narrative essay topics for students

Narrative Essay Topics: TOP 200 Choices for Students

Imagine yourself facing a blank page, ready to fill it with your memories and imagination. What story will you tell today?

As students, you often have to write narratives that capture people's attention. But with so many stories to choose from, where do you start? How do you find the perfect topic that will grab our readers' interest and make them think?

Join our essay service experts as we explore 200 topics for college where stories are waiting to be told, and experiences are ready to be shared. From everyday events to unforgettable moments, each topic is a chance to connect with your readers and make them feel something.

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Ideas for Narrative Essay Topics

After exploring how students write narrative paragraphs, we've put together a list of narrative essay topics designed specifically for college and school students. This list covers a wide range of subjects, so pick one that speaks to you! If you want to see how to develop a topic into a written essay, check out our narrative essay example .

Literacy Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

How about delving into captivating literacy narrative essay topics designed specifically for college-level writing? Exciting, isn't it?

How did a childhood book shape your view of the world?
What challenges did you face when learning to read in a second language?
How has storytelling within your family influenced your literacy journey?
Can you recall a pivotal moment that ignited your love for reading?
How did a specific teacher inspire your passion for literature?
Have you ever encountered a character in a book who profoundly impacted your perspective on life?
What role did writing play in helping you navigate a difficult period in your life?
How has your relationship with technology affected your reading habits?
What cultural or historical event sparked your interest in a particular genre of literature?
How has poetry shaped your understanding of language and emotion?
Have you ever experienced a breakthrough moment in your writing process?
How has reading aloud impacted your comprehension and enjoyment of literature?
Can you recall a time when a book challenged your beliefs or worldview?
How has participating in a book club enriched your reading experience?
What strategies have you developed to overcome reading difficulties or distractions?

Personal Narrative Essay Topics on Relationships

Take a moment to reflect on your past experiences and craft compelling personal narratives with these essay ideas.

How did a specific friendship shape who you are today?
Can you recount a moment that strengthened your bond with a family member?
What challenges have you faced in maintaining a long-distance relationship?
How has a mentor influenced your personal and professional development?
Have you experienced a betrayal in a relationship? How did it impact you?
Can you describe a memorable conflict resolution process within a relationship?
How has your relationship with a pet affected your emotional well-being?
What lessons have you learned from navigating a romantic relationship?
How has your relationship with a sibling evolved over time?
Can you recall a time when you had to set boundaries in a friendship?
How has volunteering or community involvement enriched your relationships?
What cultural differences have influenced your relationships with others?
Can you share a moment when you felt truly understood by someone?
How has technology affected the dynamics of your relationships?
Have you ever experienced a reconciliation that transformed a strained relationship?

Best Narrative Essay Topics on Education and Learning

Consider the beauty of sharing your personal experiences and emotions in a captivating manner through these ideas for personal narrative essays.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned outside of the classroom?
Can you recount a moment when a teacher's unconventional method transformed your understanding of a subject?
How has a field trip or experiential learning opportunity impacted your education?
What challenges have you faced in balancing extracurricular activities with academics?
Have you ever had a "Eureka!" moment while studying? Describe it.
How has learning a new skill outside of school influenced your academic performance?
Can you recall a time when a peer's perspective challenged your own understanding of a topic?
How has technology enhanced or hindered your learning experience?
What role does creativity play in your approach to learning?
Have you ever experienced a setback that ultimately propelled you forward academically?
How has your cultural background influenced your learning style?
Can you describe a time when you had to advocate for yourself within an educational setting?
How has mentorship shaped your educational journey?
What strategies have you employed to overcome academic challenges or obstacles?
Can you reflect on a time when failure taught you a valuable lesson about learning?

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Personal Narrative Essay Ideas on Reflection on Life

Why not ignite your creativity with a range of narrative essay topics, from extraordinary moments to everyday experiences?

How has a moment of failure ultimately led to personal growth and resilience?
Can you recount a pivotal decision that significantly altered the course of your life?
What lessons have you learned from navigating a crossroads or major life transition?
How has your perspective on success evolved over time?
Can you reflect on a time when you had to confront and overcome a deeply held fear?
What role has gratitude played in shaping your outlook on life?
How have your values and beliefs been influenced by significant life experiences?
Can you describe a moment when you found clarity and purpose amidst chaos or uncertainty?
What impact has traveling to a new place had on your understanding of the world and yourself?
How has adversity strengthened your character and determination?
Can you recall a time when a random act of kindness profoundly impacted your life?
What lessons have you learned from embracing vulnerability and authenticity in relationships?
How has practicing mindfulness or self-reflection enhanced your well-being and happiness?
Can you reflect on a period of personal transformation or self-discovery?
How have you found meaning and fulfillment in pursuing your passions and interests?

Ideas for a Narrative Essay on Culture and Society

Engaging your readers with narrative essays on culture and society is a great way to spark interest, offering captivating ideas for exploration.

How has your family's unique culinary heritage influenced your cultural identity?
Can you reflect on a specific cultural artifact or heirloom that holds deep significance for your family?
What challenges have you faced in preserving traditional customs while adapting to modern societal expectations?
How has a local festival or celebration revealed the intricacies of your community's cultural tapestry?
Can you recount a moment when you navigated a cultural clash between your upbringing and the dominant culture?
How has your experience as a first-generation immigrant shaped your understanding of cultural assimilation?
What lessons have you learned from participating in intercultural exchange programs or initiatives?
Can you describe a unique cultural practice or tradition within your community that outsiders might find intriguing or misunderstood?
How has the revitalization of indigenous languages contributed to the preservation of cultural heritage in your region?
Can you reflect on a personal journey of reconnecting with your cultural roots after a period of assimilation or disconnection?
What role does storytelling play in passing down cultural wisdom and values within your family or community?
How has the portrayal of your culture in mainstream media affected your sense of belonging and self-perception?
Can you recount a moment when you challenged cultural stereotypes through creative expression or advocacy?
How has the migration of a specific cultural group enriched the social fabric and economic landscape of your community?
What initiatives or grassroots movements are currently underway to promote cross-cultural understanding and cooperation in your society?

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Narrative Writing Topics on Hobbies and Interests

Wow your readers by turning your passions and hobbies into compelling narrative essay topics that will get them thinking.

How has your passion for urban gardening transformed neglected spaces in your community?
Can you recount a thrilling adventure from your hobby of urban exploration?
What lessons have you learned from restoring vintage motorcycles in your spare time?
How has your fascination with birdwatching deepened your connection to nature and conservation efforts?
Can you describe a memorable moment from your hobby of foraging wild edibles in the wilderness?
What unique skills have you developed through your hobby of beekeeping, and how have they impacted your daily life?
How has your interest in historical reenactment brought the past to life in unexpected ways?
Can you reflect on a transformative experience from your hobby of landscape photography?
What insights have you gained from practicing the art of bonsai cultivation and nurturing miniature ecosystems?
How has your passion for stargazing inspired awe and wonder in the vastness of the universe?
Can you recount a challenging project from your hobby of woodworking and the satisfaction it brought upon completion?
What cultural connections have you discovered through your hobby of traditional folk dancing?
How has your interest in sustainable fashion influenced your consumer habits and environmental awareness?
Can you describe a moment of serenity and mindfulness experienced while practicing the art of tea ceremony?
How has your hobby of letterpress printing preserved the tactile beauty of handmade craftsmanship in a digital age?

Narrative Essay Titles on Life-Changing Moments

Life is full of unexpected twists that can lead to life-changing moments. Take a look at these narrative essay titles for stories that have had a lasting impact on your life.

How did surviving a natural disaster reshape your perspective on life?
Can you recall a single conversation that drastically altered the course of your life?
What was the pivotal moment that inspired you to pursue your dreams against all odds?
How did a chance encounter lead to a life-changing friendship or partnership?
Can you reflect on the decision that transformed your career trajectory?
What profound lesson did you learn from facing a life-threatening illness or injury?
How did traveling to a new country open your eyes to new possibilities and opportunities?
Can you recount the moment when you discovered your true passion or calling in life?
What was the turning point that allowed you to break free from a toxic relationship or environment?
How did experiencing failure or rejection ultimately lead to personal growth and resilience?
Can you describe the moment when you found the strength to overcome a deep-seated fear or insecurity?
What life-changing realization did you have while experiencing a period of solitude or introspection?
How did a profound act of kindness from a stranger restore your faith in humanity?
Can you reflect on the moment when you forgave someone who had deeply hurt you, and how it changed your perspective on forgiveness?
What pivotal decision did you make that allowed you to reclaim control over your own happiness and destiny?

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Good Narrative Topics on Travel and Adventure

Consider creating intriguing titles for your narrative essay ideas by exploring thrilling travel adventures.

Can you recount a memorable encounter with wildlife during your solo hiking adventure?
How did a spontaneous decision to explore an unfamiliar city lead to unexpected discoveries?
What lessons did you learn from navigating a foreign country with only a map and your instincts?
Can you describe the exhilaration of conquering a challenging mountain peak for the first time?
How did immersing yourself in a local culture during your travels broaden your perspective on the world?
What unexpected obstacles did you encounter while embarking on a backpacking journey through rugged terrain?
Can you reflect on the transformative experience of volunteering abroad in a community-driven project?
How did getting lost in a labyrinthine city alleyway lead to serendipitous encounters and newfound friendships?
What was the most memorable meal you had while sampling street food in a bustling market abroad?
Can you recount the adrenaline rush of participating in an extreme sports activity in a foreign land?
How did witnessing a breathtaking natural phenomenon during your travels leave a lasting impression on you?
What cultural traditions or rituals did you participate in during a homestay experience with a local family?
Can you describe the sense of wonder and awe you felt while exploring ancient ruins or historical sites?
How did navigating a language barrier challenge and ultimately enrich your travel experience?
What valuable life lessons did you learn from the mishaps and misadventures encountered during your journey off the beaten path?

Narrative Essay Topic Ideas on Career and Work Experience

College students can uncover captivating narrative essay ideas by exploring potential career paths or reminiscing about past job experiences.

