he’s not the one being sexually harassed, and when he witnesses another East Coast person doing something he wouldn’t dare to do.
Wallace is literally telling the audience exactly what happened, complete with dates and timestamps for when each event occurred. But he’s also choosing those events with a purpose—he doesn’t focus on details that don’t serve his motif. That’s why he discusses the experiences of people, how the smells are unappealing to him, and how all the people he meets, in cowboy hats, overalls, or “black spandex that looks like cheesecake leotards,” feel almost alien to him.
All of these details feed back into the throughline of East Coast thinking that Wallace introduces in the first paragraph. He also refers back to it in the essay’s final paragraph, stating:
At last, an overarching theory blooms inside my head: megalopolitan East Coasters’ summer treats and breaks and literally ‘getaways,’ flights-from—from crowds, noise, heat, dirt, the stress of too many sensory choices….The East Coast existential treat is escape from confines and stimuli—quiet, rustic vistas that hold still, turn inward, turn away. Not so in the rural Midwest. Here you’re pretty much away all the time….Something in a Midwesterner sort of actuates , deep down, at a public event….The real spectacle that draws us here is us.
Throughout this journey, Wallace has tried to demonstrate how the East Coast thinks about the Midwest, ultimately concluding that they are captivated by the Midwest’s less stimuli-filled life, but that the real reason they are interested in events like the Illinois State Fair is that they are, in some ways, a means of looking at the East Coast in a new, estranging way.
The reason this works so well is that Wallace has carefully chosen his examples, outlined his motif and themes in the first paragraph, and eventually circled back to the original motif with a clearer understanding of his original point.
When outlining your own narrative essay, try to do the same. Start with a theme, build upon it with examples, and return to it in the end with an even deeper understanding of the original issue. You don’t need this much space to explore a theme, either—as we’ll see in the next example, a strong narrative essay can also be very short.
After a time, tired by his dancing apparently, he settled on the window ledge in the sun, and, the queer spectacle being at an end, I forgot about him. Then, looking up, my eye was caught by him. He was trying to resume his dancing, but seemed either so stiff or so awkward that he could only flutter to the bottom of the window-pane; and when he tried to fly across it he failed. Being intent on other matters I watched these futile attempts for a time without thinking, unconsciously waiting for him to resume his flight, as one waits for a machine, that has stopped momentarily, to start again without considering the reason of its failure. After perhaps a seventh attempt he slipped from the wooden ledge and fell, fluttering his wings, on to his back on the window sill. The helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death. I laid the pencil down again.
In this essay, Virginia Woolf explains her encounter with a dying moth. On surface level, this essay is just a recounting of an afternoon in which she watched a moth die—it’s even established in the title. But there’s more to it than that. Though Woolf does not begin her essay with as clear a motif as Wallace, it’s not hard to pick out the evidence she uses to support her point, which is that the experience of this moth is also the human experience.
In the title, Woolf tells us this essay is about death. But in the first paragraph, she seems to mostly be discussing life—the moth is “content with life,” people are working in the fields, and birds are flying. However, she mentions that it is mid-September and that the fields were being plowed. It’s autumn and it’s time for the harvest; the time of year in which many things die.
In this short essay, she chronicles the experience of watching a moth seemingly embody life, then die. Though this essay is literally about a moth, it’s also about a whole lot more than that. After all, moths aren’t the only things that die—Woolf is also reflecting on her own mortality, as well as the mortality of everything around her.
At its core, the essay discusses the push and pull of life and death, not in a way that’s necessarily sad, but in a way that is accepting of both. Woolf begins by setting up the transitional fall season, often associated with things coming to an end, and raises the ideas of pleasure, vitality, and pity.
At one point, Woolf tries to help the dying moth, but reconsiders, as it would interfere with the natural order of the world. The moth’s death is part of the natural order of the world, just like fall, just like her own eventual death.
All these themes are set up in the beginning and explored throughout the essay’s narrative. Though Woolf doesn’t directly state her theme, she reinforces it by choosing a small, isolated event—watching a moth die—and illustrating her point through details.
With this essay, we can see that you don’t need a big, weird, exciting event to discuss an important meaning. Woolf is able to explore complicated ideas in a short essay by being deliberate about what details she includes, just as you can be in your own essays.
On the twenty-ninth of July, in 1943, my father died. On the same day, a few hours later, his last child was born. Over a month before this, while all our energies were concentrated in waiting for these events, there had been, in Detroit, one of the bloodiest race riots of the century. A few hours after my father’s funeral, while he lay in state in the undertaker’s chapel, a race riot broke out in Harlem. On the morning of the third of August, we drove my father to the graveyard through a wilderness of smashed plate glass.
Like Woolf, Baldwin does not lay out his themes in concrete terms—unlike Wallace, there’s no clear sentence that explains what he’ll be talking about. However, you can see the motifs quite clearly: death, fatherhood, struggle, and race.
Throughout the narrative essay, Baldwin discusses the circumstances of his father’s death, including his complicated relationship with his father. By introducing those motifs in the first paragraph, the reader understands that everything discussed in the essay will come back to those core ideas. When Baldwin talks about his experience with a white teacher taking an interest in him and his father’s resistance to that, he is also talking about race and his father’s death. When he talks about his father’s death, he is also talking about his views on race. When he talks about his encounters with segregation and racism, he is talking, in part, about his father.
Because his father was a hard, uncompromising man, Baldwin struggles to reconcile the knowledge that his father was right about many things with his desire to not let that hardness consume him, as well.
Baldwin doesn’t explicitly state any of this, but his writing so often touches on the same motifs that it becomes clear he wants us to think about all these ideas in conversation with one another.
At the end of the essay, Baldwin makes it more clear:
This fight begins, however, in the heart and it had now been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair. This intimation made my heart heavy and, now that my father was irrecoverable, I wished that he had been beside me so that I could have searched his face for the answers which only the future would give me now.
Here, Baldwin ties together the themes and motifs into one clear statement: that he must continue to fight and recognize injustice, especially racial injustice, just as his father did. But unlike his father, he must do it beginning with himself—he must not let himself be closed off to the world as his father was. And yet, he still wishes he had his father for guidance, even as he establishes that he hopes to be a different man than his father.
In this essay, Baldwin loads the front of the essay with his motifs, and, through his narrative, weaves them together into a theme. In the end, he comes to a conclusion that connects all of those things together and leaves the reader with a lasting impression of completion—though the elements may have been initially disparate, in the end everything makes sense.
You can replicate this tactic of introducing seemingly unattached ideas and weaving them together in your own essays. By introducing those motifs, developing them throughout, and bringing them together in the end, you can demonstrate to your reader how all of them are related. However, it’s especially important to be sure that your motifs and clear and consistent throughout your essay so that the conclusion feels earned and consistent—if not, readers may feel mislead.
Narrative essays can be a lot of fun to write since they’re so heavily based on creativity. But that can also feel intimidating—sometimes it’s easier to have strict guidelines than to have to make it all up yourself. Here are a few tips to keep your narrative essay feeling strong and fresh.
Motifs are the foundation of a narrative essay . What are you trying to say? How can you say that using specific symbols or events? Those are your motifs.
In the same way that an argumentative essay’s body should support its thesis, the body of your narrative essay should include motifs that support your theme.
Try to avoid cliches, as these will feel tired to your readers. Instead of roses to symbolize love, try succulents. Instead of the ocean representing some vast, unknowable truth, try the depths of your brother’s bedroom. Keep your language and motifs fresh and your essay will be even stronger!
In many essays, you’re expected to remove yourself so that your points stand on their own. Not so in a narrative essay—in this case, you want to make use of your own perspective.
Sometimes a different perspective can make your point even stronger. If you want someone to identify with your point of view, it may be tempting to choose a second-person perspective. However, be sure you really understand the function of second-person; it’s very easy to put a reader off if the narration isn’t expertly deployed.
If you want a little bit of distance, third-person perspective may be okay. But be careful—too much distance and your reader may feel like the narrative lacks truth.
That’s why first-person perspective is the standard. It keeps you, the writer, close to the narrative, reminding the reader that it really happened. And because you really know what happened and how, you’re free to inject your own opinion into the story without it detracting from your point, as it would in a different type of essay.
Your essay should be true. However, this is a creative essay, and it’s okay to embellish a little. Rarely in life do we experience anything with a clear, concrete meaning the way somebody in a book might. If you flub the details a little, it’s okay—just don’t make them up entirely.
Also, nobody expects you to perfectly recall details that may have happened years ago. You may have to reconstruct dialog from your memory and your imagination. That’s okay, again, as long as you aren’t making it up entirely and assigning made-up statements to somebody.
Dialog is a powerful tool. A good conversation can add flavor and interest to a story, as we saw demonstrated in David Foster Wallace’s essay. As previously mentioned, it’s okay to flub it a little, especially because you’re likely writing about an experience you had without knowing that you’d be writing about it later.
However, don’t rely too much on it. Your narrative essay shouldn’t be told through people explaining things to one another; the motif comes through in the details. Dialog can be one of those details, but it shouldn’t be the only one.
Because a narrative essay is a story, you can use sensory details to make your writing more interesting. If you’re describing a particular experience, you can go into detail about things like taste, smell, and hearing in a way that you probably wouldn’t do in any other essay style.
These details can tie into your overall motifs and further your point. Woolf describes in great detail what she sees while watching the moth, giving us the sense that we, too, are watching the moth. In Wallace’s essay, he discusses the sights, sounds, and smells of the Illinois State Fair to help emphasize his point about its strangeness. And in Baldwin’s essay, he describes shattered glass as a “wilderness,” and uses the feelings of his body to describe his mental state.
All these descriptions anchor us not only in the story, but in the motifs and themes as well. One of the tools of a writer is making the reader feel as you felt, and sensory details help you achieve that.
Looking to brush up on your essay-writing capabilities before the ACT? This guide to ACT English will walk you through some of the best strategies and practice questions to get you prepared!
Part of practicing for the ACT is ensuring your word choice and diction are on point. Check out this guide to some of the most common errors on the ACT English section to be sure that you're not making these common mistakes!
A solid understanding of English principles will help you make an effective point in a narrative essay, and you can get that understanding through taking a rigorous assortment of high school English classes !
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Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.
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Elle LaMarca | June 4, 2024 | 2 Comments
A personal narrative essay is a form of creative nonfiction writers use to share compelling stories from their own lives. Through the writing of personal narrative essays, writers can examine the events of their own life, and transform their everyday experiences into essays that uncover deeper truths in the world.
There are many different reasons why a writer may choose to share their stories through personal narrative essays. In this article, I’ll define and dissect the different elements and forms of personal essays, discuss when and why this creative nonfiction form may be for you, and share an example. I will also guide you through a step-by-step process on how to write a personal narrative essay.
Note: The terms personal narrative essay and personal essay are often synonymous and will be used as such in this article.
Let’s get into it. What is a personal narrative essay?
How to Write a Personal Narrative Essay: Contents
Why choose to write a personal narrative essay, key fundamentals of the personal narrative essay, personal narrative essay example, how to write a personal narrative essay – a step-by-step guide, various styles of the personal essay, next steps for personal essay writers.
A personal narrative essay is a type of essay in which the writer shares a personal experience or story from their own life. It typically involves reflecting on a particular event, moment, or period and presenting it in a narrative form.
A personal narrative essay is a type of essay in which the writer shares a personal experience or story from their own life.
