Narrative Essay Topics

Narrative Essay Topics: Suggestions to Get You Started

When you have been assigned to write a narrative essay, coming up with good narrative essay topics can be a challenge. Whether it is a long or short narrative essay (or even somewhere in between) your goal is to share a share an event or experience in your life. Ideally, you will recall a situation that served as a learning experience or evokes sentimental feelings that the reader can relate. While you can look through narrative essay examples, ultimately you will need to choose a topic that holds meaning to you and serves a purpose. Before brainstorming for ideas, it is important to understand exactly what this writing assignment entails. Let us take a further look.

What is a Narrative Essay?

If you are asking yourself, “What is a narrative essay?” you are certainly not alone. A proper narrative essay is intended to both entertain the reader while making a point. While it does not have to be personal or revolve around the author’s actual experiences, it is very common for the writer to do so. The narrative essay format is different than most essays in that you are not developing a thesis or doing any research. Nonetheless, as with any type of storytelling, it needs to follow a coherent structure that includes introducing the reader to the conflict or issue being addressed, building up the drama or suspense, and reaching a climax that includes a satisfying conclusion such as one that resolves the problem.

 

How to Choose a Narrative Essay Topic

Not sure how to choose a narrative essay topic? Having trouble starting your paper? One option is to buy a personal narrative essay from a reputable custom writing service such as MillionEssays.com. Our professional writers have spent years coming up with narrative essay topics for college students that contain vivid descriptions and concrete language that makes reading it a pleasure. The fully customized service means your writer will follow your professor’s narrative essay rubric and produce a paper that gets you top grades!

With that in mind, let us discuss some strategies for choosing a good topic. Keep in mind that if you are writing about something that does not interest you, it is unlikely that you will end up creating a story that is inspired and meaningful. The nice thing about narrative essays is that unlikely most other types of academic writing assignments such as scientific research papers or argumentative essays, you do not need to have a lot of knowledge about the topic nor are you attempting to convince the reader to support your opinion. Instead, you are being asked to think about events that are relevant to you and share them with the reader. It could be anything from your favorite summertime memory as a child to a difficult obstacle that you had to overcome.

Of course, narrative essays do not have to be based on actual events. If you have a rich imagination and the ability to express a story well, you are welcome to create a story out of thin air. However, if you want the story to seem logical and coherent, it does help to include elements of your life or do some research so that the event or experience is something that is both realistic and easy for the reader to relate to.

The way you approach the tone of your narrative essay is entirely up to you. Focusing on an event that was humorous certainly makes for entertaining reading. On the other hand, the narrative can be serious and inspirational at the same time. A narrative with a much darker
tone is possible as well. But no matter the story you choose, make sure to maintain that tone throughout. Nothing would create more confusion to the reader (or even offend their sensibilities) than writing about a serious or even tragic issue and then tossing in a few funny comments.

In the end, the best topic is the one that gets you stoked up to write it! If you come up with a great idea from your life or a compelling tale that the audience will enjoy, you will undoubtedly succeed in this assignment.

Top Narrative Essay Topics

Are you looking for a list of top narrative essay topics? Look no further than the ideas we have compiled below. Whether you choose to write a narrative about something that happened in your life, create a story that is inspired by real events, or decide to write about fantastic events that can never occur, remember that the narrative must contain purpose and the reader should come away feeling like they have learned something.

Real Life Experiences

1. An elementary school teacher who had the greatest impact on your life.
2. Your first best friend.
3. An argument with a friend and how you solved it.
4. A funny misunderstanding.
5. The most risky thing you have ever done.
6. First experience abroad
7. A fond holiday memory.
8. Helping somebody when they were experiencing great difficulty in their lives.
9. A time your parents grounded you for the weekend.
10. The foe that became a really good friend.
11. Disobeying your parents and the consequences that resulted.
12. Experiences associated with your first dog or cat.
13. Experiences with a natural disaster.
14. Getting your wisdom teeth pulled.
15. Humorous moments that hold great meaning to you.
16. Overcoming a fear.
17. A moment that seems funny now, but was embarrassing at the time.
18. An experience while playing on a sports team.
19. A time when you disappointed somebody and then redeemed yourself.
20. Your experiences at a music festival.
21. An experience that left you feeling disillusioned.
22. Childhood memories involving taking the bus to school.
23. How you deal with procrastination.
24. How you felt leading up to the moment you received the acceptance letter from your college.
25. Rejected by your crush.
26. An experience when other people underestimated you.
27. The moment when you realized you were not a child anymore.
28. A weird event that you cannot explain.
29. Memories of a deceased friend or loved one.
30. Your first day at a new elementary school.
31. Dealing with a school bully.
32. My act of heroism.
33. Your experiences at a job that you really hated.
34. What is the most difficult decision you ever made in your life?
35. How changing your style or manner of dress changed the way, others thought about you.
36. The worst experience of going to a restaurant.
37. Dealing with an annoying roommate.
38. An experience that opened your mind to different perspectives.
39. Cooking disasters.
40. Simple joys in life.
41. How you deal with shyness.
42. Life as the middle child (or oldest sibling, or youngest sibling).
43. Funny experiences on the subway or bus.
44. Biggest regret in life.
45. Learning not to judge a book by its cover.
46. The worst teacher you ever had.
47. Getting sent to the principal’s office.
48. Breaking a bone.
49. Your first love.
50. The way certain songs bring back memories.

Hypothetical Topics

1. Write about your life as a billionaire.
2. You travel back in time to any period in history.
3. You find a way to stop time. What do you do?
4. You are able to change a moment in history. Write about this alternative universe.
5. Imagine how you would spend a dream vacation.
6. Your life as a superhero.
7. Changing a moment in your past with the benefit of hindsight.
8. You meet up for coffee with three celebrities (they can be living or dead).
9. You jump into a movie screen and become part of the movie.
10. Your dog develops the abilities to speak English. What do you talk about?
11. You travel through the solar system, stopping by the various planets along the way.

Now that you have a great list to choose from, the next step is to decide on all of the elements (a defined plot, setting, the characters in the narrative, the conflict, and resolution). A good author does not simply dive into the story; they create a basic outline of the narrative beforehand even if they end up changing parts of it. Once you have finished writing your narrative essay, ask a friend and family member to read it to make sure they understand it and find it relatable. The final step is to do some proofreading paper and editing. Look for any grammar mistakes or typos and clarify any sentences that might appear confusing. Once you have done this, you are all set!