How did a challenging project at work showcase your problem-solving skills and resilience?
Can you reflect on a pivotal mentorship experience that guided your career trajectory?
What valuable lessons did you learn from a career setback or failure, and how did it shape your future success?
How did a workplace conflict lead to personal growth and improved communication skills?
Can you recount a moment when taking a professional risk paid off in unexpected ways?
What insights did you gain from transitioning to a new industry or career path?
How did participating in a cross-functional team project enhance your collaboration and leadership abilities?
Can you describe the satisfaction of achieving a long-term career goal after years of hard work and perseverance?
What impact did a meaningful recognition or award have on your motivation and sense of accomplishment?
How did volunteering or pro bono work contribute to your professional development and sense of purpose?
Can you reflect on the decision to leave a stable job in pursuit of passion or fulfillment?
What strategies did you employ to navigate a toxic work environment and maintain your well-being?
How did a career setback lead to unexpected opportunities for personal and professional growth?
Can you describe a moment when mentorship or sponsorship played a crucial role in advancing your career?
What lessons did you learn from a challenging client or customer interaction, and how did it shape your approach to customer service and relationship-building?

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics about Challenges and Obstacles

If you're not sure what to write about for your narrative essay, think back to the tough times you've had and how you managed to get through them.

How did you conquer a once-paralyzing fear to chase your dreams?
What new strengths did you discover while adapting to a physical challenge?
Can you recall a creative solution you used during a tough financial period?
When did you bravely stand against injustice, despite opposition?
How did overcoming a language barrier broaden your horizons?
What key lessons did you learn from a major setback in your life?
How did you manage overwhelming stress and responsibilities?
What inner reserves of resilience did you draw upon after personal loss?
Describe a time when you defied societal norms to pursue your goals.
Reflect on a moment when failure fueled your determination for success.
When did you find the courage to leave your comfort zone behind?
How did community support bolster you through a challenging time?
Share a time when self-doubt led to newfound confidence.
Can you recount a tragedy that spurred your personal growth?
What insights did overcoming a monumental obstacle reveal about life?

Best Narrative Essay Topics: How to Choose the One That Resonates

A narrative essay is a type of writing that tells a personal story, including characters, plot, setting, and the order of events. Its main goal is to connect with readers emotionally and share a specific message or insight through the retelling of a meaningful experience.

Students write narrative essays as part of their studies for several reasons. Firstly, it allows them to express themselves creatively by sharing their unique experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Secondly, it helps them develop important writing skills like organizing ideas and thoughts effectively.

Choosing good narrative essay ideas involves looking at personal experiences, interests, and the potential for engaging storytelling. Here's a simple guide to help you pick the right topic:

Think about significant moments in your life that had a lasting impact, such as personal growth or overcoming challenges.
Choose topics related to your hobbies, interests, or areas of expertise to make your story more engaging.
Consider what your audience would be interested in and choose topics that resonate with them.
Focus on a specific event or detail to make your narrative more focused and impactful.
Look for universal themes like love or personal transformation that connect with readers on a deeper level.
Brainstorm ideas and write freely to uncover compelling topics.
Decide on storytelling techniques like flashbacks or foreshadowing and choose a topic that fits.
Get feedback from friends, peers, or instructors to see if your topics are interesting and impactful.
Choose topics that evoke strong emotions for a more compelling narrative.
Select a topic that you personally connect with to make your story authentic.

Once you've chosen a topic, brainstorm ideas and create an outline for your essay. Follow your professor's instructions carefully and consider seeking help from our narrative essay writing service if needed.

Bring your stories to life with EssayPro. Select from a vast array of narrative essay topics and let our professionals help you weave your tales into captivating essays. Whether it's adventure, reflection, or imagination, we're here to assist.

Final Remarks

As we wrap up, our list of 200 narrative essay topics is here to fuel your creativity for your next writing project! Whether you're sharing a memorable event, reliving a childhood memory, or expressing a profound insight, crafting a narrative essay can be an uplifting experience that resonates deeply with readers.

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Daniel Parker

is a seasoned educational writer focusing on scholarship guidance, research papers, and various forms of academic essays including reflective and narrative essays. His expertise also extends to detailed case studies. A scholar with a background in English Literature and Education, Daniel’s work on EssayPro blog aims to support students in achieving academic excellence and securing scholarships. His hobbies include reading classic literature and participating in academic forums.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

Mental Health Research Topics: 200 Writing Ideas for You

Narrative Essay

Narrative Essay Topics

Best Narrative Essay Topics 2023 for Students

Narrative Essay Topics for Students

If you're a student looking for a diverse range of topics, we've got you covered with a diverse selection of narrative essay topics.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 5

My First Day at a New School
The Time I Learned to Ride a Bike
A Visit to a Haunted House
The Day I Met a Real-Life Superhero
My Most Memorable Family Vacation
A Surprising Encounter with an Animal
The Mystery of the Missing Homework
The Best Birthday Party I Ever Had
When I Lost a Tooth
My Adventure in a Fantasy World

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 6

An Unforgettable Camping Trip
The Day I Discovered a Hidden Talent
A Mysterious Letter and Its Consequences
A Time I Had to Stand Up for What's Right
The Thrilling Mystery of a Forgotten Diary
A Memorable Encounter with a Famous Person
My Journey Through a Fantasy Land
The Day I Learned a Valuable Life Lesson
An Unexpected Act of Kindness
A Secret Adventure in an Abandoned Place

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 7

The Most Exciting Adventure of My Life
The Day I Overcame a Fear
A Memorable School Field Trip
The Strangest Mystery I Ever Encountered
An Unforgettable Encounter with Wildlife
A Life-Changing Decision I Had to Make
The Best Book I Ever Read and Why
A Day in the Life of a Time Traveler
The Importance of Friendship in My Life
A Valuable Lesson Learned from a Mistake

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 8

A Time I Faced a Difficult Moral Dilemma
The Most Memorable Summer Vacation
The Impact of a Life-Altering Decision
An Unexpected Act of Kindness I Received
The Day I Stepped Out of My Comfort Zone
A Historical Event I Would Like to Witness
A Special Family Tradition and Its Significance
A Personal Achievement I'm Proud Of
A Challenging Obstacle I Overcame
A Journey Through My Creative Imagination

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 9

The Transition to High School: Challenges and Triumphs
A Life-Changing Encounter with an Inspiring Mentor
My First Part-Time Job and What I Learned
The Day I Realized the Power of Empathy
The Impact of a Personal Passion or Hobby
An Unforgettable Travel Experience Abroad
A Meaningful Community Service Project I Participated In
The Role of Technology in My Life
A Defining Moment in My Cultural Identity
My Vision for the Future: Dreams and Aspirations

Narrative Essay Topics for O-Levels

The Day I Took a Leap of Faith
An Unforgettable Journey into the Unknown
A Life-Altering Decision I Made in High School
An Encounter with a Stranger That Changed My Perspective
The Role of Resilience in Overcoming a Personal Challenge
The Impact of a Cultural Exchange Experience
A Lesson Learned from a Unique Life Experience
The Importance of Perseverance in Achieving a Goal
My Most Memorable Academic Achievement
A Glimpse into My Future: Aspirations and Ambitions

Narrative Essay Topics for Highschool

The Moment I Discovered My Passion
A Life-Changing Journey Abroad
A Challenging Decision That Shaped My Future
An Unexpected Act of Kindness That Touched My Heart
The Role of Resilience in Overcoming Adversity
A Personal Experience That Shaped My Values
The Impact of Technology on My Generation
A Time I Took a Stand for a Cause I Believe In
A Memorable Leadership Role I Assumed
A Glimpse into My Ideal Future: Aspirations and Goals

Narrative Essay Topics for College

The Journey to Finding My Academic Passion
A Life-Altering Study Abroad Experience
The Transformational Impact of a Challenging Decision
Navigating the Transition from College to the Professional World
An Unforgettable Encounter with a Mentor or Role Model
The Role of Adversity in Shaping My Personal Growth
A Significant Ethical Dilemma I Faced in College
How My College Experiences Have Shaped My Worldview
The Impact of Technology on My College Education
A Personal Reflection on My Career Aspirations and Goals

Narrative Essay Topics for University

The Evolution of My Academic and Career Goals at University
An Eye-Opening Internship Experience That Impacted My Future
A Transformative Study Abroad Journey
Navigating the Complexities of Balancing Work, Academics, and Social Life at University
The Role of a Unique Research Project in My Academic Growth
A Personal Account of Overcoming a Significant Academic Challenge
A Meaningful Leadership Role in a University Organization
The Journey of Self-Discovery Through Elective Courses at University
The Impact of Peer Relationships and Networking at University
How My University Education Has Shaped My Perspective on Global Issues

Unique Narrative Essay Topics for Students

We've gathered distinct narrative topic ideas to fuel your creativity. Let’s look at some personal narrative ideas to inspire your narrative writing.

Descriptive Narrative Essay Topics

A Peaceful Day by the Riverside
Exploring a Haunted House
My Favorite Childhood Memory
A Walk Through an Ancient Forest
The Perfect Winter Wonderland
An Evening at a Carnival
A Visit to a Vibrant Art Gallery
The Spectacular Colors of Autumn
A Day in the Life of a Beach
An Exciting Night in the City

Personal Narrative Essay Topics

A Life-Changing Decision I Made
A Moment of Personal Triumph
Overcoming My Greatest Fear
A Meaningful Lesson from a Personal Challenge
The Role of a Special Friend in My Life
A Time When I Broke a Personal Record
The Impact of a Mentor on My Life
My Journey to Self-Discovery

Literacy Narrative Essay Topics

My Earliest Memory of Learning to Read
The Book That Sparked My Love for Reading
A Life-Changing Experience in a Library
The Impact of a Special Teacher on My Writing Skills
How Technology Has Shaped My Writing Habits
A Personal Reflection on My Writing Journey
The Role of Literature in Shaping My Perspective
Writing as a Tool for Self-Expression and Healing
How I Overcame Writer's Block
The Significance of Storytelling in My Life

Engaging Narrative Essay Topics

The Mystery of a Lost Treasure Map
An Unlikely Friendship That Changed My Life
A Day in the Life of a Professional Athlete
The Journey of Starting My Own Business
A Haunting Experience in a Historic Place
A Memorable Road Trip with Friends
My Encounter with a Famous Celebrity
The Day I Conquered My Greatest Fear
An Adventure in a Foreign Land
A Life-Altering Decision at a Crossroads

How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay?

Choosing the right topic for your narrative essay can be a daunting task. Before you start writing, it is important to invest some time in researching and brainstorming.