In a personal narrative essay, the writer often aims to convey a specific message, lesson, or insight gained from the experience. These essays are characterized by their first-person point of view , vivid descriptions, and emotional resonance. They often explore themes such as personal growth, overcoming challenges, or the significance of a particular event in the writer’s life. Nearly all personal essays show a transformation in the writer that occurs as a result of the experience they are writing about.
While a personal narrative essay is a form of nonfiction, it employs elements of traditional storytelling techniques , like plot, characters, conflict , and setting, which allows the writer to craft an engaging, yet factual, story. Additionally, personal essays include a thesis statement and conclusion. Through the narrative, the writer constructs a broader argument, using storytelling as a vehicle to engage the reader. By immersing the reader in vivid, impactful scenes, the writer effectively builds their argument and leads the audience through a significant transformation, which results in a compelling conclusion.
People may choose to write personal narrative essays for a variety of reasons, each driven by personal motivations, goals, and experiences. I started writing personal essays three years ago. Prior to that, most of my writing was fiction based—novels and flash fiction. However, a few years ago, I began to feel a driving desire to write about some of my life experiences. I wanted to share what I’d been through, and find deeper meaning and connection by sharing my personal stories with others.
Here are several reasons why someone might want to write a personal narrative essay:
Overall, writing a personal narrative essay offers writers a powerful means of self-expression, reflection, and connection with readers. Whether for personal catharsis, artistic expression, or the desire to share life lessons, the act of writing and sharing personal stories can be deeply rewarding.
Personal essays are a great means of creative expression, in part, because the form offers writers a plethora of ways to share their personal experiences. There are many different styles of and containers in which to write a personal essay, and not a lot of hard and fast rules about how to do so. We’ll discuss some of those options in a bit, but no matter the form, most personal narrative essays contain these fundamental elements:
Including a thesis statement will clarify the purpose of your story for your readers. A strong thesis in a narrative often addresses or reflects on a central conflict, so the initial step in crafting a personal narrative essay typically involves identifying the core conflict in your story. Many personal essays are about an external conflict that in turn causes an internal conflict, which must be resolved by the end of the essay.
The transformation should illustrate the change or growth you undergo as a result of your experiences. Transformation is used to show how the events and conflicts in the story lead to a significant shift in the writer’s perspective, behavior, or understanding of themselves and the world.
Along with sensory details, personal essays often include common literary devices, like metaphor and symbolism , to add richness and depth to the narrative, which makes for a more compelling and immersive read.
A great narrative essay example is the piece “Flow” by Mary Oliver, which you can read for free on Amazon .
The essay dwells on, as Mary Oliver puts it, the fact that “we live in paradise.” At once both an ode to nature and an urge to love it fiercely, Oliver explores our place in the endless beauty of the world.
Throughout the essay, Oliver weaves in her thoughts about the world, from nature’s noble beauty to the question “What is the life I should live?” Yet these thoughts, however profound, are not the bulk of the essay. Rather, she arrives at these thoughts via anecdotes and observations: the migration of whales, the strings of fish at high tide, the inventive rescue of a spiny fish from the waterless shore, etc.
What is most profound about this essay, and perhaps most amusing, is that it ends with Oliver’s questions about how to live life. And yet, the stories she tells show us exactly how to live life: with care for the world; with admiration; with tenderness towards all of life and its superb, mysterious, seemingly random beauty.
Such is the power of the narrative essay. By examining the random facts of our lives, we can come to great conclusions.
As I previously mentioned, there aren’t many concrete rules to writing personal essays. However, there are general methods you can use to begin writing your first or your one-hundredth essay. Here is a step-by-step guide for you to try.
For more advanced essay writers, this may be the stage where you decide on the specific container in which you’d like to tell your story, and/or the style of personal essay you plan to use. More on containers and styles of personal essays a bit later.
Here is some advice to consider when drafting each section:
While describing key events be sure to use vivid descriptions. This will help bring significant events to life and immerse your readers inside your experience.
As much as possible, remember to show, don’t tell . Use descriptive language and dialogue to illustrate your experiences and emotions rather than just describing them.
The conclusion should reinforce the central conflict or theme of your essay, showing how your story illustrates this point and relates back to your thesis. End with a lasting impression—a thought-provoking statement, a question, or a reflection that leaves the reader thinking about your essay.
As you become more advanced and invested in writing personal essays, you may want to try other styles beyond the standard narrative essay. Alternatively, you may still be a beginner but have an experience you’d like to write about in a more experimental style of personal essay.
Here are four examples of unique styles of the personal essay:
A braided personal essay weaves together multiple strands or storylines to create a cohesive whole. Each strand or thread of story may be different in terms of subject matter, time period, or perspective, but they are interconnected and work together to explore a common theme or idea. At first, the threads of a braided essay may seem mismatched or disjointed, but a central thread will always braid the strands together.
For more on the braided personal essay, check out our guide by instructor Zining Mok:
Braided Essays and How to Write Them
A hermit crab is a form of the personal essay where the writer adopts an external structure or container to tell a personal story. Just as a hermit crab inhabits a shell that was not originally its own, a hermit crab essay uses an existing form—such as a list, recipe, instruction manual, quiz, or any other non-narrative format—to present the writer’s narrative. This approach allows for a unique and often surprising exploration of personal experiences.
A segmented personal essay is broken into distinct sections or segments, each focusing on different aspects of the central theme or story. These segments can vary in writing styles, length, and content, allowing the writer to explore a topic from multiple angles or perspectives. The segmented structure can create a mosaic-like effect, where each piece contributes to a fuller understanding of the whole.
A lyric essay is a hybrid form of writing that combines the figurative language elements of poetry with the autobiographical details of the personal essay. It often blurs the boundaries between prose and poetry, incorporating lyrical language, fragmented structure, and emotional resonance to explore an experience or theme. The lyric essay is characterized by its emphasis on language, rhythm, mood and the exploration of personal and philosophical ideas, often in a non-linear and associative manner.
Learn more about writing the lyric essay here:
Writing Without Limits: Understanding the Lyric Essay
Personal narrative essays offer readers an engaging look into a writer’s innermost thoughts, feelings, and experiences, which provides a unique and intimate perspective on the chosen subject matter. It’s a truthful and revealing method of storytelling, where the reader is not just an observer but an active participant in the writer’s unfolding transformation. Writing a personal essay is never an easy endeavor, but it can surely be a rewarding one. (You can also have some fun with it, too!)
When you have a completed essay, what’s next? You might be interested in submitting to some literary journals. Here are 24 literary journals you can submit to—we hope you find a great home for your writing!
If you’re looking for additional feedback on your work, feel free to join our Facebook group . You can also take a look at our upcoming nonfiction courses , where you’ll learn the fundamentals of essay writing and make your story even more compelling.
Questions? Thoughts? Please leave any comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
Thank you Elle. A most interesting topic. A just completed a poem that falls very closely to what you categorise as the lyrical narrative essay. I never realised at the time that this is what I actually did. What a joy to learn something new everyday.
Thank you, Philip. What a lovely discovery!
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A Personal Narrative recounts an event or experience from the writer’s life in story form and often in intimate detail. This text type not only relates to the events happening around the author but also often reveals the writer’s inner thoughts and emotions also.
A personal narrative can be understood as nonfiction storytelling based on the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Told in the first person, the writer draws on their life events to construct a story.
Combining elements of nonfiction recount writing with introspection and the frequent use of literary devices more commonly associated with fiction and poetry, a personal narrative can be best understood as a type of creative nonfiction .
PERSONAL NARRATIVE VERSUS A PERSONAL RECOUNT: SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Personal narratives are also frequently referred to as personal recounts. They share much in common but are unique text types, so let’s explore how they compare and contrast.
When we first instruct our students to write stories based on the events of their own lives, they will inevitably write simple recounts. These recounts are based on retelling personal incidents of their lives but lack the depth we can typically expect to find in a personal narrative.
While personal narratives also recount events from the writer’s life, with greater emphasis placed on exploring the writer’s thoughts and feelings on these events rather than just what happened.
A personal narrative is a means for the writer to explore the meaning of the events in their life. It is, at its core, an introspective and creative endeavor that focuses as much on the interior life of the writer as it does on external events.
While the conclusion of a traditional recount usually provides some of the writer’s insights, in a personal narrative, these are woven throughout the text.
Personal narrative structure.
ORIENTATION Explain the who, what, when, and where of the experience in your introduction to your audience.
FOCUS Mainly focus on meaningful events.
CHRONOLOGY Events are described in the sequence in which they occurred.
ORGANIZATION Relevant information is organized into paragraphs
INSIGHT & MEANING Include personal comments, opinions or interpretations of the experience or event in your personal narrative.
TENSE The first and third person are used most frequently and recall is always written in the past tense. Present tense can be used for analysis and opinion.
NOUNS Use proper nouns to refer to specific people, places times and events
VOICE Both active and passive voice are used in recounts. Use these to express your emotions and thinking clearly.
CONNECTIVES Use conjunctions and connectives to link events and indicate time sequence in your personal narrative.
Teach your students to write AMAZING PERSONAL NARRATIVES using a proven model of research skills, writing strategies and engaging content. ALL CONTENT, RESOURCES AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS INCLUDED covering.
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HOW LONG SHOULD A PERSONAL NARRATIVE BE?
The personal narrative is a modern text type and therefore has no traditionally defined optimum length, and we can find texts ranging from a couple of hundred words to a multi-volume series in this genre.
However, for our students, this text type can be thought of in terms of length as similar to an essay. Like an essay, the text needs to be long enough to comprehensively answer the question, prompt, or the event/experience the student is retelling.
David Sedaris, the American writer and one of the best-known writers of humorous personal narratives, has written many books that could accurately be classified in this genre.
While these full-length books are often built around a loose theme, each chapter could stand alone as a personal narrative essay in its own right, each built around a single identifiable experience or event.
As with an essay, the length of a personal narrative can be based on a variety of factors, including:
Regardless of length, given its structural similarity with the essay, personal narratives usually follow a basic three-part structure.
We mentioned previously that this text type is relatively modern, so there aren’t many fixed rules concerning structure. That said, we can usually identify three distinct parts of a personal narrative corresponding to the three parts outlined in the hamburger essay or the 5-paragraph essay format. These are:
If you want an in-depth guide to this format, check out our comprehensive article here . But, for now, let’s take a brief look at the purpose of each section as it relates to a personal narrative.
The introduction of a personal narrative performs several functions.
1: It hooks the Reader
The first job of the introduction is to ‘hook’ the reader. If we can’t catch the reader’s interest initially, there will be no middle or end for the reader. A strong hook is needed at the very outset, and it can take several forms.
Some effective hooks to open a personal narrative with include:
Whichever technique the student chooses to open their narrative with, they should ensure it is relevant to the subject matter explored, whether it focuses on external or internal events or experiences or a mixture of both.
2: It orients the Reader
Like many other nonfiction and fiction text types, the opening paragraph (or paragraphs) will also orient the reader by answering some basic questions such as:
While it may also hint at why these events or experiences matter, a detailed answer to the why of a personal narrative may be saved for the text’s conclusion.
This section of the personal narrative can also be thought of as The Exposition .
3: It Sets the Tone
The introduction reveals not only what the text will be about but also how the writer (and, by extension, the reader) will treat the topic. This is the tone.
For example, a more sombre tone has been established where the language used is serious and formal. In this instance, the reader will adopt a more serious approach to the work.
On the other hand, if the treatment of the event or experience is humorous, this will be apparent in the language choices the writer makes and the mood they establish. Going forward, the reader can reasonably expect to be amused by what’s to come in the text.
The body paragraphs of a personal narrative comprise the bulk of the text.
As with any type of recount, this section will generally focus on the chronological retelling of an event or experience.
However, there is another significant difference between this type of recount and the other types.’ The root of this difference can be found in the word ‘narrative’.
While the body paragraphs of a personal narrative can make use of some of the defining characteristics of more traditional types of recount, if the introduction acts as the exposition of the setting and character of the story, the body paragraphs move the text along its story arc.
Though we will cover the main elements briefly, structuring a story is an art in itself and if you want to find out more about it, check out our detailed article on the subject here.
Also, if you want to learn more about the structure of general recounts, find out more here .
While we’ve seen that the introduction of a personal narrative corresponds to a story’s exposition, the following elements of a story arc can be found in the text’s body.
1: The Problem
The problem or conflict is an essential ingredient in any story worth the name. It creates the story’s focal point, ignites the reader’s interest, and drives the story forward. In a personal narrative, this problem can be internal or external, however, there is often an emphasis placed on how the issues affect the writer psychologically. 2: The Rising Action
As the narrative develops, the dramatic tension will tend to increase. The main problem will intensify, or the writer may introduce additional more minor problems to amp things up. 3: The Climax
This is where the story reaches its dramatic high point. In the case of a personal narrative where the conflict or problem is psychological, this drama and its climax may play out internally.
This third and final section of the personal narrative performs a slightly different function to a regular essay’s conclusion.
While the conclusions of most nonfiction text types focus on restating a central thesis and/or providing a summary of arguments, the conclusion in a personal narrative follows a story’s final section more closely.
That is, it usually contains the story’s falling action and resolution.
Let’s take a quick look at each.
1: The Falling Action
The story arc dips in dramatic tension after the dramatic high point of the climax. As personal narratives often focus on ‘internal’ events, this ‘action’ can also occur internally. 2: Resolution
The resolution marks the end of the story, and in this text type, it usually involves some personal change in circumstances or transformation. It can also take the form of a lesson learned or new knowledge attained.
Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 1
PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 2
In their groups, with their sample personal narrative texts, ask students to identify how the writer deals with each element as listed below and discuss how effectively they have done so.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE PRACTICE EXERCISE: ACTIVITY 3
Now students understand how to structure and write each stage of their personal narrative, encourage them to spend some time brainstorming events and experiences from their lives that could serve as the topic for their writing.
When they have chosen a suitable topic, instruct them to begin planning the writing of their text using the categories listed above. They might even wish to create a simple graphic organizer to help.
For example:
Once students have their narrative adequately planned, it’s time to get them writing earnestly to put all that theory into practice.
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Explore our Teaching Unit on PERSONAL NARRATIVES
Welcome to the creative world of narrative essays where you get to become the storyteller and craft your own narrative. In this article, we’ll break down how to write a narrative essay, covering the essential elements and techniques that you need to know.
A narrative essay is a form of writing where the author recounts a personal experience or story. Unlike other types of essays, a narrative essay allows you to share a real-life event or sequence of events, often drawing from personal insights and emotions.
In a narrative essay, you take on the role of a storyteller, employing vivid details and descriptive language to transport the reader into the world of your story. The narrative often unfolds in chronological order, guiding the audience through a journey of experiences, reflections, and sometimes, a lesson learned.
The success of a narrative essay lies in your ability to create a compelling narrative arc. This means establishing a clear beginning, middle, and end. This structure helps build suspense, maintain the reader’s interest, and deliver a cohesive and impactful story. Ultimately, a well-crafted narrative essay not only narrates an event but also communicates the deeper meaning or significance behind the experience, making it a powerful and memorable piece of writing and leaving a lasting impression on the reader.
Narrative essays come in various forms, each with unique characteristics. The most common type of narrative essay are personal narrative essays where you write about a personal experience. This can cover a whole range of topics as these examples of personal narrative essays illustrate. As a student in school or college, you’ll often be asked to write these types of essays. You may also need to write them later in life when applying for jobs and describing your past experiences.
However, this isn’t the only type of narrative essay. There are also fictional narrative essays that you can write using your imagination, and various subject specific narrative essays that you might have come across without even realizing it.
So, it’s worth knowing about the different types of narrative essays and what they each focus on before we move on to how to write them.
Here are some common types of narrative essays:
The narrative essay type you’ll work with often depends on the purpose, audience, and nature of the story being told. So, how should you write narrative essays?
From selecting the right topic to building a captivating storyline, we explore the basics to guide you in creating engaging narratives. So, grab your pen, and let’s delve into the fundamentals of writing a standout narrative essay.
Before we start, it’s worth pointing out that most narrative essays are written in the first-person. Through the use of first-person perspective, you get to connect with the reader, offering a glimpse into your thoughts, reactions, and the significance of the story being shared.
Let’s get into how to create these stories:
If you want to tell a compelling story you need a good plot. Your plot will give your story a structure. Every good story includes some kind of conflict. You should start with setting the scene for readers. After this, you introduce a challenge or obstacle. Readers will keep reading until the end to find out how you managed to overcome it.
Your story should reach a climax where tension is highest. This will be the turning point that leads to a resolution. For example, moving outside of your comfort zone was difficult and scary. It wasn’t easy at first but eventually, you grew braver and more confident. Readers should discover more about who you are as a person through what they read.
A seasoned writer knows how to craft a story that connects with an audience and creates an impact.
In your introduction, you will introduce the main idea of your essay and set the context. Ways to make it more engaging are to:
You need to make readers feel they know any characters you introduce in your narrative essay. You can do this by revealing their personalities and quirks through the actions they take. It is always better to show the actions of characters rather than giving facts about them. Describing a character’s body language and features can also reveal a great deal about the person. You can check out these adjectives to describe a person to get some inspiration.
Dialogue can bring your narrative essay to life. Most fiction books use dialogue extensively . It helps to move the story along in a subtle way. When you allow characters to talk, what they have to say seems more realistic. You can use similes , metaphors, and other parts of speech to make your story more compelling. Just make sure the dialogue is written clearly with the right punctuation so readers understand exactly who is talking.
Your story must flow along at a steady pace. If there’s too much action, readers may get confused. If you use descriptive writing, try not to overdo it. The clear, concise language throughout will appeal to readers more than lengthy descriptions.
This is the point at which the tension in your story is the highest. A compelling climax takes readers by surprise. They may not have seen it coming. This doesn’t mean your climax should come out of left field. You need to carefully lead up to it step by step and guide readers along. When you reveal it they should be able to look back and realize it’s logical.
Your story will suffer if you include too much detail that doesn’t move your story along. It may flow better once you cut out some unnecessary details. Most narrative essays are about five paragraphs but this will depend on the topic and requirements.
In a narrative essay, you share your experiences and insights. The journey you take your readers on should leave them feeling moved or inspired. It takes practice to learn how to write in a way that causes this reaction. With a good plot as your guide, it’s easier to write a compelling story that flows toward a satisfying resolution.
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A narrative essay is an opportunity to flex your creative muscles and craft a compelling story. In this blog post, we define what a narrative essay is and provide strategies and examples for writing one.
Similarly to a descriptive essay or a reflective essay, a narrative essay asks you to tell a story, rather than make an argument and present evidence. Most narrative essays describe a real, personal experience from your own life (for example, the story of your first big success).
Alternately, your narrative essay might focus on an imagined experience (for example, how your life would be if you had been born into different circumstances). While you don’t need to present a thesis statement or scholarly evidence, a narrative essay still needs to be well-structured and clearly organized so that the reader can follow your story.
Although less popular than argumentative essays or expository essays, narrative essays are relatively common in high school and college writing classes.
The same techniques that you would use to write a college essay as part of a college or scholarship application are applicable to narrative essays, as well. In fact, the Common App that many students use to apply to multiple colleges asks you to submit a narrative essay.
When you are asked to write a narrative essay, a topic may be assigned to you or you may be able to choose your own. With an assigned topic, the prompt will likely fall into one of two categories: specific or open-ended.
Examples of specific prompts:
Examples of open-ended prompts:
A narrative essay tells a story and all good stories are centered on a conflict of some sort. Experiences with unexpected obstacles, twists, or turns make for much more compelling essays and reveal more about your character and views on life.
If you’re writing a narrative essay as part of an admissions application, remember that the people reviewing your essay will be looking at it to gain a sense of not just your writing ability, but who you are as a person.
In these cases, it’s wise to choose a topic and experience from your life that demonstrates the qualities that the prompt is looking for, such as resilience, perseverance, the ability to stay calm under pressure, etc.
It’s also important to remember that your choice of topic is just a starting point. Many students find that they arrive at new ideas and insights as they write their first draft, so the final form of your essay may have a different focus than the one you started with.
Even though you’re not advancing an argument or proving a point of view, a narrative essay still needs to have a coherent structure. Your reader has to be able to follow you as you tell the story and to figure out the larger point that you’re making.
You’ll be evaluated on is your handling of the topic and how you structure your essay. Even though a narrative essay doesn’t use the same structure as other essay types, you should still sketch out a loose outline so you can tell your story in a clear and compelling way.
To outline a narrative essay, you’ll want to determine:
In the vast majority of cases, a narrative essay should be written in the first-person, using “I.” Also, most narrative essays will follow typical formatting guidelines, so you should choose a readable font like Times New Roman in size 11 or 12. Double-space your paragraphs and use 1” margins.
To get your creative wheels turning, consider how your story compares to archetypes and famous historical and literary figures both past and present. Weave these comparisons into your essay to improve the quality of your writing and connect your personal experience to a larger context.
Writing a narrative essay can sometimes be a challenge for students who typically write argumentative essays or research papers in a formal, objective style. To give you a better sense of how you can write a narrative essay, here is a short example of an essay in response to the prompt, “Write about an experience that challenged your view of yourself.”
Even as a child, I always had what people might call a reserved personality. It was sometimes framed as a positive (“Sarah is a good listener”) and at other times it was put in less-than-admiring terms (“Sarah is withdrawn and not very talkative”). It was the latter kind of comments that caused me to see my introverted nature as a drawback and as something I should work to eliminate. That is, until I joined my high school’s student council.
The first paragraph, or introduction, sets up the context, establishing the situation and introducing the meaningful event upon which the essay will focus.
The other four students making up the council were very outspoken and enthusiastic. I enjoyed being around them, and I often agreed with their ideas. However, when it came to overhauling our school’s recycling plan, we butted heads. When I spoke up and offered a different point of view, one of my fellow student council members launched into a speech, advocating for her point of view. As her voice filled the room, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I wondered if I should try to match her tone, volume, and assertiveness as a way to be heard. But I just couldn’t do it—it’s not my way, and it never has been. For a fleeting moment, I felt defeated. But then, something in me shifted.
In this paragraph, the writer goes into greater depth about how her existing thinking brought her to this point.
I reminded myself that my view was valid and deserved to be heard. So I waited. I let my fellow council member speak her piece and when she was finished, I deliberately waited a few moments before calmly stating my case. I chose my words well, and I spoke them succinctly. Just because I’m not a big talker doesn’t mean I’m not a big thinker. I thought of the quotation “still waters run deep” and I tried to embody that. The effect on the room was palpable. People listened. And I hadn’t had to shout my point to be heard.
This paragraph demonstrates the turn in the story, the moment when everything changed. The use of the quotation “still waters run deep” imbues the story with a dash of poetry and emotion.
We eventually reached a compromise on the matter and concluded the student council meeting. Our council supervisor came to me afterward and said: “You handled that so well, with such grace and poise. I was very impressed.” Her words in that moment changed me. I realized that a bombastic nature isn't necessarily a powerful one. There is power in quiet, too. This experience taught me to view my reserved personality not as a character flaw, but as a strength.