Here are a few tips to help guide you in selecting an interesting and engaging narrative essay topic:

Reflect on Your Personal Experiences: If you are writing about a personal narrative topic, consider the impactful moments in your life and think about experiences that have left a strong impression on you.
Identify a Clear Message or Theme: Determine the central idea or theme of your narrative. Decide what lesson, insight, or emotion you want to convey.
Engage Your Audience: Consider your target audience and what will resonate with them. Choose a topic that captures their interest and keeps them engaged.
Play with Different Perspectives: Explore the option of incorporating different viewpoints. Combining personal and external perspectives can add depth to your narrative.
Test Your Idea: Get feedback from a friend or classmate. Assess if your chosen topic is likely to resonate with your audience.
Stay True to Your Voice: Balance considering your audience with being authentic. Let your unique voice and storytelling style shine through in your writing

Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

Once you have selected a topic for your narrative essay, it is time to start writing.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you write your story:

Start with a Strong Hook: Begin your narrative essay with a captivating hook, such as an engaging anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a vivid description.
Follow a Clear Structure: Organize your narrative essay outline with a clear structure. Most narratives follow a chronological order, but you can also use flashbacks or nonlinear storytelling when it serves your narrative.
Build Tension and Conflict: Create tension and conflict in your narrative to add depth and maintain reader engagement. Whether it's a personal struggle, a moral dilemma, or an external challenge, these obstacles will keep readers eagerly anticipating what comes next.
Revise and Edit: After completing your first draft, take the time to revise and edit your work. Review it for grammar and spelling errors, but also examine the overall structure and flow of your narrative.
Practice, Practice, Practice: Like any form of writing, improving your narrative essay skills takes practice. Keep writing and experimenting with different topics, styles, and approaches to develop your storytelling abilities.

Before you start writing, make sure you read some narrative essay examples to learn how to organize your thoughts and structure your story.

In summary, no matter the type of essay you are writing about, you need a topic to start with. Our collection of narrative essay topics offers fresh, distinct ideas.

These topics are crafted to ignite your creativity and captivate your audience. They cover a diverse range of experiences, making it easier for you to connect with your readers on a personal level.

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We stand as the most reliable narrative essay writing service with a specialized focus on crafting exceptional essays designed for high school and college students. Our customer support team is also available 24/7, request write my essays online whenever you need assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How are narrative essay topics different from other essay types.

Narrative essay topics are usually based on personal experiences, so they are more emotional and creative than other types of essays. Also, they are often more open-ended, so you have more freedom to choose what to write about.

Where can I find good narrative essay topics?

There are a few ways to find good topics for your narrative essay. You can look through books or magazines for ideas, or search online for inspiration. You can also brainstorm with friends or family members to come up with ideas.

What do I write a narrative essay about?

You can write a narrative essay about anything, but it is usually based on personal experience. Try to recall interesting incidents from your life to develop a narrative about.

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150 Best Topic Ideas For Narrative Essay

Table of contents

1 How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay?
2 Some Tips for Writing Narrative Essays
3.1 Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students
3.2 Good Narrative Essay Topics for College Students
4.1 Personal Narrative Essay Topics
4.2 Personal Experience Narrative Essay Topics
4.3 Narrative Essay Topics About Childhood
4.4 Relationship Narrative Essay Topics
4.5 Personal Narrative Essay About Friendship
4.6 Cultural Narrative Essay Topics
4.7 Personal Narrative Stories Ideas on Traveling and Holidays
4.8 Narrative Argument Essay Topics

In academic practice, the narrative essay is probably one of the key elements to train students in expressing their opinions. It teaches well how to tell a story in a clear, concise manner, that’s why it is so welcome in the language and composition classes.

Narrative essays are not only valuable as such: their contribution lies in the ability to elaborate students’ storytelling and narration skills. To touch the reader’s nerves, you should opt for exciting narrative essay ideas. There are plenty of them – but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of essay ideas.

How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay?

When you are selecting a topic for your essay , you should consider some aspects. As a teacher, you should opt for the best narrative essay topics that would be interesting and familiar to your mentees. If you are a mentee yourself, you can be assigned a specific task to write on the topic provided by your teacher or professor. In the opposite case, you have the freedom to choose a topic on your own.

We’ve collected some useful tips on how to efficiently select a narrative speech topic for your paper. They apply to the general principles of narrative essay topic choice. You can write about something special and personal for you, or describe events and subjects that are well-known to everyone. The following rules will be a perfect support for you in the creation of a powerful narrative essay.

Opt for relevant topics Always consider your audience when picking a topic if you are a teacher. The topic shall be cognizable and meaningful for your audience, be it higher school students or schoolchildren. They must be able to express their thoughts on the subject and relate their personal experiences to it.Obviously, the requirements for younger students are lower, and narrative writing topics shall deal mostly with descriptions or reporting. On the other hand, senior schoolers and students shall be able to write an essay that is also persuasive and reflective.
Choose your comfortable writing style Experience in studying affairs clearly demonstrates that successful subjects for a narration essay are those you feel comfortable with. Picking up the right idea is the key to a powerful paper as it determines the style of your writing.Think about what you love to tell about. Do you like to describe events in a detailed and vivid manner? Or maybe you are factual and concise? Are you a fan of reflections and self-analysis? Recollecting or imagining, projecting or analyzing, reporting or insightful – if you identify your features, they will be helpful narrative essay prompts.
Show your mastery Topics are essential, but that’s not the hard and fast rule: always factor into personal proficiency. This is what turns even a dull and merely informative topic into an engaging story. A narration essay is your chance to create a description that would allow your readers to pop into your experiences and share your fun or drama with you.Whether your narration concerns a film, a book, a relationship, a person, or a situation, try to complement it with a touch of personal attitude. Discourse upon the lessons you’ve learned, describe a turning point of your life or reflect on why an event from your past is so memorable. Try to convey this in the essay outline , and you’ll see how fascinating it might be. The more so as there are plenty of brilliant topics for narrative writing.

Some Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

Narration may be both rewarding and challenging. To maximize your rewarding experience and minimize the tough aspects of essay writing, follow our tips recovered from the students’ practice.

1. Aim at telling a story

A narration essay stands foremost for a narration. Whether you are describing events, discussing situations, or recollecting the past, your story should be engaging and have a plot. You may introduce the elements that make your story individual. These include arguments, reflections, and opinions, but the focus of this type of essay is narrative.

3. Keep to an outline

The conventional structure is not required, however, it assists in organizing your thoughts properly and preserving accuracy and distinctiveness. The introduction and conclusion parts do not differ much from those in other academic papers. The body part, in turn, presents a story that may tackle moral, practical, psychological, or other problems. This clearly distinguishes your narration from all the others. This is why personal narrative topics shall be thoroughly picked.

3. Make a plan

Draft the events and characters to be introduced in your story. Don’t feel like you are limited by the structure you create. A plan is a guide rather than a mold for your text, so try making it comfortable for you. Drafting your essay before you start writing may also be helpful. This way you can break down the nuances and see what’s lacking for an immersive story.

4. Remain individual

While good narrative topics circulate in the school and college assignments, you are still able to make your essay personalized. To start with, you have your own stories to be told. Then, you might express your own opinions that are unconventional. Also, you can present the lessons you’ve learned from the story. In the end, your author’s style will surely add points to your paper.

5. Choose a writing narrative thoroughly

Stories may be told third-person or first-person. Weigh the pros and cons of each type of narration and opt for the one reflecting your objective. Personal experiences are usually written in first-person, and epic narratives may be third-person. Though, unconventional approaches may be an interesting artistic device making your essay even more intriguing.

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Narrative Essay Topics for Students

We’ve analyzed trainees’ experience in writing narrative paragraphs and selected narrative essay topics for college and school students. This profound list covers a wide range of subjects, so pick one!

Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students

High school students normally feel comfortable about describing their study routine. Below you’ll find interesting topics to convey some of the things at school familiar to every pupil.

My favorite class
An unexpected day-off
My favorite teacher
My most memorable participation in a sports event
My harshest debate competition
My best role in a school theatre
My after-school activities
My routine travel to school
My funny prom night adventure
My worst lost match
The craziest incident on my campus
The subject I don’t like
How I failed an exam
How I got through an exam
How I got caught cheating

Good Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

Just like high schoolers, students at colleges and universities are fond of talking about their everyday matters. Whether a topic about students’ affairs or reflection on new relationships, the most popular narrative topics for college students are collected here.

My first day at the higher school
My last day with my schoolmates
My favorite course
Meeting my better half
The story of my split-up
My brightest high school moment
How I met my old friend
My favourite professor
A funny adventure on my campus
The most symbolic episode from my college life
The day I moved
How I traveled to my college
My first impressions of the college campus
How I met my roommate
My first friends at college

Topics for essays on themes:

Personal narrative essay topics.

Each of us had moments in life the story of which would be interesting to others. Develop your narration mastery and tell the world a story about the very best, most memorable, extremely scary, or awkward situations. Our list is here to assist you.

The happiest event ever
The saddest moment in my life
The worst moment of my life
The best moment of my life
If I start my life all over again, I’d…
The most frightening episode of my life
The most dramatic decision I had to make
The life-changing event in my life
The greatest risk I took
The day I decided to move
The worst decision of my life
Getting lost abroad
The most disastrous trip
How I grew up in a city
How I grew up in a village

Personal Experience Narrative Essay Topics

Personal experiences are way more exciting for writers. Unfortunately, personal narrative essays are not always just as fascinating for listeners unless they are presented in an entertaining manner. We’re sure that the ideas for personal narratives below will help you pick your topic to maximize readers’ engagement.

The moment of my life I’m proud of
My first visiting an opera house
The weirdest accident I witnessed
How I first tried Asian cuisine
My most memorable birthday present
If I was a character in a book
The memory I wish I lived through again
If I was my favourite movie superhero
How I lost a thing that wasn’t mine
My first travel to the sea
What makes me unique
My first trip into the wild
My first job interview
My most significant loss
My most memorable Christmas

Narrative Essay Topics About Childhood

Childhood is probably the sweetest period of our lives and the one with the most number of insights. The most powerful experiences come from it, and most of our reflections are related to a child’s perception in this or that way. Check out our list of captivating topics about childhood and pick one.

My first memories ever
My first pet
The role model of my childhood
The first time I met my uncle/aunt
The first time I got to a hospital
My first big sports competition
My first day at school
The first time at a stadium
My best visit to a children’s entertainment park
My favourite preschool teacher
My first time on the airplane
My most memorable picnic
The scariest incident of my childhood
My childhood phobias
The funniest incident of my childhood
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Relationship Narrative Essay Topics

Writing about this huge layer of experience – relationships – is surely thrilling. We’ve picked just some of the great variety of narrative topics about relationships for you. Even if you don’t find here exactly what you want to talk about, you’ll definitely hit upon an appropriate idea.

My first romantic date
How my best friend changed my life
How I first met my best friend
The saddest moment in a relationship I experienced
A turning point in my important relationship
My role model relationship from a book/movie
My first romantic relationship
What my parents mean to me
The best advice about relationships I got
Why is my significant other so important to me
The situation that helped me fix my ruined relationship
The best memories I share with my friends
My first confession
How I helped someone with depression
A film/book about relationships that stroke me

Personal Narrative Essay About Friendship

Friendships often determine our paths in life, and most people love telling stories. These are about their adventures with friends or reflections on the effects of getting cozy with other people. From the list below, you may pick one of the best friendship topics for narrative essay papers.

My best friend from a summer camp
How I reconnected with my friend after a quarrel
How I covered my friend
How I first met my online friend live
How I helped my friend reconnect with his/her loved one
The coolest adventure with my best friend
The first time at my friend’s place
My worst quarrel with my friend
My best older friend
How my foe turned into my friend
The toughest situation I and my friend went through
My friend’s sister/brother
The situation where I had to choose between two friends
How I met a friend on the Internet

Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

How about writing on culture? The variety of topics is enormous, and you can write here in different styles and tonalities. Find out effective narrative paragraph topics dedicated to traditions, holidays, or cultural events below.

My favourite holiday
How we celebrate Christmas
The best Christmas present I got
My best Christmas
My saddest Christmas
The holiday which is most significant for me
Our family traditions for Easter
How I took part in holidays abroad
The scariest Halloween I ever had
Home alone on a holiday night
The most memorable cultural event I visited
The festival I love most
What I was thankful for this Thanksgiving Day
My family traditions
A foreign holiday tradition that I love most

Personal Narrative Stories Ideas on Traveling and Holidays

This segment of subjects covers individual experiences. Respectively, it has to do with reflections, opinions, and feelings. Our list of personal narrative ideas related to trips and celebrations is here for your convenience.

My best entertainment on winter holidays
My first traveling abroad
How I first visited a warm country in winter
How I missed my flight/train/bus
The happiest moment during the holidays
Making a new friend during the holidays
My first time traveling alone
My most memorable holiday ever
The saddest incident on a holiday
My best visit to a foreign city on holiday
My best travel to a big city
The worst quarrel while on holiday
The best encounters during the holiday
My best trip to a countryside
How I returned home after a long vacation

Narrative Argument Essay Topics

Strong argumentation is one of the indications of a successful academic paper and a prerequisite for a higher grade. You should pick a topic you are confident in to provide your effective arguments as your objective is to persuade your readers. Opt for a narrative essay topic that speaks to you.

The toughest decision between right and wrong
The choice I regret
How I helped a friend against the rules
Involvement in a conflict between other people
Getting caught lying
How I let down a friend following the rules
How I shifted the blame to someone else
The toughest yet most important experience
Helping someone for personal benefit
The prank I played on my friend
Ignoring bullying
How my friend took the blame for me
Does justice actually exist?
Ignoring the wrong behavior of others
Eavesdropping

When writing a narrative essay, it is important to choose an interesting topic that can engage your readers. Finding the right topic can be a challenge, but there is no need to worry as there are many resources available, such as online essay writers , that can help you choose the best topic for your narrative essay.

Whether a personal experience essay, a story about your best childhood birthday, a narration about your most meaningful travel, or the way you reacted to essential world events, are all worth writing. Bear in mind that each of them requires research, adhering to a structure, and planning. Focus on what’s inspiring for you and may be of interest to your readers, and you’ll get a list of the narrative ideas working best for you.

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50 Engaging Narrative Essay Topics for High Schoolers

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What’s Covered:

Narrative essays vs. analytical essays, how to pick the right narrative essay topic, elements of a strong narrative essay, engaging narrative essay topics for high schoolers, where to get your narrative essay edited for free.

Narrative essays are an extensive form of writing that gives readers the opportunity to follow along as a person goes through a journey or sets of experiences. Rather than providing analytic insight, narrative essays simply share a story and offer a first-person account. These essays may seem easy to write at first, but it takes a certain finesse to write a narrative essay that is interesting, cohesive, and well-researched. Whether you’re looking for a unique topic to write about, or just want some new inspiration, CollegeVine is here to help! These 50 narrative essay topics are engaging, unique and will have you writing in no time.

A narrative essay is a great way to express your personal experiences and opinions, but it is important to remember that this type of essay is different from an analytical paper. In a narrative essay, you do not need to provide background information or explain your thoughts and feelings; instead, you simply tell a story. It’s important to avoid too much telling in your writing; instead, use creative details and vivid imagery to make readers feel as if they are actually right there with you.

Where You Will Encounter Narrative Essays

This type of essay is typically encountered in high school, where students may be required to write personal statements to prepare for their Common App essay . Narrative essays are also commonly seen in AP Language and Composition. Therefore, it’s important you are aware of the style because you are bound to have a narrative essay assignment.

Of course, before you start writing, it is important to pick the right essay topic. There are many factors involved in the process of picking the perfect narrative essay topic for your story.

You should always choose a topic that you are passionate about, since writing on something you care about will make the process much easier. Not only will it be more interesting to create your paper around something that truly interests you, but it will also allow you to fully express yourself in your essay. You also want to be sure that the topic has enough material to work with. If your chosen topic is too short, you will not have enough content to write a complete paper. For example, if you are writing about your experience getting lost at the mall, make sure that you have enough information to work with to craft an engaging narrative.

The best topic for an engaging narrative essay is one that focuses on showing versus telling, has a clear structure, and provides a dialogue. These elements come together to form an engaging narrative essay. Regardless of what subject you pick, any topic may be turned into a fascinating, A+ worthy narrative using the tips below.

Show, Don’t Tell

To write a good narrative essay, it’s important to show, not tell. Instead of simply informing your audience, show them what you mean. For example, instead of saying “I was nervous,” you could say “My heart began to race and my stomach filled with butterflies.” Also make sure to use sensory details, such as sights, sounds and tastes, and include a personal reflection at the end of your narrative.

Begin with a Strong Opening Line

A good narrative essay will begin with an attention-grabbing opening line. But make sure to avoid common clichés, such as “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Instead, come up with something original and specific to you and your situation. For example: “My pre-calc teacher was obsessed with circles. I mean, he even used circular note cards.” Or, “It all started the day my mom brought home a guinea pig.”

Follows a Three-Act Structure

A strong narrative essay follows the same three-act structure as other essays. But in order to make it interesting, you’ll need to come up with a creative way to break things down into sections. For example, using the guinea pig example from above, you could write the following:

Act 1 – Introduction: The day my mom brought home a guinea pig.
Act 2 – Conflict: The day I had to say goodbye to my beloved pet.
Act 3 – Conclusion: Looking back at how much I miss him now that he’s gone.

Conclude with Personal Reflection

To conclude your narrative essay, you’ll want to explain what this specific experience taught you or how you’ve changed. For example, upon realizing that her pre-calc teacher was obsessed with circles, the writer of the previous example begins to notice circular shapes everywhere. Another way to conclude your narrative essay is by touching on how this experience impacted you emotionally. For example, after losing his guinea pig, the writer explains how much he missed it.

Use Dialogue

Include a conversation in your essay to make it come alive. For example, instead of simply saying that you met a new friend, talk about how you introduced yourselves or what they were wearing when you met them.

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The following list of 50 narrative essay topics is divided into categories. This will make it easier to find a topic that fits your writing style.

1. What is a childhood song that still sticks with you today?

2. Your first day of Kindergarten

3. Talk about a time when you’re siblings looked up to you

4. Describe the best birthday party you’ve ever had

5. Talk about the best day you ever spent with a childhood friend

6. Explain your first childhood hobby

7. Describe your first halloween costume

8. A family vacation gone wrong

9. Your first family reunion

10. Describe a tradition that is unique to your family

11. Describe your family to a person who’s never met them before

12. What frustrates you most about your family

13. If you could only keep one memory of your family, what would it be and why?

14. Describe a time your family embarrassed you in public

15. The most beautiful place in the world

16. Your favorite season and why

17. If you were a part of nature, what element would you be? Why?

18. When you go outside, which of your senses are you most thankful to have?

19. Describe the first time you witnessed a tornado

20. Write a poem about your favorite season

21. Describe yourself as one of the four seasons

22. Describe a time in which you felt connected with nature

23. Describe the first time you played an instrument and how you felt

24. What major event would be much worse if music was removed, and why?

25. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

26. What would a life without music look like?

27. If you could master one instrument, what would it be and why?

Relationships

28. What if you had never met your best friend?

29. Describe a time when you fixed a broken relationship

30. Talk about a movie that defined a relationship for you

31. Describe your first date

32. Describe the first time you made a friend

33. Describe your relationship with your parents

Self Reflection

34. Have you ever fooled someone? If so, describe what happened and how you felt about it

35. What is the worst thing you’ve done to someone else?

36. Write about the difference between how things seem and how they really are.

37. Have you ever been embarrassed in some way? If so, describe the situation and how it affected you as well as those around you

38. Have you ever witnessed something really beautiful? Describe it

39. Is your glass half empty or half full?

Overcoming Adversity

40. Have you ever been very afraid of something but tried your hardest to appear fearless? If so, describe that experience

41. When have you ever succeeded when you thought you might fail

42. What are your secret survival strategies?

43. Describe the last time you were stressed and why?

44. Describe a time when you were discriminated against

45. The most memorable class you’ve had and why

46. Your favorite study abroad memory

47. Describe your kindergarten classroom

48. Describe your first teacher

49. The first time you experienced detention

50. Your first field trip

Hopefully these topics will get you thinking about a personal experience that could make for a thoughtful and engaging narrative essay. Remember, a strong narrative essay must contain relatable details and a clear flow that keeps the reader entertained and engaged to read all the way to the end.

If you need some additional guidance on your narrative essay, use CollegeVine’s free peer review essay tool to get feedback for free!

Narrative Essay Topics — Prompts & Ideas For All Grade Levels

N arrative essays can present a serious challenge for even the most seasoned of writers, but fear not, we’ve compiled some great narrative essay topics to inspire your next paper! Follow along as we explore prompts relating to life, school, and more. By the end, you’ll be prepared to tackle narrative essays from a variety of different angles.

Good Narrative Topics

What is a narrative essay.

Before we jump into our narrative essay topics, we have to first answer the question: what is a narrative essay ? A narrative essay is a prose-written story that’s focused on the commentary of a central theme.