The final paragraph, or conclusion, closes with a statement about the significance of this event and how it ended up changing the writer in a meaningful way.
1. pick a meaningful story that has a conflict and a clear “moral.”.
If you’re able to choose your own topic, pick a story that has meaning and that reveals how you became the person your are today. In other words, write a narrative with a clear “moral” that you can connect with your main points.
Although a narrative essay is different from argumentative essays, it’s still beneficial to construct an outline so that your story is well-structured and organized. Note how you want to start and end your story, and what points you want to make to tie everything together.
You should use descriptive writing in your narrative essay, but don’t overdo it. Use clear, concise, and correct language and grammar throughout. Additionally, make concrete points that reinforce the main idea of your narrative.
No matter what kind of writing you’re doing, you should always plan to proofread and revise. To ensure that your narrative essay is coherent and interesting, ask a friend or family member to read over your paper. This is especially important if your essay is responding to a prompt. It helps to have another person check to make sure that you’ve fully responded to the prompt or question.
A narrative essay, like any essay, has three main parts: an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Structuring and outlining your essay before you start writing will help you write a clear story that your readers can follow.
The first paragraph of your essay, or introduction, sets up the context, establishing the situation and introducing the meaningful event upon which the essay will focus.
In the vast majority of cases, a narrative essay should be written in the first-person, using “I.”
The 4 main types of essays are the argumentative essay, narrative essay, exploratory essay, and expository essay. You may be asked to write different types of essays at different points in your education.
Most narrative essays will be around five paragraphs, or more, depending on the topic and requirements. Make sure to check in with your instructor about the guidelines for your essay. If you’re writing a narrative essay for a college application, pay close attention to word or page count requirements.
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Struggling to write a compelling personal narrative essay? You’re not alone; many students find it challenging to create a story that is both engaging and meaningful.
It can feel overwhelming, but we're here to help. This blog will guide you through each step of writing a personal narrative essay, offering clear tips.
Plus, we provide free examples to make sure your essay stands out.
A personal narrative essay is a type of narrative essay where you tell a story about an experience from your own life. It's like sharing a personal story with your readers.
In these essays, you don't just tell what happened; you also share how you felt, what you learned, or why the experience was important to you. It's all about expressing yourself and giving your readers a glimpse into your life.
Personal narrative essays can cover a wide range of topics, from memorable events and adventures to challenges you've faced or lessons you've learned. They allow you to connect with your readers on a personal level and share your unique perspective with the world.
Writing a personal narrative essay involves a series of steps. Each step is important for creating a clear and engaging story. Here’s how to write a personal narrative essay in easy steps:
Start by picking a topic that means something to you. It could be an important event, a challenge you faced, or a memorable experience. Make sure it's something you care about and that others might find interesting too.
Before you start writing, outline your story. This helps you organize your thoughts and keep your essay structured. Include the main parts like the introduction, key events, and the conclusion. An outline will guide you as you write.
Your introduction should catch the reader’s attention. Begin with something interesting like a short story, a surprising fact, or a question. Briefly introduce what your essay will be about and set the stage for your story.
Tell your story in a clear order. Describe the key events and experiences in detail. Make sure your story flows smoothly from one event to the next. Use simple and clear language to keep your readers interested.
Give details about the people in your story, including yourself. Explain their personalities and how they fit into your story. Show how the events affected you and the other characters, highlighting any changes or growth.
Use clear and vivid descriptions to bring your story to life. Describe what you saw, heard, felt, tasted, and smelled. This helps your readers imagine your experiences and feel connected to your story.
Your conclusion should wrap up your story. Summarize the main points and reflect on what you learned from the experience. Leave your readers with a final thought or message that stays with them.
After writing your first draft, take time to revise and edit. Look for ways to improve clarity and flow. Check for any grammar or spelling mistakes. You might also ask someone else to read your essay and give feedback.
This last step helps you catch any small mistakes and ensures your essay is polished.
Examples are incredibly helpful in understanding the art of personal narrative essay writing.
Here is a sample personal narrative essay:
The summer sun beat down on the hot asphalt, radiating waves of heat. I stood at the starting line of the 10k race, surrounded by a sea of determined faces. My heart pounded like a drum, and my legs felt like jelly. It was my first-ever competitive race, and I was filled with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. As the starting gun fired, I was engulfed in a whirlwind of motion. Runners surged ahead, and I fell into step with the rhythm of the race. The pounding of sneakers on the pavement and the sound of heavy breathing filled the air. The salty sweat on my skin mixed with the sunblock, creating a unique scent that could only be found at a summer race. The first few kilometers were a blur. I focused on my breathing and the rhythm of my steps, trying to find a pace that I could sustain. The sun bore down mercilessly, and I could feel the beads of sweat trickling down my back. As I approached the halfway point, doubt crept into my mind. My legs were heavy, and my lungs felt like they were on fire. But just as the thought of giving up began to take hold, I spotted a familiar face in the cheering crowd. It was my best friend, Sarah, holding a colorful sign that read, "You've Got This!" Seeing Sarah's unwavering support rekindled my determination. I pushed through the pain, drawing on a reserve of strength I didn't know I had. The rhythm of the race changed, and my focus shifted from self-doubt to the goal of crossing the finish line. The last kilometer was a test of willpower. My body ached, and my breath came in ragged gasps. But I refused to give in. The cheering of the crowd grew louder, and I could see the finish line in the distance. With every ounce of strength, I sprinted towards it, the cheers of the spectators fueling my final push. Crossing the finish line was a moment of triumph. The sense of accomplishment and the rush of endorphins flooded my body. I had completed my first race, and it was an experience filled with vivid sensations, from the pounding of my heart to the cheers of the crowd. In retrospect, that race was more than just a physical challenge; it was a journey of self-discovery. The doubts and the triumphs, the scent of sweat and sunscreen, and the unwavering support of a friend all came together to create a narrative of growth and determination. |
Here are some more examples you should consider:
High School Personal Narrative Essay
Personal Narrative Essay Example High School
College Personal Narrative Essay
Personal Narrative Essay Example College
Personal Narrative Essay 750 Words
Example of Personal Narrative Essay About Yourself
Take a look at some more narrative essay examples to have a better understanding of structuring your essays.
A good personal narrative essay topic is one that allows you to share a meaningful experience from your life in a compelling and engaging way.
It should be a topic that you feel passionate about and that has had a significant impact on you. Ideally, the topic should be relatable to your audience, allowing them to connect with your story on a personal level.
Good personal narrative essay topics often revolve around:
Take a look at this list of narrative essay topics to get inspiration for your essay.
So there you have it!
By following this guide, you'll be well-equipped to write compelling personal narrative essays. You can craft compelling, meaningful stories that engage and resonate with your audience.
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What to write in a personal narrative essay.
In a personal narrative essay, write about a significant personal experience. Include an engaging introduction and detailed body paragraphs that describe the events and emotions. Finish the essay with a conclusion that reflects on the importance of the experience and what you learned.
A personal narrative essay follows a specific format: Start with an introduction that includes a hook and introduces the main theme. Then, develop the plot by describing the sequence of events leading to a climax or turning point. Highlight the conflict or main challenge that drives the story, and conclude with a reflection on the significance of the experience and what you learned.
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Head of Content at Reedsy, Martin has spent over eight years helping writers turn their ambitions into reality. As a voice in the indie publishing space, he has written for a number of outlets and spoken at conferences, including the 2024 Writers Summit at the London Book Fair.
Personal narratives are short pieces of creative nonfiction that recount a story from someone’s own experiences. They can be a memoir, a thinkpiece, or even a polemic — so long as the piece is grounded in the writer's beliefs and experiences, it can be considered a personal narrative.
Despite the nonfiction element, there’s no single way to approach this topic, and you can be as creative as you would be writing fiction. To inspire your writing and reveal the sheer diversity of this type of essay, here are ten great examples personal narratives from recent years:
Personal narratives don’t have to be long to be effective, as this thousand-word gem from the NYT book review proves. Published in 2010, just as smartphones were becoming a ubiquitous part of modern life, this piece echoes many of our fears surrounding technology and how it often distances us from reality.
In this narrative, Shteyngart navigates Manhattan using his new iPhone—or more accurately, is led by his iPhone, completely oblivious to the world around him. He’s completely lost to the magical happenstance of the city as he “follow[s] the arrow taco-ward”. But once he leaves for the country, and abandons the convenience of a cell phone connection, the real world comes rushing back in and he remembers what he’s been missing out on.
The downfalls of technology is hardly a new topic, but Shteyngart’s story remains evergreen because of how our culture has only spiraled further down the rabbit hole of technology addiction in the intervening years.
Just because a piece of writing is technically nonfiction, that doesn’t mean that the narrative needs to be literal. Shteyngart imagines a Manhattan that physically changes around him when he’s using his iPhone, becoming an almost unrecognizable world. From this, we can see how a certain amount of dramatization can increase the impact of your message—even if that wasn’t exactly the way something happened.
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The author of the classic writing text Bird by Bird digs into her views on motherhood in this piece from Salon. At once a personal narrative and a cultural commentary, Lamott explores the harmful effects that Mother’s Day may have on society —how its blind reverence to the concept of motherhood erases women’s agency and freedom to be flawed human beings.
Lamott points out that not all mothers are good, not everyone has a living mother to celebrate, and some mothers have lost their children, so have no one to celebrate with them. More importantly, she notes how this Hallmark holiday erases all the people who helped raise a woman, a long chain of mothers and fathers, friends and found family, who enable her to become a mother. While it isn’t anchored to a single story or event (like many classic personal narratives), Lamott’s exploration of her opinions creates a story about a culture that puts mothers on an impossible pedestal.
In a personal narrative essay, lived experience can be almost as valid as peer-reviewed research—so long as you avoid making unfounded assumptions. While some might point out that this is merely an opinion piece, Lamott cannily starts the essay by grounding it in the personal, revealing how she did not raise her son to celebrate Mother’s Day. This detail, however small, invites the reader into her private life and frames this essay as a story about her —and not just an exercise in being contrary.
Days after breaking off her engagement with her fiance, CJ Hauser joins a scientific expedition on the Texas coast r esearching whooping cranes . In this new environment, she reflects on the toxic relationship she left and how she found herself in this situation. She pulls together many seemingly disparate threads, using the expedition and the Japanese myth of the crane wife as a metaphor for her struggles.
Hauser’s interactions with the other volunteer researchers expand the scope of the narrative from her own mind, reminding her of the compassion she lacked in her relationship. In her attempts to make herself smaller, less needy, to please her fiance, she lost sight of herself and almost signed up to live someone else’s life, but among the whooping cranes of Texas, she takes the first step in reconnecting with herself.
With short personal narratives, there isn’t as much room to develop characters as you might have in a memoir so the details you do provide need to be clear and specific. Each of the volunteer researchers on Hauser’s expedition are distinct and recognizable though Hauser is economical in her descriptions.
For example, Hauser describes one researcher as “an eighty-four-year-old bachelor from Minnesota. He could not do most of the physical activities required by the trip, but had been on ninety-five Earthwatch expeditions, including this one once before. Warren liked birds okay. What Warren really loved was cocktail hour.”
In a few sentences, we get a clear picture of Warren's fun-loving, gregarious personality and how he fits in with the rest of the group.
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The films and TV shows of the 80s and 90s—cultural touchstones that practically raised a generation—hardly ever featured larger women on screen. And if they did, it was either as a villain or a literal trash heap. Carmen Maria Machado grew up watching these cartoons, and the absence of fat women didn’t faze her. Not until puberty hit and she went from a skinny kid to a fuller-figured teen. Suddenly uncomfortable in her skin, she struggled to find any positive representation in her favorite media.
As she gets older and more comfortable in her own body, Machado finds inspiration in Marjory the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock and Ursula, everyone’s favorite sea witch from The Little Mermaid —characters with endless power in the unapologetic ways they inhabit their bodies. As Machado considers her own body through the years, it’s these characters she returns to as she faces society’s unkind, dismissive attitudes towards fat women.
Stories shape the world, even if they’re fictional. Some writers strive for realism, reflecting the world back on itself in all its ugliness, but Carmen Maria Machado makes a different point. There is power in being imaginative and writing the world as it could be, imagining something bigger, better, and more beautiful. So, write the story you want to see, change the narrative, look at it sideways, and show your readers how the world could look.
The titular question frames the narrative of Joanne Limburg’s essay as she considers the implications of disclosing her autism. What to some might seem a mundane occurrence—ticking ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘prefer not to say’ on a bureaucratic form—elicits both philosophical and practical questions for Limburg about what it means to be disabled and how disability is viewed by the majority of society.
Is the labor of disclosing her autism worth the insensitive questions she has to answer? What definition are people seeking, exactly? Will anyone believe her if she says yes? As she dissects the question of what disability is, she explores the very real personal effects this has on her life and those of other disabled people.
Limburg’s essay is written in a style known as the hermit crab essay , when an author uses an existing document form to contain their story. You can format your writing as a recipe, a job application, a resume, an email, or a to-do list – the possibilities are as endless as your creativity. The format you choose is important, though. It should connect in some way to the story you’re telling and add something to the reader’s experience as well as your overall theme.
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While out on a walk in the woods behind her house, Annie Dillard encounters a wild weasel. In the short moment when they make eye contact, Dillard takes an imaginary journey through the weasel’s mind and wonders if the weasel’s approach to life is better than her own.
The weasel, as Dillard sees it, is a wild creature with jaws so powerful that when it clamps on to something, it won’t let go, even into death. Necessity drives it to be like this, and humanity, obsessed with choice, might think this kind of life is limiting, but the writer believes otherwise. The weasel’s necessity is the ultimate freedom, as long as you can find the right sort, the kind that will have you holding on for dear life and refusing to let go.
Make yourself the National Geographic explorer of your backyard or neighborhood and see what you can learn about yourself from what you discover. Annie Dillard, queen of the natural personal essay, discovers a lot about herself and her beliefs when meeting a weasel.
What insight can you glean from a blade of grass, for example? Does it remind you that despite how similar people might be, we are all unique? Do the flights of migrating birds give you perspective on the changes in your own life? Nature is a potent and never-ending spring of inspiration if you only think to look.
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“ And sometimes, when I lift the gray hair at the back of your neck and kiss your shoulder, I think, This is it.”
In under 400 words, poet Ellery Akers captures the joy she has found in discovering romance as a 75-year-old . The language is romantic, but her imagery is far from saccharine as she describes their daily life and the various states in which they’ve seen each other: in their pajamas, after cataract surgeries, while meditating. In each singular moment, Akers sees something she loves, underscoring an oft-forgotten truth. Love is most potent in its smallest gestures.
Personal narrative isn’t a defined genre with rigid rules, so your essay doesn’t have to be an essay. It can be a poem, as Akers’ is. The limitations of this form can lead to greater creativity as you’re trying to find a short yet evocative way to tell a story. It allows you to focus deeply on the emotions behind an idea and create an intimate connection with your reader.
Mariama Lockington was adopted by her white parents in the early 80s, long before it was “trendy” for white people to adopt black children. Starting with a family photograph, the writer explores her complex feelings about her upbringing , the many ways her parents ignored her race for their own comfort, and how she came to feel like an outsider in her own home. In describing her childhood snapshots, she takes the reader from infancy to adulthood as she navigates trying to live as a black woman in a white family.
Lockington takes us on a journey through her life through a series of vignettes. These small, important moments serve as a framing device, intertwining to create a larger narrative about race, family, and belonging.
With this framing device, it’s easy to imagine Lockington poring over a photo album, each picture conjuring a different memory and infusing her story with equal parts sadness, regret, and nostalgia. You can create a similar effect by separating your narrative into different songs to create an album or episodes in a TV show. A unique structure can add an extra layer to your narrative and enhance the overall story.
On a trip to Savannah with her friends, Anjali Enjeti is reminded of a racist incident she experienced as a teenager . The memory is prompted by her discomfort of traveling in Georgia as a South Asian woman and her friends’ seeming obliviousness to how others view them. As she recalls the tense and traumatic encounter she had in line at a Wendy’s and the worry she experiences in Savannah, Enjeti reflects on her understanding of otherness and race in America.
Enjeti paints the scene in Wendy’s with a deft hand. Using descriptive language, she invokes the five senses to capture the stress and fear she felt when the men in line behind her were hurling racist sentiments.
She writes, “He moves closer. His shadow eclipses mine. His hot, tobacco-tinged breath seeps over the collar of my dress.” The strong, evocative language she uses brings the reader into the scene and has them experience the same anxiety she does, understanding why this incident deeply impacted her.
One day, Debra Gwartney asks Siri—her iPhone’s digital assistant—to tell her a joke. In reply, Siri recites a joke with a familiar setup about three men stuck on a desert island. When the punchline comes, Gwartney reacts not with laughter, but with a memory of her husband , who had died less than six months prior.
In a short period, Gwartney goes through a series of losses—first, her house and her husband’s writing archives to a wildfire, and only a month after, her husband. As she reflects on death and the grief of those left behind in the wake of it, she recounts the months leading up to her husband’s passing and the interminable stretch after as she tries to find a way to live without him even as she longs for him.
A joke about three men on a deserted island seems like an odd setup for an essay about grief. However, Gwartney uses it to great effect, coming back to it later in the story and giving it greater meaning. By the end of her piece, she recontextualizes the joke, the original punchline suddenly becoming deeply sad. In taking something seemingly unrelated and calling back to it later, the essay’s message about grief and love becomes even more powerful.
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A narrative essay tells a story in chronological order, with an introduction that introduces the characters and sets the scene. Then a series of events leads to a climax or turning point, and finally a resolution or reflection on the experience.
Speaking of which, are you in sixes and sevens about narrative essays? Don’t worry this ultimate expert guide will wipe out all your doubts. So let’s get started.
What is a narrative essay.
When you go through a narrative essay definition, you would know that a narrative essay purpose is to tell a story. It’s all about sharing an experience or event and is different from other types of essays because it’s more focused on how the event made you feel or what you learned from it, rather than just presenting facts or an argument. Let’s explore more details on this interesting write-up and get to know how to write a narrative essay.
Here’s a breakdown of the key elements of a narrative essay:
A narrative essay has a beginning, middle, and end. It builds up tension and excitement and then wraps things up in a neat package.
Real people, including the writer, often feature in personal narratives. Details of the characters and their thoughts, feelings, and actions can help readers to relate to the tale.
It’s really important to know when and where something happened so we can get a good idea of the context. Going into detail about what it looks like helps the reader to really feel like they’re part of the story.
A story in a narrative essay usually involves some kind of conflict or challenge that moves the plot along. It could be something inside the character, like a personal battle, or something from outside, like an issue they have to face in the world.
A narrative essay isn’t just about recounting an event – it’s about showing the impact it had on you and what you took away from it. It’s an opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings about the experience, and how it changed your outlook.
The author is trying to make the story they’re telling relatable, engaging, and memorable by using language and storytelling to evoke feelings in whoever’s reading it.
Narrative essays let writers have a blast telling stories about their own lives. It’s an opportunity to share insights and impart wisdom, or just have some fun with the reader. Descriptive language, sensory details, dialogue, and a great narrative voice are all essentials for making the story come alive.
A narrative essay is more than just a story – it’s a way to share a meaningful, engaging, and relatable experience with the reader. Includes:
Narrative essays are a great way for writers to share their personal experiences, feelings, thoughts, and reflections. It’s an opportunity to connect with readers and make them feel something.
The essay attempts to keep the reader interested by using descriptive language, storytelling elements, and a powerful voice. It attempts to pull them in and make them feel involved by creating suspense, mystery, or an emotional connection.
Narrative essays are more than just a story – they aim to teach you something. They usually have a moral lesson, a new understanding, or a realization about life that the author gained from the experience.
By telling their stories, people can give others insight into different perspectives, feelings, and situations. Sharing these tales can create compassion in the reader and help broaden their knowledge of different life experiences.
Stories about personal struggles, successes, and transformations can be really encouraging to people who are going through similar situations. It can provide them with hope and guidance, and let them know that they’re not alone.
These essays usually make you think about the importance of certain moments in life or the impact of certain experiences. They make you look deep within yourself and ponder on the things you learned or how you changed because of those events.
Coming up with a gripping narrative essay takes serious writing chops, like vivid descriptions, powerful language, timing, and organization. It’s an opportunity for writers to show off their story-telling abilities.
Sometimes narrative essays are used to record experiences and special moments that have an emotional resonance. They can be used to preserve individual memories or for future generations to look back on.
Personal stories can look at cultural or social aspects, giving us an insight into customs, opinions, or social interactions seen through someone’s own experience.
Narrative essays are quite flexible in terms of format, which allows the writer to tell a story in a creative and compelling way. Here’s a quick breakdown of the narrative essay format, along with some examples:
Set the scene and introduce the story.
Engage the reader and establish the tone of the narrative.
Hook: Start with a captivating opening line to grab the reader’s attention. For instance:
Example: “The scorching sun beat down on us as we trekked through the desert, our water supply dwindling.”
Background Information: Provide necessary context or background without giving away the entire story.
Example: “It was the summer of 2015 when I embarked on a life-changing journey to…”
Present the main idea or the central message of the essay.
Offer a glimpse of what the reader can expect from the narrative.
Thesis Statement: This isn’t as rigid as in other essays but can be a sentence summarizing the essence of the story.
Example: “Little did I know, that seemingly ordinary hike would teach me invaluable lessons about resilience and friendship.”
Present the sequence of events in chronological order.
Develop characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.
Story Progression : Describe events in the order they occurred, focusing on details that evoke emotions and create vivid imagery.
Example : Detail the trek through the desert, the challenges faced, interactions with fellow hikers, and the pivotal moments.
Character Development : Introduce characters and their roles in the story. Show their emotions, thoughts, and actions.
Example : Describe how each character reacted to the dwindling water supply and supported each other through adversity.
Dialogue and Interactions : Use dialogue to bring the story to life and reveal character personalities.
Example : “Sarah handed me her last bottle of water, saying, ‘We’re in this together.'”
Reach the peak of the story, the moment of highest tension or significance.
Turning Point: Highlight the most crucial moment or realization in the narrative.
Example: “As the sun dipped below the horizon and hope seemed lost, a distant sound caught our attention—the rescue team’s helicopters.”
Provide closure to the story.
Reflect on the significance of the experience and its impact.
Reflection : Summarize the key lessons learned or insights gained from the experience.
Example : “That hike taught me the true meaning of resilience and the invaluable support of friendship in challenging times.”
Closing Thought : End with a memorable line that reinforces the narrative’s message or leaves a lasting impression.
Example : “As we boarded the helicopters, I knew this adventure would forever be etched in my heart.”
Example Summary:
Imagine a narrative about surviving a challenging hike through the desert, emphasizing the bonds formed and lessons learned. The narrative essay structure might look like starting with an engaging scene, narrating the hardships faced, showcasing the characters’ resilience, and culminating in a powerful realization about friendship and endurance.