Narrative essays are generally written in the first-person POV , and are usually about a topic that’s personal to the writer.

Everything in a narrative essay should take place in an established timeline, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

For more on narrative essays, check out this video on literacy narrative topics and structure:

Narrative Essay Topic Ideas • Narrative Essay Titles

In the world of literature, narrative essays are held to a rigorous structure. We’re not going to enforce that rigor here! So, follow along as we (hopefully) inspire you with a variety of narrative essay topics and argument essay ideas.

Narrative Ideas

Narrative essay ideas for kids.

Narrative essay topics for kids usually focus on family, school, and friends.

Here are some easy narrative essay topics that work well for kids:

Describe your most recent birthday party.
Tell the story of your first day of school.
Who is your best friend?
Have you ever helped others?
Describe your favorite animal(s)
What is your dream for the future?

This next video from “Teaching Without Frills” explores narrative essay topics for kids in further detail.

Narrative Essay Ideas • Titles of narrative essays

Sometimes it can help to visualize narrative essay topics with pictures, especially for younger kids. If you’re a teacher, consider using pictures to inspire your students!

Narrative essay ideas for teens

Middle school and high school students are often asked to write narrative essays too. But whereas narrative essay topics for elementary school students are usually structured around simple, positive topics, narrative essay topics for teens are generally more contemplative.

Here are some personal narrative essay topics that work well for teens:

Describe a moment of loss.
Describe a moment of serenity.
Recount the story of a lost friend.
Detail your greatest creation.
Tell the story of your favorite teacher.
How would you change the world?

Remember: not every person has the same circumstances as others. That's why they're called personal narrative essay topics.

It’s important to frame narrative essay topics for kids in a way that every kid can relate. For example: the prompt “a lost friend” could mean a friend who moved away or a dead pet. Make sure to word your prompts in such a way that participants can glean their own interpretation.

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Narrative Essay Ideas

Narrative essay ideas for young adults.

Young adults are sometimes asked to write narrative essays for school and or job applications. Narrative essay reviewers typically want to see writers demonstrate maturity and growth in their work. As such, their questions are generally structured around challenges and problem management.

Here are some narrative argument essay topics for young adults:

Have you ever failed at your job?
If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be?
What is something you take pride in?
Describe your childhood.
How will you grow this year?
What is the most important element of success?

Of course, the topics above are mostly focused on success and failure. Young adults can certainly respond to the other prompts too!

Narrative essay ideas for adults

Adults aren’t generally tasked with writing narrative essays unless they’re writers. But that doesn’t have to be the case! There are a lot of positives to writing narrative essays, whether you’re a literary professor or a wrestler looking to articulate your thoughts.

So, here are some things to write a narrative essay about for adults:

What was your worst job?
What (or who) was your first love?
Who do you take care of?
What is your most prized possession?
If you could tell somebody who’s now gone from your life one thing, what would it be?
Paint a picture of where you find peace.

Narrative essay titles • Easy narrative essay topics

In recent years, companies have been selling books with narrative essay prompts for adults (particularly elderly adults) to reflect on their lives.

Creative Writing Prompts & Exercises

Now that you're brainstorming good titles for personal narrative, time to learn about other forms of creating writing. A narrative essay is just one type of essay – there are dozens more! In our next article, we break down more creative writing prompts and exercises, including those suited to fantasy, romance, horror, and more. By the end, you’ll know a ton of different ways to approach your next story.

Up Next: Creative Writing Exercises →

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150 Narrative Essay Topics

If you're looking for a more creative approach to writing essays, narrative essays might be a great option for you. With narrative essays, you have the freedom to tell a story and use your own personal experiences to make a point.

Whether you're writing a personal narrative or an experiential essay, you'll want to make sure that you're engaging your reader and conveying your message effectively. This is where custom essay writing services and coursework writing services can be incredibly helpful. With the assistance of professional writers, you can develop a compelling narrative essay that is both engaging and informative.

Overall, writing a narrative essay can be a fun and rewarding experience. Whether you're reflecting on a personal experience or sharing an anecdote, remember that the goal is to make a point and connect with your audience. So why not give it a try and see what stories you can tell? And if you need any assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to a " write my essay" or " write a paper for me" service for help.

What is a Narrative Essay?

A narrative essay is a less formal form of academic writing where the goal is to see whether you can tell a story clearly in an engaging manner. It follows the typical format of an essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion but also incorporates classic story writing elements like plot, setting, character, climax, and ending.

This kind of essay is written from a defined point of view, usually yours, so writing in the first person is recommended unlike most other forms of academic writing. You still need to make a point though, so include a thesis statement in your first paragraph and refer to it again in the conclusion.

Many college application essay prompts are narrative writing, for example - describe the most significant achievement of your life. Learning how to write a good narrative paper has use beyond just college essays though, a majority of online content now is based on telling engaging stories. Read on to know more about narrative papers and find a list of 150 fascinating topics for narrative essays.

How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay

Choosing good narrative essay topics are crucial for a few reasons. The story you tell will most often draw from your own experiences and thoughts, so choose a topic that you know well or are well-informed about. Additionally, since the story has to have a purpose, select a topic that has broad potential and narrow it down to tell your unique story. Remember the following things when choosing a topic for a narrative essay.

The key thing to remember is that you’re telling a story

Because a narrative essay is so unlike most academic writing assignments, a common mistake is writing sections like a dry academic assignment. It’s for school, but that doesn’t mean you can’t deliver an experience. It’s about crafting an engaging piece of storytelling while revealing something impactful through the story.

Choose an interesting or meaningful idea to explore

This is a great time to write about something that is particularly important in your life or something you are passionate about. Topics can range from your thoughts and ideas about a concept to an obscure activity that you enjoy.

The pre-writing stage is critically important

A good story flows well and includes details that draw the reader in, but it also has to deliver some idea or message. Collecting information and planning ahead to create an outline for your essay will smoothen your writing process.

Don’t forget to have fun with it!

The story you tell should be engaging, which means you have the freedom to experiment! Drawing from several different but interconnected life experiences, or telling the story from the perspective of an inanimate object are some interesting ways to make your essay stand out.

But remember that it’s still an essay

Even though it’s storytelling, you’re still writing an essay, which means it needs to follow the classic essay structure. Based on the word count, plan how many body paragraphs you need (minimum 3 ALWAYS). Your first sentence should still have a hook, and your first paragraph still needs to have a thesis statement. The story that unfolds in the body paragraphs shouldn’t drift from your thesis statement, and your conclusion needs to end the story as well as reiterate your thesis.

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150 Unique Topics for Narrative Essay

It can be quite tough to think of something meaningful to write your essay about, but almost any experience you have can be an interesting topic. For one person, the first time they played a sport could be a traumatic experience, for another it could be life-changing. Only you know your experiences and thoughts. Here’s a list of narrative essay topics that you can use to start the brainstorming process and spark your imagination.

College narrative essay topics

College is a time of new experiences. So much happens that it shouldn’t be difficult to choose something to write about. The essay you write can be more descriptive, focussing on your sensory observations of an experience, or more contemplative, focusing on new thoughts and feelings. Take a look at these narrative essay topics for college students.

What was it like getting your first acceptance letter?

How you chose which college to go to

Your first day leaving home and coming to campus

Meeting your roommate and whether it went well or not

Your first college party

Your favorite class

Losing touch or staying in touch with friends from high school

The best day in college so far

The difference between sports in high school and college

How you realized college was easier or tougher than you thought it would be

What it was like being in a class with 200 students

Your experience with an extracurricular you had never tried before

Going home for the first time after attending college

Finding a subject you never thought you would like

How did you start feeling truly comfortable in college?

Narrative essay topics for high school students

High school years are chaotic. The changes in students and their social expectations can be frustrating, challenging, and exhilarating. Essays about many important firsts can be drawn from high school. Here are a few examples of narrative essay topics related to high school.

The best day of freshman year

A time you were bullied and stood up for yourself

A time when you were bullied and felt helpless

Your most significant social accomplishment

What was a meaningful volunteering experience you had?

Your proudest moment in a sporting event

Losing a valued friend

Your first highschool dance

Why your favorite teacher became your favorite teacher

When you realized what you want to pursue as a career

The best video game moment you had

An embarrassing moment in school and how you overcame it

Your best social media moment

The buildup to graduation day

An experience helping another student

Personal narrative essay topics

Since narrative essays are often written in the first person and rely on the experiences and thoughts of the author, they can all be considered personal, but a personal essay asks you to specifically tell a story about a time that changed you in a meaningful way. Here are some topics for writing a narrative essay about personal moments and revelations.

A summer vacation adventure that involved heroics

Describe an experience you had in a foreign country that made you feel lucky to be from your country

Your first time following a YouTube tutorial

Your excitement at watching the newest star wars/lord of the rings/Marvel Cinematic Universe etc. movie

Bonding with a new pet

The moment you realized that you admire some traits in a person and want to be like them

A situation that changed your relationship with your parents

A situation when you had to deal with the police

Witnessing an event that needed you to call the police

Your best leadership moment

Your experience attending a large event (politics, religion, sports, etc)

The most meaningful time in church or any religious moment of significance

An experience that humbled you

A situation where you made a serious mistake

A time you had to learn from adversity

Narrative argument essay topics

Like any narrative essay - the goal is to tell a story, but like any argument essay - the goal is to convince or persuade the reader to agree with your viewpoint. Writing an effective narrative argument essay incorporates convincing arguments into the story itself. The trick is finding a balance between getting lost in telling the story and forgetting about storytelling and convincing the reader. Here are a few examples to help you find a topic for a narrative essay.

A time when you convinced somebody against a conspiracy theory

A moment that made you more religious or spiritual

A moment that made you less religious or spiritual

Your favorite trip and why the place you went to is fantastic

How you discovered your favorite art style

The first time you played a new genre of game and why it’s the best

Your experience attending a conference or event about climate change

Watching a movie, tv-show, youtube video, or any media that changed your mind

A situation where you had to verbally defend yourself or a friend

An observation about income disparity gained by working in a soup kitchen/homeless shelter etc.

An experience you’ve had talking to somebody with different political beliefs

A conversation about gender identity with an older person

Seeing the police behave appropriately or inappropriately

Your experience with love and how you developed your definition of it

A time you had to swallow your pride and hold your tongue

Easy narrative essay topics

Here’s a list of some good topics for a narrative essay that most people have experience with and can write about but are still interesting enough to create an engaging story for the reader. Below are some easy but interesting narrative essay topics.

A hike, picnic, or walk that made you appreciate nature

Visiting a particularly awesome amusement park

An especially romantic date

Your first trip to a big city

Your first trip to a foreign country

Discovering a new movie genre

The thrill of watching horror movies

A regular day in your life

A moment when you gained respect for your parents, teachers, or friends

The time you saved an animal

How you broke a bad habit

How you developed a new skill

Your experience at a zoo

The first time you went bowling (tried any new game)

Your happiest day

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Cultural narrative essay topics

Some of the most mind-expanding experiences happen when looking at and understanding a different culture or by analyzing your own culture from an outsider’s perspective. Cultural narrative essay topics are particularly useful when applying to colleges or applying for grants or scholarships for exchange programs.

What you learned from a trip abroad

How the lives of people in various socio-economic brackets are different

Observations on which basic things are different in different countries

How your cultural identity has changed over time

Sleeping over at a friends house from a different cultural background

Describe some unique personal family traditions

An experience where your culture/race/religion affected the situation around you

How you learned to fit in with a different culture

You first experience living in a foreign country

Discovering new subcultures like anime, gaming, k-pop, etc

Your favorite traditions from foreign cultures

How you understood your cultural heritage better

A time when you realized the impact of media on the perspective of other cultures

Getting over stereotypes because someone behaved differently than what you expected

Celebrating a different festival for the first time

Autobiographical narrative essay topics

Autobiographical narrative essays as you to specifically describe and talk about things in your life that impacted you. Take a look at the narrative essay topics below for inspiration.

Your first memory

Your first meaningful memory

Your first day of school

Your relationship with your grandparents

Finding out a shocking family secret

Your proudest achievement as a child

Your favorite childhood hobby

The best day of middle school

A time when you lost something important

How you dealt with losing someone close to you

Discovering your favorite musician

Your first kiss, date, or relationship

The worst day of your life

Why certain things are so meaningful to you

Which people have influenced your life significantly?

Fictional narrative essay topics

Fictional narrative essay topics are an opportunity to flex your creativity. Put yourself in the shoes of someone else, or in a fantastic situation and write a story! These are some narrative essay topics to choose from down below.

What it would be like traveling to Mars

What you would do with a million dollars

Describe a particularly vivid dream

A day in your life if you woke up as the opposite sex

What it would be like to be a professional gamer

What it would be like to have 100,000 Instagram followers

A day at the zoo from the perspective of an animal

A day in the life of a child from a very wealthy family

A day in the life of a child from a war-torn country

What it would be like to have your own talk show

What would you do if you were president?

What would you do if you were a dictator?

What it would be like to be a superhero

Tell a story based on your favorite work of art

A hypothetical dinner with your favorite celebrity

Best narrative essay topics - our choice

The best narrative essay topic ideas are going to be different for every individual. This section is going to choose some topics that offer the most space for creativity, are interesting to write about, or offer a broad chance for self-reflection.

Your earliest sad memory

How you realized someone had become a role model

A day in the life of your favorite fictional character

The thrill of winning

The heartbreak of loss

Understanding gender identity

A clash of culture

A new discovery

Finding your favorite hobby

Performing beyond expectation

Overcoming personal trauma

Helping someone in need

A life-changing trip

Enjoying nature

Questioning the status quo

Final thoughts

A narrative writing is unlike most other forms of academic writing. This can make it challenging for students, but as long as you think about it as writing a story and choose the right topic for a narrative essay, they are actually a joy to write! Here are a few key things to remember as you write your essay.

A narrative essay uses the story structure - beginning, middle, and end, as well as plot, climax, setting, and characters

Spend time on the prewriting phase to gather your thoughts and plan an outline

Don’t lose track of the main purpose of the story

Generally, write in the first person, but the third person can be used as well

Use vivid words and explain sensory details

Above all, have fun and engage the reader as much as you can

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Students in college often want to create a masterpiece when assigned a creative paper. Choosing the right topic for narrative writing is crucial for captivating your audience and leaving a lasting impression. Good narrative ideas inspiration can come from many sources, including documentaries, historical texts, self-help books, poems, and podcasts. This article will define and explain the characteristics of good narrative essay topics as well as offer examples for students. Students who want to share their experiences through stories will find this guide helpful and full of inspirational ideas. In case you seek professional advice or want to entrust a writing task to an expert, buy narrative essays online from our platform. Our academic writers have extensive experience in preparing different types of essays and will be glad to help you.

What Are Narrative Essay Topics?

Narrative essay topics can be anything as long as they allow the writer to create a compelling story and convey a message. What is a good topic for a narrative essay? Unlike academic writing, narrative essays allow learners to get creative and personal and enable them to share personal experiences in an engaging and meaningful way. The creative process becomes easy with experience as students gain knowledge of filtering relevant topics in their brainstorming sessions. To come up with such narrative essay ideas , below you will find a criterion to focus on when choosing themes.

Characteristics of Good Narrative Essay Topics

What are good topics for a narrative essay ? Good narrative topics incorporate emotional appeal to connect the audience to your story. For a start, memorable events are recommended in creative writing as the story’s details can easily be remembered and developed coherently. Below are the characteristics of a good narrative essay topic:

Unique and not easily predictable.
Evokes strong emotions in the audience, whether it's laughter, sadness, or excitement.
Has a clear conflict that drives the plot forward.
Addresses current issues or touches upon universal themes that resonate with the audience.
Creates anticipation and uncertainty, keeping the audience engaged and invested.
Explores meaningful themes like identity, justice, love, or loss.

How to Choose a Narrative Essay Topic?

Choosing a narrative essay topic can be challenging, but following the right approach makes the process easier. The prewriting stage is essential to experiment and come up with the right subject and structure for the essay. By selecting a good narrative essay topic, you will be able to immediately capture your reader's attention and increase your chances of sharing work with a large audience. You can achieve this goal by following the criteria below:

Reflect on your experiences of significant life events, like occasions, people, and places.
Brainstorm ideas. Write down a list of potential topics that come to mind based on your reflections.
Consider the audience. Think about who will be reading your essay and what the reader's interest might be.
Evaluate the potential topics by reviewing the issues you brainstormed.
You can use narrative essay prompts to help you brainstorm.
Experiment with different topics, structures, and techniques to find what works best for you and your audience.

List of Narrative Essay Topics

This section gathers a list of narrative writing topics to choose from to help you create a high-quality paper. The reader’s attention is initially hooked on the title, which sets the tone of the manuscript and the words that come after it. Examples of catchy narrative essay titles are mentioned below.

An adventure you went on and lessons learned.
Moment of epiphany in my life.
A bad cultural practice that affected me.
A day that started normal but ended up being remarkable.
Why did my mother stop sampling her favorite cuisine?
Fishing trip with my classmates I will never forget.
First time I attended auditions.
A proud moment in my life.
My life in the village.
Weekend in my favorite camp.

Below you will find more ideas. But if you don't spot the right one feel free to use our Narrative Essay Title Generator .

Good Topics for a Narrative Essay

Good ideas for a narrative essay often include a plot, characters, setting, and themes written to engage and entertain a reader. The piece usually contains reflections on the event's meaning, significance, and how it has impacted the writer's life. Here is a list of good topics for narrative essays.

Climbing mount Longonot.
My first day of high school.
Overcoming fear of public speaking.
First concert I attended.
Life-changing trip.
My first job.
Best moment of my life.
Last trip to Vegas with my brother.
My first trip to Mexico .
How I met my role model.
Life of moving from one place to another as a child.
Struggles of balancing personal and educational life
Most shocking accident that I witnessed.
How I lost my dream vacation to bad weather.
My experience with bullying.

Best Narrative Essay Topics

The best topics for narrative essays usually reflect the writer's insights and experiences and are infused with their unique voice and perspective. This should be followed with a clear and engaging introduction, which sets the stage for the narrative and hooks the reader’s attention. Here are examples of the best topics for narrative writing you can pick from!

A life-changing decision you live to remember.
A vacation that transformed your perspective on traveling.
The most remarkable year that changed your life.
Meeting the Queen of England.
My first visit to a coffee milling company.
Confession of a bank robber.
My first job interview.
How I lost my first mobile phone.
My most significant grief.
Childhood memory I will never forget.
My best moments in life.
Worst punishment I received.
Scariest Halloween in my life.
My experience with Asian cuisine .
My first prank at the cafeteria.

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics

Interesting ideas for narrative writing should tell a story in a way that is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking and memorable. Additionally, the essay must have a clear and engaging writing style, combining humor, emotion, and vivid imagery to keep the reader captivated from start to finish! This includes memorable characters, imaginative settings, and descriptions that bring the story to life. Examples of interesting narrative topics for essays are:

Near-death experience and its aftermath.
Childhood memory that still makes you smile.
Overcoming a phobia .
A trip that changed your perspective on life.
Meeting a celebrity.
Life-changing decision that needed to be made.
Time when you had to stand up for others.
Cultural celebration that affected you.
Returning home after living in Europe for years.
Cooking a meal for the whole family for the first time.
Struggle of the first day in a different country.
Worst decision I ever made.
My first experience in the theatre.
Living alone for the first time.
An individual that had a significant impact on your life.

Funny Narrative Essay Topics

A funny narrative writing topic allows you to share a lighthearted or humorous story with your readers. They often involve sarcasm or irony, poking fun at a certain aspect of life or describing a comical situation or event. The titles for narrative essays should encapsulate the primary theme of the essay. Here are some potential titles for narrative essay topics:

When you got lost in a strange city.
The most ridiculous law you’ve ever heard of.
The most unusual dream you’ve ever had.
Mistaking my father for a boyfriend through a text message.
The day I wore mismatched shoes to school.
Getting stuck in an elevator.
Accidentally dying my hair pink.
The day you were asked to get out of class for farting.
Falling asleep in class.
The day your father forgot to pick you up from school.
Jammed in a public toilet.
Getting lost in a shopping mall.
Being locked in a restaurant store overnight.
Marriage counselor that remarried four times.
Time you pulled a prank on someone.

Easy Narrative Essay Topics

Easy topics for narrative essays allow the writer to express their story and ideas in a simple and straightforward manner. These titles are often familiar, personal, and relatable to the author and reader. They are easy to research or recall, reducing the time and effort required to collect information and write. Here are some ideas for a narrative essay:

The best vacation you took.
Special place you have visited.
Your favorite childhood memories.
Journey to self-discovery.
Overcoming chicken phobia.
Moment of kindness you received or gave.
An event that shaped your identity.
A memorable event with family or friends.
Personal accomplishment that you are proud of.
A day in the forest.
Playground memory.
Unusual winter holiday.
Experience of being an introvert .
A difficult decision you had to make.
Growing up as a village kid.