There are a bunch of different types of narrative essays – each one focuses on different elements of storytelling and has its own purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the narrative essay types and what they mean.
Description : Tells a personal story or experience from the writer’s life.
Purpose: Reflects on personal growth, lessons learned, or significant moments.
Example of Narrative Essay Types:
Topic : “The Day I Conquered My Fear of Public Speaking”
Focus: Details the experience, emotions, and eventual triumph over a fear of public speaking during a pivotal event.
Description : Emphasizes vivid details and sensory imagery.
Purpose : Creates a sensory experience, painting a vivid picture for the reader.
Topic : “A Walk Through the Enchanted Forest”
Focus : Paints a detailed picture of the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings experienced during a walk through a mystical forest.
Description: Chronicles significant events or moments from the writer’s life.
Purpose: Provides insights into the writer’s life, experiences, and growth.
Topic: “Lessons from My Childhood: How My Grandmother Shaped Who I Am”
Focus: Explores pivotal moments and lessons learned from interactions with a significant family member.
Description: Relays experiences beyond the writer’s personal life.
Purpose: Shares experiences, travels, or events from a broader perspective.
Topic: “Volunteering in a Remote Village: A Journey of Empathy”
Focus: Chronicles the writer’s volunteering experience, highlighting interactions with a community and personal growth.
Description: Incorporates literary elements like symbolism, allegory, or thematic explorations.
Purpose: Uses storytelling for deeper explorations of themes or concepts.
Topic: “The Symbolism of the Red Door: A Journey Through Change”
Focus: Uses a red door as a symbol, exploring its significance in the narrator’s life and the theme of transition.
Description: Recounts historical events or periods through a personal lens.
Purpose: Presents history through personal experiences or perspectives.
Topic: “A Grandfather’s Tales: Living Through the Great Depression”
Focus: Shares personal stories from a family member who lived through a historical era, offering insights into that period.
Description: Incorporates multimedia elements like images, videos, or audio to tell a story.
Purpose: Explores storytelling through various digital platforms or formats.
Topic: “A Travel Diary: Exploring Europe Through Vlogs”
Focus: Combines video clips, photos, and personal narration to document a travel experience.
Selecting a compelling topic for your narrative essay is crucial as it sets the stage for your storytelling. Choosing a boring topic is one of the narrative essay mistakes to avoid . Here’s a detailed guide on how to choose the right topic:
Moments that had a profound impact on your life or shaped your perspective.
Example: A moment of triumph, overcoming a fear, a life-changing decision, or an unforgettable experience.
Events that evoke strong emotions or feelings.
Example: Joy, fear, sadness, excitement, or moments of realization.
Experiences that taught you valuable lessons or brought about personal growth.
Example: Challenges that led to personal development, shifts in mindset, or newfound insights.
Unique or unconventional experiences that might captivate the reader’s interest.
Example: Unusual travels, interactions with different cultures, or uncommon hobbies.
Stories from others’ perspectives that impacted you deeply.
Example: A family member’s story, a friend’s experience, or a historical event from a personal lens.
Themes or ideas you want to explore through storytelling.
Example: Friendship, resilience, identity, cultural diversity, or personal transformation.
Using symbols or metaphors as the core of your narrative.
Example: Exploring the symbolism of an object or a place in relation to a broader theme.
Topics that resonate with your audience’s interests or experiences.
Example: Choose a relatable theme or experience that your readers might connect with emotionally.
What message or insight do you want to convey through your story?
Example: Choose a topic that aligns with the message or lesson you aim to impart to your readers.
Process: Write down all potential ideas without filtering. Mind maps or free-writing exercises can help generate diverse ideas.
The depth of the story, the availability of vivid details, and your personal connection to the topic.
Imagine you’re considering topics for a narrative essay. You reflect on your experiences and decide to explore the topic of “Overcoming Stage Fright: How a School Play Changed My Perspective.” This topic resonates because it involves a significant challenge you faced and the personal growth it brought about.
50 easy narrative essay topics.
Narrative essay vs. descriptive essay.
Here’s our first narrative essay comparison! While both narrative and descriptive essays focus on vividly portraying a subject or an event, they differ in their primary objectives and approaches. Now, let’s delve into the nuances of comparison on narrative essays.
Narrative Essay:
Storytelling: Focuses on narrating a personal experience or event.
Chronological Order: Follows a structured timeline of events to tell a story.
Message or Lesson: Often includes a central message, moral, or lesson learned from the experience.
Engagement: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling storyline and character development.
First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, using “I” and expressing personal emotions and thoughts.
Plot Development: Emphasizes a plot with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.
Character Development: Focuses on describing characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.
Conflict or Challenge: Usually involves a central conflict or challenge that drives the narrative forward.
Dialogue: Incorporates conversations to bring characters and their interactions to life.
Reflection: Concludes with reflection or insight gained from the experience.
Descriptive Essay:
Vivid Description: Aims to vividly depict a person, place, object, or event.
Imagery and Details: Focuses on sensory details to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.
Emotion through Description: Uses descriptive language to evoke emotions and engage the reader’s senses.
Painting a Picture: Creates a sensory-rich description allowing the reader to visualize the subject.
Imagery and Sensory Details: Focuses on providing rich sensory descriptions, using vivid language and adjectives.
Point of Focus: Concentrates on describing a specific subject or scene in detail.
Spatial Organization: Often employs spatial organization to describe from one area or aspect to another.
Objective Observations: Typically avoids the use of personal opinions or emotions; instead, the focus remains on providing a detailed and objective description.
Comparison:
Focus: Narrative essays emphasize storytelling, while descriptive essays focus on vividly describing a subject or scene.
Perspective: Narrative essays are often written from a first-person perspective, while descriptive essays may use a more objective viewpoint.
Purpose: Narrative essays aim to convey a message or lesson through a story, while descriptive essays aim to paint a detailed picture for the reader without necessarily conveying a specific message.
The narrative essay and the argumentative essay serve distinct purposes and employ different approaches:
Engagement and Emotion: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling story.
Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience or lessons learned.
First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, sharing personal emotions and thoughts.
Plot Development: Emphasizes a storyline with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.
Message or Lesson: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.
Argumentative Essay:
Persuasion and Argumentation: Aims to persuade the reader to adopt the writer’s viewpoint on a specific topic.
Logical Reasoning: Presents evidence, facts, and reasoning to support a particular argument or stance.
Debate and Counterarguments: Acknowledge opposing views and counter them with evidence and reasoning.
Thesis Statement: Includes a clear thesis statement that outlines the writer’s position on the topic.
Thesis and Evidence: Starts with a strong thesis statement and supports it with factual evidence, statistics, expert opinions, or logical reasoning.
Counterarguments: Addresses opposing viewpoints and provides rebuttals with evidence.
Logical Structure: Follows a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs presenting arguments and evidence, and a conclusion reaffirming the thesis.
Formal Language: Uses formal language and avoids personal anecdotes or emotional appeals.
Objective: Argumentative essays focus on presenting a logical argument supported by evidence, while narrative essays prioritize storytelling and personal reflection.
Purpose: Argumentative essays aim to persuade and convince the reader of a particular viewpoint, while narrative essays aim to engage, entertain, and share personal experiences.
Structure: Narrative essays follow a storytelling structure with character development and plot, while argumentative essays follow a more formal, structured approach with logical arguments and evidence.
In essence, while both essays involve writing and presenting information, the narrative essay focuses on sharing a personal experience, whereas the argumentative essay aims to persuade the audience by presenting a well-supported argument.
While there can be an overlap between narrative and personal essays, they have distinctive characteristics:
Storytelling: Emphasizes recounting a specific experience or event in a structured narrative form.
Engagement through Story: Aims to engage the reader through a compelling story with characters, plot, and a central theme or message.
Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience and the lessons learned.
First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s viewpoint, expressing personal emotions and thoughts.
Plot Development: Focuses on developing a storyline with a clear beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.
Character Development: Includes descriptions of characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.
Central Message: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.
Personal Essay:
Exploration of Ideas or Themes: Explores personal ideas, opinions, or reflections on a particular topic or subject.
Expression of Thoughts and Opinions: Expresses the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and perspectives on a specific subject matter.
Reflection and Introspection: Often involves self-reflection and introspection on personal experiences, beliefs, or values.
Varied Structure and Content: Can encompass various forms, including memoirs, personal anecdotes, or reflections on life experiences.
Flexibility in Structure: Allows for diverse structures and forms based on the writer’s intent, which could be narrative-like or more reflective.
Theme-Centric Writing: Focuses on exploring a central theme or idea, with personal anecdotes or experiences supporting and illustrating the theme.
Expressive Language: Utilizes descriptive and expressive language to convey personal perspectives, emotions, and opinions.
Focus: Narrative essays primarily focus on storytelling through a structured narrative, while personal essays encompass a broader range of personal expression, which can include storytelling but isn’t limited to it.
Structure: Narrative essays have a more structured plot development with characters and a clear sequence of events, while personal essays might adopt various structures, focusing more on personal reflection, ideas, or themes.
Intent: While both involve personal experiences, narrative essays emphasize telling a story with a message or lesson learned, while personal essays aim to explore personal thoughts, feelings, or opinions on a broader range of topics or themes.
A narrative essay is more than just telling a story. It’s also meant to engage the reader, get them thinking, and leave a lasting impact. Whether it’s to amuse, motivate, teach, or reflect, these essays are a great way to communicate with your audience. This interesting narrative essay guide was all about letting you understand the narrative essay, its importance, and how can you write one.
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Reveal a part of yourself in your essay.
Students start writing personal narratives at a young age, learning to use descriptive language to tell a story about their own experiences. Try sharing these personal narrative examples for elementary, middle, and high school to help them understand this essay form.
Think of a narrative essay like telling a story. Use descriptive language, and be sure you have a beginning, middle, and end. The essay should recount your personal experiences, including your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Learn more about personal narrative essays here:
In elementary school, personal narratives might be quite short, just a paragraph or two. The key is to encourage kids to embrace a personal style of writing, one that speaks in their own voice. Take a look at these elementary school personal narrative essay examples for inspiration.
“next i fell asleep in my cereal and my brother stole my toast”—anonymous student.
In this short personal narrative written by a 2nd grader, the author describes a bad day with lots of details and an informal tone. It’s a great model for your youngest writers.
Read the full essay: The Horrible Day at Thoughtful Learning
“as we made our way out to the field, my stomach slowly turned into a giant knot of fear.” —anonymous student.
Any student who dreads gym class will connect with this essay, which turns a challenge into a triumph. This narrative from Time for Kids is annotated, with highlighted details and tips to help kids write their own essay.
Read the full essay: Keep an Eye on the Sky! at Time for Kids
“i really miss grandpa, and so does my brother, even though he never met him.” —cody, 4th grade student.
Written by a 4th grader, this essay relates the author’s loss of a grandfather at a very young age. Using simple, personal language, they tell a compelling story in a few short paragraphs.
Read the full essay: Grandpa, Chaz, and Me at Thoughtful Learning ADVERTISEMENT
“i had made the shot in the wrong basket, giving the green shirts the win” —anonymous student.
Personal narratives tell a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. This annotated essay outlines those parts, making it easier for young writers to do the same in their own writing.
Read the full essay: Surviving an Embarrassing Situation at Sopris West Educational Services
Writing about friends gives writers the chance to describe someone’s physical characteristics and personality. This 4th grade essay uses personal details to bring a beloved friend to life.