Narrative Essay Ideas for Students

Narrative essay ideas help students reflect on or explore memorable moments in their school years and the lessons learned from these events. This includes telling about challenges you overcame, highlighting your resilience, or describing a student-teacher relationship and how it shaped your identity. Additionally, topics can comprise memories of stepping out of your comfort zone, sharing your lessons, and highlighting your bravery. The subsequent section covers some narrative essay topic ideas for students at different levels of education.

Narrative Essay Topics for Middle School

Personal narrative essay topics for middle school allow students to explore their imaginations by sharing personal life experiences, developing a narrative, and communicating the intended message to the reader. Here are examples of narrative essay ideas for middle school to inspire you to select a topic that will maximize the reader’s engagement.

A lesson you learned from a failure.
Great fictional character that I identify with.
Dealing with anxiety in grade 8.
Memorable event from middle school.
Experience that changed your view on environmental protection.
A place that holds a special meaning to me.
Encounter with the school principal and its consequences.
Special moments with my classmates.
The best thing I learned in middle school.
An extremely boring day in middle school.
Best teacher I ever had.
Most memorable farewell party.
The most dramatic decision I made in middle school.
Friends who made a difference in my life.
The day I was expelled for eavesdropping on teachers’ conversations.

Narrative Essay Topics for High School

High school aims to provide students with a well-rounded education and the skills they need to succeed in their future endeavors. Narrative essay topics for high school students include developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills with titles written in personal story format. Students use high school narrative essay topics to share their thoughts, personal growth experiences, overcoming challenges, significant events in their lives, relationships, and reflections from their past experiences. Some common examples to know include:

High school experience that taught you a valuable lesson.
Sports accident that had a lasting impact on you.
Best day spent with a childhood friend.
My first day at high school.
High school relationship that had a significant impact on you.
The version of a perfect day in school.
Learning fitness from my parents.
My harshest debate competition.
My worst lost match.
My routine travel to and from school.
A serious conversation I had about my grades.
The day I decided on my future profession.
How the teacher of English inspired my career in education.
My after-school activities.
How I won the school talent competition.

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Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

Narrative essay topics for college students often have a reflective tone since it helps learners remember past experiences and learn from them. These titles can range from cultural experiences and significant events to personal experiences. Here are some examples of college narrative essay topics.

My first day in the school of higher education.
My best learning courses.
Meeting my boyfriend at college.
A turning point in my career path.
How I traveled to enter college.
A cultural experience that expanded my horizons.
A defining moment in my college experience.
How we shared duties with my roommate.
Story of my break up in college.
How community work made my college life interesting.
A funny adventure in college.
How I showcased my culture during cultural day events.
My last day in college.
My growth and personal development over the years in college.
My experience with a statistics course.

Narrative Essay Topics for University Students

Topics for a narrative essay for university students often focus on describing a personal experience or events in the life of a student. Here are narrative topic ideas examples to help you in choosing an interesting topic.

Stranger became my best friend in my third year of university.
Favorite celebration with university classmates.
Time when you were insulted by the professor.
Time when a psychology class shook my beliefs.
Worst interview of your life.
Discovering that I am good at sociology.
How associate professor's advice helped me navigate university life.
The day my father learned I had a smoking habit.
How I navigated through the hard university life.
Reasons that prompted changing my course.
The moment I realized university life subjects you to be independent.
First time I participated in a big school event.
The teacher I wanted to be friends with.
An embarrassing conversation with the professor.
My culture shock experience at campus.

Narrative Essay Topic Ideas

A narrative essay offers an invaluable contribution to enable students to express their opinions through creative writing clearly and concisely. Choosing interesting topics for a narrative essay is important to get the reader’s attention and make them connect and relate to your story. In choosing narrative topics to write about, you should find relevant titles, have a comfortable writing style, and show mastery. Different types of narrative ideas are explored in this part.

Narrative Story Ideas

Narrative story topics can be fiction or non-fiction, from personal experience or even a historical event. Ideas for a narrative story essay should align with narrative writing guidelines to create a good one. Some possible themes include:

Meeting an unlikely friend.
How you opened your online business.
Social media story that inspired your career.
Finding true love.
Cultural tradition that is important to you.
An individual who finds a lost treasure and must decide what to do with it.
A family that moves to a new town and must adapt to the new surroundings.
Group of friends who go on a wild adventure.
The worst nightmare.
The memories of the place where I consumed the biggest burger.
A family member who must come to terms with a loss.
My first experience riding a bicycle.
A friend who discovers a hidden talent and must decide whether to pursue it.
A college student, a bogeyman, and a magician walk into a bar.
Winning the lottery.

Narrative Argument Essay Topics

Argument narrative essay topics present a claim or thesis that should be controversial or debatable to allow the writer to present arguments and counterarguments clearly and concisely. Narrative essay topics that teach a lesson allow authors to use examples to support their viewpoints. Possible argument titles are:

Effects of climate change on local communities.
Impact of technology on our daily lives.
The role of community service in personal growth.
Benefits of a diverse workplace.
Impact of technology on our ability to focus and retain information.
Effects of parental involvement on student academic success.
Role of financial literacy in personal and professional life.
Consequences of discrimination and prejudice on mental health.
Need for gun control in preventing mass shootings.
Negative effects of media on body image and self-esteem.
Contribution of healthcare in promoting personal and community wellness.
Benefits of social media on political discourse.
Preventing teenage substance abuse through parental involvement.
Importance of physical education in schools.
Debate surrounding the death penalty.

Narrative Descriptive Essay Topics

Descriptive narrative essay topics captivate readers’ senses and create a vivid and detailed picture in their minds. Narrative essays topics are often used to describe a person, place, or experience with detailed language and imagery. Examples of such titles include:

World famous landmark that you visited.
Visit to Kenya.
A natural disaster you experienced.
Unforgettable Christmas holiday.
A place that brings you peace.
A day in the life of a famous person.
The best hotel in Europe.
The book I love the most.
The birthday party I regret the most.
My first encounter with an elephant.
The concert that I live to remember.
A memorable childhood experience.
Favorite family tradition.
Greatest American in history.

Narrative Essay Topics by Themes

The theme of a narrative essay portrays the main message or idea the writer wants to convey through their story. It is often revealed through the author’s reflections, observations, and experiences rather than explicitly stated. A narrative essay title is the first thing a reader sees, and it should reflect the theme or central idea of the essay. Narrative paper topics can have many formats, including quotes, questions, statements, or a combination. Here are some narrative essay topics organized by themes.

Personal Narrative Essay Topics

Personal narrative ideas can range from simple anecdotes to longer, more complex stories, from everyday experiences to significant events. Personal narrative topics are themes a writer chooses to focus on, ranging from everyday experiences, and personal events to abstract ideas like personal growth, self-discovery, to relationships. The subject matter should be something the author feels a personal connection to or is passionate about to entertain, inspire, inform, or reflect. Here are examples of personal narrative essay ideas.

A speech during Independence celebrations day that changed your life.
Making new friends during camping.
Traumatic life episodes.
The best movie I watched during the holiday.
Teenage friendship that had a significant impact on you.
Making new friends in France.
Saddest incident of my life.
Loss and grief that defined your strength.
How performing community work changed my perception of humanity.
Cultural and societal issues you faced.
A time when you took a risk.
The beauty of nature and why I love camping.
The ups and downs of my first long-distance relationship.
My first skydiving experience and how it changed me.
Thrill of competing in a high-stakes sport.

Narrative Essay Topics About Family

Topic for a narrative essay about family explores personal experiences and reflection on family dynamics and relationships. Good narrative ideas on these topics are characterized by local traditions and their impacts on your life. The writer can also take account of information on how the family has shaped their values and beliefs. Such topics include:

Importance of family in shaping your moral values.
Special family customs that bring family together.
Most hilarious moments with my siblings.
An experience that brought our family close together.
Fun of creating and maintaining the family garden.
How a dysfunctional family subjected you to depression.
Challenges I faced while growing up.
How my grandfather solved most of the family crisis.
A time when you learned something important about your family.
Thrill of family game night.

Narrative Essay Topics About Childhood

Childhood is a period characterized by first experiences and bright memories. When selecting topics to write about for a narrative essay, writers reflect on their past and share personal experiences from their younger years. While this stage of life allows you to plunge into numerous memories, it is good to give examples of those happy days rather than sad ones and create a brilliant essay! Examples of narrative essay ideas for childhood memories include:

Your brightest memories of summer.
Your first visit to the farm.
Best memories with your parents in childhood.
Your childhood best friend.
My first day in kindergarten.
Meeting Santa at a mall.
My biggest childhood dreams.
Childhood memories that still make you laugh or smile.
Most difficult lesson in elementary school.
First trip to the museum.

Friendship Narrative Essay Topics

Topics for writing a narrative essay on friendship focus on a particular friend or a special bond that had an impact on your life. The best ideas for narrative essays should be based on your personal growth, expectations, milestones, and development through friendship. Check this list out:

Surprise adventure with friends.
The excitement of surprising a friend with a long-awaited reunion.
Unexpected kindness a friend showed me during a difficult time.
An experience with narcissistic friendship.
Role of mindset in creating lasting friendships.
When friendship was tested because of social media.
Impact of a supportive teacher on my friendship with classmates.
Friendship that has brought you joy and laughter.
How keeping secrets ruined my friendship.
Role of social media in forming and maintaining new relationships.

Narrative Essay Topics on Relationship

Topics of narrative essays cover information on various aspects of your relationships. When selecting a narrative writing topic, you should echo the lessons learned from your past relations and how they shaped your insight into love, trust, and relations. You can write about various forms of relations, examples to follow, and advice learned from books and life coaches on how to nurture them. Relationship essays topics are:

How coaching helped me improve my relationship with others.
Failures and lessons that shaped romantic relationships.
My first romantic relationship.
Why my boyfriend is very important to me.
How my significant other and I address relationship challenges.
The book about relationships that guides me.
Best relationship advice from my parents.
A relationship that was tested and how it was resolved.
A relationship that taught you forgiveness and acceptance.
Importance of self-care and maintaining relationships in a demanding college environment.