Read the full essay: Ann at Thoughtful Learning
By middle school, personal narratives are longer and more involved, telling more detailed stories and experiences. These middle school personal narrative essay examples model strong writing skills for this age group.
Describing an opportunity to overcome your worst fears makes an excellent personal narrative topic. The vivid descriptions of the landscape and the author’s feelings help the reader make a strong connection to the author.
Read the full essay: The Climb at Thoughtful Learning
“i’ve often wondered, does not having a best friend make me defective” —blanche li, age 13, diablo vista middle school, danville, california.
When her Spanish teacher asked students for an essay describing their best friend, 13-year-old Blanche Li fell back on her standard story: that of a made-up person. Here, she explains why she made up “Haley” and wonders what having an imaginary best friend says about her.
Read the full essay: The Best Friend Question at The New York Times
“i didn’t know racism was still around; i thought that situation had died along with dr. king.” —alicia, 8th grade student.
Strong personal narratives often relate the way the author learned an important life lesson. Here, an 8th grader describes her first experience with racism, in an essay that will sadly ring true with many readers.
Read the full essay: The Racist Warehouse at Thoughtful Teaching
Seventh-grader Jocelyn C. describes the unique experience of spending two years living in an RV with her family, traveling the country. She relates the ups and downs of their trip, illustrating the way her family learned to live together in close quarters and embrace the adventure.
Read the full essay: RV Journey at Write From the Heart
“i’m trying to accept that he didn’t mean to dominate the center stage all the time, that’s just one of the many lovable assets of his personality.”.
A new sibling can change everything in a family, especially when you’ve always been the baby. This middle schooler explains her challenging relationship with a little brother that she loves, even when he drives her a bit crazy. (Find this essay on page 42 at the link.)
Read the full essay: An Eight Pound Rival at Teaching That Makes Sense
High school students have more complex stories to tell, though they’re sometimes reluctant to do so. Reading personal narrative essay examples like these can encourage them to open up and get their thoughts, feelings, and ideas down on the page.
“when i received the first text, i was a playful sixth grader, always finding sly ways to be subversive in school and with friends.” —michelle ahn, high school student.
When Michelle Ahn was 11, she started getting texts for a wrong number, a man named Jared. Rather than correcting the error, she spends the next few years occasionally engaging with his texters as “Jared,” learning more about him. Though she finally comes clean, her time as “Jared” exposes her to a way of life very different from her own, and opens her eyes to the inner lives of others.
Read the full essay: Sorry, Wrong Number at The New York Times
“little does everyone else know how often i’m not doing school research or paper writing; instead i’m aimlessly writing emails or chatting with internet friends and family hundreds of miles away.” —kim, college student.
Even before social media and smartphones swept the world, internet addiction had become a problem. Here, a student shares her experiences in AOL chat rooms, meeting people from around the globe. Eventually, she realizes she’s sacrificing life in the real world for her digital friends and experiences, and works to find the right balance.
Read the full essay: Caught in the Net at Thoughtful Learning
“an uneasy feeling started to settle in my chest. i tried to push it out, but once it took root it refused to be yanked up and tossed away.” —jeniffer kim, high school student.
During an ordinary shopping trip, high schooler Jenniffer Kim suddenly realizes she’s ashamed of her mother. At the same time, she recognizes all the sacrifices her mom has made for her, and gladly takes the chance to make a tiny sacrifice of her own.
Read the full essay: Nothing Extraordinary at The New York Times
“at this point in life, i had not yet learned to be gentle with myself, or others.” —anonymous student.
A teen who lives with bipolar disorder recounts a difficult conversation with her parents, in which her mother dismisses her as “crazy.” A few years later, this same teen finds herself in the emergency room, where her mother has just tried to die by suicide. “Crazy!” the daughter thinks. After her mother also receives a bipolar disorder diagnosis, the author concludes, “‘Crazy’ is a term devised to dismiss people.”
Read the full essay: The Pot Calling the Kettle Black at Pressbooks
“i know that i am different, but do not have the words to understand how.” —mariama lockington.
Though not written by a high schooler, this essay by Mariama Lockington makes an excellent mentor text for this age group. Lockington dives deep into her feelings about being adopted by parents of a different race, and shares her challenges in poignant language that speaks directly to the reader.
Read the full essay: What a Black Woman Wishes Her Adoptive White Parents Knew at Buzzfeed News
Plus, strong persuasive writing examples (essays, speeches, ads, and more) ..
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When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.
Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay.
This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.
A good example of this is when an instructor asks a student to write a book report. Obviously, this would not necessarily follow the pattern of a story and would focus on providing an informative narrative for the reader.
Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at all?
It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays oftentimes manifests itself in the form of authorial perspective.
Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.
Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.
Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your audience can follow your lead).
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If you're practicing your personal essay skills or just storytelling in general, these narrative essay prompts are a great way to get started!
Narrative essays are a unique form of writing that allows authors to tell their personal stories, weaving personal experiences into a cohesive and engaging format. Unlike traditional essays that focus on analysis or argumentation, narrative essays emphasize storytelling, often emphasizing emotions, character development, and vivid imagery. The aim is to transport readers into the writer's world, offering them insights into personal beliefs, values, or lessons learned through real-life situations.
At the heart of a narrative essay is a central theme or message that resonates throughout the narrative. This theme serves as a guiding thread, connecting various events, emotions, and characters.
In this article, we'll explore various narrative essay ideas designed to spark creativity and inspire writers to delve into their experiences. Whether you're a student looking for a writing assignment or a seasoned writer seeking new material, these prompts will help ignite your imagination and shape compelling narratives.
If you're looking for a step-by-step guide on how to write a personal narrative essay , check out our comprehensive guide here .
These prompts encourage students to tap into their imagination and life experiences, making narrative writing both fun and meaningful!
Choose one of these ideas and write for fifteen minutes . When you're finished, share your story in the Pro Practice Workshop for feedback from the community. And if you share, please be sure to comment on a few stories by other writers.
Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .
Award-winning instructor and writer of 20+ years, book coach, and editor. Sue Weems specializes in working with Children's, Memoir, Middle Grade, Mystery, Nonfiction, Romance, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?
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Narrative Essay Writing
12 min read
Published on: Apr 12, 2020
Last updated on: Mar 24, 2024
How to Write a Narrative Essay in Simple Steps
Interesting Narrative Essay Topics and Ideas
Personal Narrative Essay - Easy Guide & Examples
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Narrative essays are a common assignment in school, but many students struggle to write them.
The problem with narrative essays is that they can be difficult to write. They require students to think about their own experiences and to put those experiences into words. This can be a challenge, especially for students who are not used to writing about themselves.
The solution to the problem of writing narrative essays is to provide students with examples. By reading examples of narrative essays, students can see how other students have successfully written about their own experiences.
In this blog post, we will provide you with examples of narrative essays.By the end of this blog post, you will have a better understanding of how to write a narrative essay.
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Before writing, go through narrative essay examples to ensure that outlining and formatting are done correctly. Moreover, looking at examples will allow the writer to understand sensory details and vocabulary to describe events, settings, characters, and emotions.
Here are some famous narrative essays that you can consider adding to your reading wishlist:
âA Modest Proposalâ by Jonathan Swift
âOnce More to the Lakeâ by EB White
âThe Fourth of Julyâ by Audre Lorde
âThe Story of an Hourâ by Kate Chopin
âThe Crisisâ by Thomas Paine
But it doesn't end here! To help our students, CollegeEssay.org has gathered many other narrative essay sample. These examples will help you learn the correct formation of a narrative essay.
Read on to discover!
Are you looking for a sample to draft a personal narrative essay ? Go through the example provided below to understand how the first-person and third-person perspectives are used in a narrative essay.
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Sample Personal Narrative Essay
A narrative essay is frequently assigned to middle school students to assess their writing and creative skills. If you are a student looking for a sample narrative essay for your middle school assignment, go through the example provided below.
Narrative Essay Example: 7th Grade
Narrative Essay Example for Grade 8
Grade 9 Narrative Essay Example
Sample Narrative Essay Grade 12
When drafting assignments for high school, professional writing is essential. Your essays and papers should be well structured and written in order to achieve better grades. If you are assigned a narrative essay, go through the sample provided to see how an effective essay is written.
Sample Narrative Essay For High School
College essays are more complex in nature than other academic levels. They require a better understanding of the concept, following a proper writing procedure, and an outline.
Although you are to draft a narrative essay for your college assignment, make sure it is professionally written. Read the sample narrative essay provided below.
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If you are to draft a document on the recreation of an event, a descriptive narrative essay is written. It presents an incident that happened to the writer and the backed-up information that supports the story.
The following is a perfect example of a descriptive narrative essay.
Sample Descriptive Narrative Essay
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Academic assignments often require students to draft essays on education. Education is the most significant topic of discussion, and for this purpose, almost every essay type and research paper studies it.
If you are drafting a narrative essay on literacy, go through the sample provided.
Drafting a fictional piece of document requires a more vivid description and detail. If you are assigned a narrative essay to draft on a fictional theme, read the example provided below.
Sample Fictional Narrative Essay
In a narrative essay, the goal is to write a story from one person's perspective. To do this well requires incorporating all of these aspects:
Below are some golden points that you should keep in mind when writing a narrative essay.
When you start writing the narrative essay, you should follow some steps and make your writing process easy.
For your help, we gathered some steps that you should follow when starting writing the essay.
Watch the video below for tips on how to write a narrative essay:
Professional essay writers of CollegeEssay.org have gathered some tips and tricks for you to follow to make your narrative essay remarkable. Even if you are aware of the writing procedure, it is advised to use expert tips to make your documents flawless.
Follow the tips provided below to draft an exceptional narrative essay.
Keep in mind that a narrative essay is different from an expository essay but the same as a descriptive essay .
In conclusion,
Using the tips provided by the professionals and going through the narrative essay examples will let you draft an effective paper.
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How long is a narrative paragraph.
Paragraphs vary in length depending on the content, but a standard 5-sentence paragraph usually isn't enough to tell an interesting story.
Here are some steps that will help you to write a great narrative essay.
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However, like any other type of writing, it comes with guidelines. 1. Write Your Personal Narrative as a Story. As a story, it must include an introduction, characters, plot, setting, climax, anti-climax (if any), and conclusion. Another way to approach it is by structuring it with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
Interactive example of a narrative essay. An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt "Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself," is shown below. Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works. Narrative essay example.
3. Create a Thesis Statement. The thesis statement is the most important sentence and tells the reader what your essay will be about. In a personal narrative essay, the thesis statement can briefly explore the story's events. Or it can tell the reader about the moral or lesson learned through personal experience.
A personal narrative essay can be best described as creative nonfiction about your experiences. We can help you learn how to approach this personal piece. ... How To Format Your Personal Narrative Essay. Unlike other essay forms, the personal narrative essay doesn't really have a set format. You can definitely start with an intro, ...
A personal narrative essay uses the components of a story: introduction, plot, characters, setting, and conflict. It also uses the components of argument, thesis, and conclusion. In a personal narrative essay, we tell our readers a story to make a larger argument. Focusing the readers' attention on significant, detailed scenes, we develop our ...
Show the narrative to others. Ask a friend, peer, classmate, or family member to read the narrative. Pose questions to them about the style, tone, and flow of the narrative. Ask them if the narrative feels personal, detailed, and engaging. [10] Be willing to accept feedback from others.
A narrative essay is one of the most intimidating assignments you can be handed at any level of your education. Where you've previously written argumentative essays that make a point or analytic essays that dissect meaning, a narrative essay asks you to write what is effectively a story.. But unlike a simple work of creative fiction, your narrative essay must have a clear and concrete motif ...
A personal narrative essay is a type of essay in which the writer shares a personal experience or story from their own life. In a personal narrative essay, the writer often aims to convey a specific message, lesson, or insight gained from the experience. These essays are characterized by their first-person point of view, vivid descriptions, and ...
A personal narrative is a means for the writer to explore the meaning of the events in their life. It is, at its core, an introspective and creative endeavor that focuses as much on the interior life of the writer as it does on external events. While the conclusion of a traditional recount usually provides some of the writer's insights, in a ...
Provide a detailed account of the author's life, often covering a significant timespan. Explore key life events, achievements, challenges, and personal growth. Reflect on the writer's experiences with language, reading, or writing. Document the author's experiences and insights gained from a journey or travel.
1. Pick a meaningful story that has a conflict and a clear "moral.". If you're able to choose your own topic, pick a story that has meaning and that reveals how you became the person your are today. In other words, write a narrative with a clear "moral" that you can connect with your main points. 2.
A personal narrative essay follows a specific format: Start with an introduction that includes a hook and introduces the main theme. Then, develop the plot by describing the sequence of events leading to a climax or turning point.
Personal Narrative. A personal narrative. significant impact. is a story told by the writer that focuses on real-life events that had a. It offers a way for the writer to tell their story through the first-person point of view in a reflective way. A formula consisting of the writer's life-changing memory plus their struggle with that memory ...
6 Excellent Personal Narrative Examples While there are fantastic examples of stellar essays lurking in nearly every corner of the Internet—and I'm thinking beyond the usual suspects like The New York Times, Oprah and The Washington Post — when I teach my personal essay writing course, I frequently turn to the following examples for the reasons cited below.
Ten examples of amazing personal narrative essays to inspire your writing. Click to tweet! 1. "Only Disconnect" by Gary Shteyngart. Personal narratives don't have to be long to be effective, as this thousand-word gem from the NYT book review proves. Published in 2010, just as smartphones were becoming a ubiquitous part of modern life ...
Step 1: Topic choice (or prompt given) The first step in writing a narrative essay is to determine the topic. Sometimes, your topic is chosen for you in the form of a prompt. You might map out the topics you want to mention in the essay or think through each point you'd like to make to see how each will fit into the allotted word count (if ...
As your essay is going to be submitted to college admissions, your personal narrative is subjected to an extra set of standards. To better your chances of being accepted by the college of your choice, your personal narrative should: Be well constructed and grammatically correct. Adhere to a prompt, if you were given one.
Here's a quick breakdown of the narrative essay format, along with some examples: Introduction. Purpose: Set the scene and introduce the story. Engage the reader and establish the tone of the narrative. ... Narrative essays primarily focus on storytelling through a structured narrative, while personal essays encompass a broader range of ...
15 Inspiring Personal Narrative Examples for Writers. Reveal a part of yourself in your essay. Students start writing personal narratives at a young age, learning to use descriptive language to tell a story about their own experiences. Try sharing these personal narrative examples for elementary, middle, and high school to help them understand ...
These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways. Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay. If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story. ... When would a narrative essay not be written as a story? A good ...
1. Choose your topic. Before you start writing, you can choose a topic that will guide your writing. Because a personal narrative is based on your experiences, try to choose a topic you're comfortable with and willing to discuss. It also can help to consider the purpose of your narrative when choosing a topic.
Narrative essays are a unique form of writing that allows authors to tell their personal stories, weaving personal experiences into a cohesive and engaging format. Unlike traditional essays that focus on analysis or argumentation, narrative essays emphasize storytelling, often emphasizing emotions, character development, and vivid imagery.
The last chimes in. "Oh, my God, she is such a slut!" she says, drawing out the last word for effect. From my vantage point, I can see their faces in the mirror as they talk; the way their eyes open wide in amazement as they contemplate the horrors of what this girl has done. I'm thrilled by their outrage.
Go through the example provided below to understand how the first-person and third-person perspectives are used in a narrative essay. The Day I Learned to Swim. I was 10 years old when I learned to swim. I had always been afraid of water, but my parents decided it was time for me to learn how to swim.
Face masks can dampen the spread of contagious diseases. OsakaWayne Studios/Getty Images/Moment RF hide caption
Okay, so it seems like everyone I know has come down with COVID this summer — even the people known as NOVIDs (never had COVID before). I’ve been lucky so far. What do I need to know to protect myself during the current surge?
You probably know all the strategies to stay safe. But maybe you’re suffering from COVID amnesia — perhaps the trauma of the early years of the pandemic has wiped out your memory of basic precautions like mask-wearing and hand-washing.
Meanwhile, others have become COVID-indifferent, says Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the division of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
They’re living in a bubble, thinking yeah, well, whatever, que sera sera — but it won’t happen to me.
Then came the strong summer surge of 2024 in the U.S. and many other places. “ New waves of infection have been registered in the Americas, Europe and the western Pacific,” the U.N. reported this month.
And, adds Schaffner, while getting the virus is a mere annoyance for many, for others, especially older adults and people with underlying health conditions, the consequences can be dire. COVID can still make them pretty sick, land them in the hospital and result in long COVID. And the virus can prove fatal. This summer in the U.S., there have been 400 to 600 deaths a week linked to COVID-19.
Perhaps that is why, for the first time in the history of our Coronavirus FAQ series, doctors have been emailing us and asking us to remind people of the ways to ward off the virus that launched a pandemic now in its fourth year. So think of this edition of as your COVID refresher course.
Vaccines. Yes, an updated vaccine that addresses the currently circulating variants is on the way. Approval came on Thursday. Here’s our story .
Masks. A well-made mask — an N-95 or KN-95 — will still protect you even if others around you are not masked. And it’ll protect others if you might be contagious — say you’ve found out you were with someone who since tested positive but don’t know your status, says Schaffner.
During a COVID surge, you’re less likely to contract the virus if you mask up in crowded spaces like airports, airplanes and busy stores where exhaled pathogens may be in the air.
When making a mask decision, keep in mind that outdoor air is effective at dispersing those pathogens.
Dr. Schaffner says he currently puts on a mask whenever he’s around other people because he has a vulnerable family member and wants to reduce the risk of bringing COVID home.
If you’re out of mask practice, Schaffner gives a gentle but firm reminder that your mask has to fit over your nose and cover your chin and cheeks to protect your mouth properly. If you take mask breaks for a deep breath or a sip of water, Schaffner recommends making it a short break -- outdoors if possible or in a space where you’re not around others.
And oh yeah, you’re probably going to have to pay for the masks. We'll see if government giveaways for masks come back for the expected winter surge, but you probably won't see free masks at your local library right now.
Keep your distance. Putting some space between yourself and others is still a good strategy — even though earlier this summer it was reported that the six-foot rule from the early days of the pandemic was not based on data. A 6-foot distance is not a magic number that will prevent infection since we now know that exhaled pathogens can travel hundreds of feet. But as transmission expert Linsey Marr explains, “As you get farther away from the infected person, aerosols become more diluted, so the chance of inhaling [particles] usually goes down with distance.”
As an analogy, Marr suggests you think about cigarette smoke. Smaller COVID particles “behave like cigarette smoke. If you’re close to someone who exhaled a big puff of smoke, you’re exposed to more than if you’re farther away. The farther away you get, the better.”
What if my housemate catches it? Am I next? Another question to ponder in the wake of rising case counts: If my partner or housemate gets COVID do I automatically get it? Not necessarily, as infectious disease specialist Dr. Abraar Karan wrote in a story for NPR this year. If you’re fortunate, your roomie might have a short window of contagiousness and might not be a superspreader — some people just don’t exhale a lot of pathogens. Open windows and an indoor air filter can help reduce your risk. As do masks, of course.
Testing, testing. And here’s another COVID reminder: be prepared to test if you’re experiencing COVID-like symptoms.
Currently, the federal government is not distributing free tests. A test costs about $7.50 each online and in stores. If you have any in your COVID supply stash, check this FDA website to see if the expiration date has been extended.
But this fall will bring a return of government-supplied freebies. The federal government has just announced that by the end of September people will be able to order up to four free COVID tests from the website COVIDtest.gov.
You might also check expiration dates on items you bought in bulk during the pandemic, such as acetaminophen to reduce COVID fevers and hand sanitizer, which though it lasts for three to five years, might be close to or past the expiration date if you bought it when the world started shutting down in 2020. Expired hand sanitizer isn’t dangerous, per the FDA, it just may be less effective at fighting germs.
The timing of a test is critical. Since most of us have at least some immunity to the virus from prior bouts and vaccines which could initially suppress your load of virus, testing early on might not produce an accurate result. So it can take a few days for a test to register the virus.
And do test, says Dr. Harish Moorjani, an infectious disease specialist at Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.
Symptoms you think might be COVID-19 could be fall allergies or flu or RSV. For proper treatment, advises Moorjani, it’s good to know what you do – or don’t have.
If you do get COVID. Americans who test positive for the coronavirus are no longer advised by the CDC to stay home from work and school for five days.
The new guidelines are:
1. Stay home and away from others if you have respiratory virus symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose and headache.
2. You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, your symptoms are diminishing overall, and you have not had a fever and are not using fever-reducing medication.
3. Take added precautions for the next five days after a decision to stop isolating: for example, frequent hand washing, wearing a mask and physical distance from others if you can.
So the overall takeaway is: You can end your isolation sooner but a) you could still possibly be a little contagious and b) keep in mind that some people will be less cautious about isolation, which increases the risk of COVID exposure for the general public (see: masks, above).
A note about vaccine timing. We should note that if you’ve caught COVID within the past few days or weeks you “may” wait three months from a positive test or the start of symptoms, per the CDC, to make sure that your body mounts a robust response to the vaccine. Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, says that wait should be at least three months. That’s because if you have antibodies to the virus in your system because of a recent infection, the immune response to a vaccine can be weak.
New costs of COVID. People who are uninsured or have high deductibles may have to pay for vaccines and medication at the end of August when CDC ends its “bridge access” program which helped provide free coverage for some COVID-related expenses for such individuals.
COVID vaccines are free for people with health insurance including Medicare and Medicaid, but Dr. Robert Hopkins, chief medical officer of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, reminds people that to avoid copays or the full cost — about $120 for the updated COVID vaccine, you have to be vaccinated at an in-network provider.
A large pharmacy chain shouldn’t be a problem but if you have concerns, particularly about an independent pharmacy you can check with them to see if they are in your insurer’s network.
No insurance or having a hard time finding an in-network provider? Call 211 for state health department information and 311 for local health department information to find out about community health clinics and health department drives that offer the vaccine for free.
And if your doctor prescribes Paxlovid to reduce severity of symptoms, which Dr. Schaffner hopes is the case if you are older or have underlying health conditions that increase your risk for severe disease if you get COVID-19, your health insurer may charge a copay. Previously the federal government provided the drug for free regardless of insurance status.
If you need assistance to afford Paxlovid, you might want to contact Pfizer’s assistance program or call Pfizer at 877-219-7225.
One more thing: The summer surge will end of course but remember all this advice because … a winter surge is likely!
If you have a question you'd like us to consider for a future post, email us at [email protected] with the subject line: "Coronavirus Questions." See an archive of our FAQs here.
Fran Kritz is a health policy reporter based in Washington, D.C., and a regular contributor to NPR. She also reports for the Washington Post and Verywell Health . Find her on X: @fkritz
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They're living in a bubble, thinking yeah, well, whatever, que sera sera — but it won't happen to me. Then came the strong summer surge of 2024 in the U.S. and many other places.