Narrative Essay Topics About Personality

Good personal narrative topics explore different aspects of individuals: who they are and how they have grown over time. This allows writers to reflect on the impact of their personality on relationships and interactions with others. Here are some examples of personal narrative topic ideas about personality.

Parental involvement in your personality development.
An experience that helped shape your personality.
Personality trait that makes you proud.
Life events that improved your personality.
How your personality has affected your relationships.
Personality traits that have held you back.
How my personal development plan failed.
My personal growth story.
How our community’s traditions influenced my personality.
Impact of a celebrity on my self-esteem and confidence.

Moral Narrative Essay Topics

While selecting topic ideas for a narrative essay about morals, you should consider various events that inspired your beliefs and values about life. The narrative paragraph topics focus on telling a story through experiences and give insight regarding what you believe to be right or wrong and how you have been affected by ethical dilemmas. Moral narrative essay topics are:

Decision that you were sure was the right one.
Challenge of balancing my moral values with other people's expectations.
Moral lesson you have learned from laziness.
Role of peer pressure in cheating behaviors.
How cheating in exams led to school expulsion.
How respect helped me navigate into a leadership position.
An experience that challenged your beliefs about fairness or justice.
Personal achievement that you are proud of and that aligns with your values.
Role of empathy and compassion in survival situations.
How the story about Hare and Tortoise changes my perception of people.

Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

In choosing topics to write a narrative essay about culture, focus on experiences and perspectives on traditions, customs, and issues. The narratives to write about should be based on the understanding that culture is essential in fostering intercultural communication and promoting respect for cultural diversity. Here are some examples of essay topics on cultural narratives.

Cultural challenges you faced in the workplace.
An experience that encouraged you to embrace your cultural heritage.
When you had to navigate cultural differences in a new environment.
When I learned the power of cultural collaboration.
Important cultural practices that you adopted.
Attending foreign cultural celebrations.
Traditions and practices that surprise me.
Unique traditions in my community.
Impact of social media on society's cultural narratives.
Evolution of marriage and family cultural values.

You may also need rhetorical analysis essay topics or definition essay topics for your next work. So, browse our blogs, you will find everything there.

Bottom Line on Narrative Essay Topics

In conclusion, it is important to pick a subject that has significance and meaning to you in learning how to choose a topic for a narrative essay. The bottom line is that in selecting narrative writing essay topics, writers should consider what they want to convey, what story they want to tell, and what message they want to impart to the reader. A good narrative essay should be engaging and meaningful and allow the writer to explore their ideas and emotions.

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150+ Great Narrative Essay Topics and Ideas

Often during the education process in school or university , we are asked to write an essay. Let’s talk about essays, in particular narrative ones. In a narrative essay, the author tells a story from real life. In this form of essay, the presentation of events in chronological order will not be enough. The authors’ thesis should interest the reader and make the story as vivid as possible so that the reader wants to become a part of the events described and can easily "transfer" to the story . More often such an essay is written in the 1st person in the present or past tense.

There are also other types of essays, such as:

Description essays. In such an essay, we describe an object.
Definition essays. Here we have one goal - to reveal this or that concept.
Illustration essays. Your goal is to prove a statement.
Argument essays. Here we give examples of persuasive facts that support your assertion.

Now let's look at the most popular narrative essay topics that we can board you with.

How to Know What Topic You Need?

If you were given a list of essay topics at schools or colleges , it would be logical if you choose a topic that is closer to you, on which you are not averse to reflecting.

If there is no list of topics, and you have only indicated the direction in which you should choose a problem for the essay, you will have to formulate the topic for narrative writing yourself.

Here are some tips on how to choose a topic for your essay:

Before defining a narrative essay topic, it is worth finding the author's position. This is the moral instruction of the author, which can be written directly or encrypted in the words or thoughts of the hero-narrator. To find it, one should single out the topic and all the micro-themes in the text, and then formulate moralizing within their framework, that is, the author's position.
From the author's position, it is worth asking a special question, that is, a question that requires a general answer, and not a short "yes" or "no". This question will be a problem.
It is necessary to find two examples in the text that illustrate the transition from the question to the author's position, that is, to help answer the question posed. This will prove that such a problem is indeed raised by the author.

Narrative Essay Topic Ideas

Now, let’s take a closer look at topics for narrative essay examples you can choose.

Personal Narrative Essay Topics

Personal narrative essay examples and ideas are needed when you describe something that you experienced in your life.

How To Be a Defensive Driver.
A Personal Narrative about Fear Of Heights.
My Fear of Failure.
The Narrative about Losing My Dad.
A Day I Lost My Best Friend.
Narrative on Precious Time.
What I Did This Summer.
Personal Narrative: I Am a Perfectionist.
Why Softball Is Important in My Life.
Narrative on Vocation.
My First Rock Concert.
How I Learned to Accept Myself the Way I am.
I Helped a Person in Need.
My Last Day at School.
The Character I Associate Myself with.

Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

Cultural topics for narratives allow you to highlight the topic of culture and at the same time present the story in an interesting way for the reader.

Narrative about Mexican Culture.
What traditions are unique in your family?
Which tradition surprised you the most?
How does the media influence our perception of culture?
How does culture define a person's personality?
What culture do you identify with?
What is your favorite holiday?
How does your family celebrate Christmas?
The Impact of Narrative in English Language and Culture.
What holiday has the most sacred meaning for you?
What traditions does your family observe on the Easter holidays?
Which of the cultural events you attended did you remember the most?
What foreign tradition do you like the most?
Holiday traditions in your family.
Which festival do you like the most?

Narrative Argument Essay Topics

This type of narrative topics for an essay implies that you need to write about something that has had a big impact on you.

Conflict case from your life.
What disagreements did you have together with your friend?
The case when someone deceived you.
Has there been a choice in your life that you regret?
Have you been in conflict with other people?
A situation where you have to make a difficult decision between right and wrong.
Have you been caught doing something bad?
Have you ever had to win friends following the rules?
Have you ever blamed another person for what you did?
Have you helped someone for personal gain?
Have you ever played pranks on your friends?
What experience can you call the most difficult but important in life?
Have you ever been in a car accident?
Have you ever been humiliated?
Have you ever helped a friend solve his problem?

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics

Have you had to make a difficult decision in life?
Have you ever flooded a neighbor's house?
Has there ever been a person in your life who has changed it drastically?
Would you like to relive any of those days again?
Have you ever failed an exam?
What was the scariest moment in your life?
Have you ever been really sick?
Have you ever saved another person's life?
Have you ever worked up the courage to visit a haunted house?
Have you ever won a prize?
What was your first job in life?
Have you ever participated in educational student exchange programs ?
What do you do when you are all alone?
What was your first meeting with the police?
Have you ever been to the emergency room?

Personal Experience Narrative Essay Topics

Here you can describe people or events that influenced you in one way or another.

How have you met a special person in your life?
The person you enjoy the most.
The best place in the neighborhood.
The place you'd like to live your whole life.
A productive art, you enjoy.
What is your first job search ?
Your biggest disappointment.
Do you remember your first birthday?
Narrative on Earthquake: An Earth-Shattering Experience.
Have you ever encountered a wild animal?
Tell about the first time you got home alone.
How did you cook food for the first time?
Tell how you helped someone.
How did you overcome your fear?
Narrative about Video Games.

Relationship Narrative Essay Topics

Relationship narrative stories ideas help to describe our relationship and how our experience has influenced certain events in life.

Have you ever fallen in love?
What advice would you give to a couple who are just starting their relationship?
How would you define family?
If you have a best friend, how did you meet?
Do you think that your parents are more sensitive than others?
What is your attitude towards marriage?
Have you ever experienced gender bias?
How do you remember deceased family members?
What do you know about the origins of your family?
Narrative about Friendship.
How did you meet your best friend?
What can make you end a romantic relationship?
Is the community in your area important?
Do you think hatred can destroy a relationship?
Have you ever experienced intergenerational conflict?
What does honesty mean in a relationship?

Childhood Memories

In this type of essay, you need to describe the events and memories of childhood.

What was my first pet?
What are my first memories?
Whom did I look up to as a child?
How did I first go to the hospital?
My first meeting with my uncle/aunt.
The Impact of a Funeral.
My first terrible incident.
What are my childhood fears?
What was the happiest day of my childhood?
My first time at the stadium.

Growing Up in High School

Here you need to recall the most vivid impressions from high school.

What lessons were my favorites?
Who was my favorite teacher?
What role in the school theater did I remember the most?
How I lost a sports match.
Topics forbidden to me.
How did I feel when I failed the exam?
How did I feel when I passed the exam with excellent marks?
Is commuting to school a routine for me?
My best adventure in school.
What kind of extracurricular activities do I enjoy the most?

Moral & Ethical Dilemmas

In this type of essay, you have to describe the ideas of the complexity of moral choice.

What is your attitude towards pro-life movement: argumentative essay on abortion ?
How can we influence the fight against racism?
How should a work ethic deal with sexism?
Do you think euthanasia should be legal?
Why can't war be ethical?
What moral issues does workplace automation cause?
The Missing Climate Change Narrative Analysis.
Is it ethical to have a lot of money?
If drugs were legal, would their use be ethical?
Is it possible to justify eating meat in the modern world?

College Student Life

Try to describe events and memories from your student's life.

Narrative about Reading.
My last day with my schoolmates.
My favorite course.
Meeting my better half.
The story of my split-up.
My brightest high school moment.
How I met my old friend.
My favorite professor.
Narrative on a Trip: The Wonders of Rome.
The most symbolic episode from my college life.
The day I moved.
Narrative on a Road Trip to Remember.
My first impressions of the college campus.
How I met my roommate.
My first friends at college.

Narrative Essay Topics for Different Grades

Let’s look at the narrative speech topics for different grades.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 5

My first bicycle ride.
My dad is my hero.
A day with my grandmother.
My first day at school.
My best friend.
My favorite teacher.
A school trip to the zoo.
My grandpa’s hands.
The most exciting day of school.
The best summer vacation.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 6

A memorable teacher.
My first trip abroad.
A sad story from my childhood.
My favorite vacation with my family.
A fight with my best friend.
My best birthday party.
How we celebrate our parents’ wedding anniversary.
My first day at a new school.
Last Christmas was an interesting story.
How I lost my sister.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 7

Something that scared me the most.
The best day of my life.
Helping a stranger.
How I met my best friend.
My brother’s wedding.
How I got my first pet.
Once I called the dean's office.
Conflict with my father.
Unique family tradition.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 8

School trip to the museum.
My best day at school.
The most exciting day of summer vacation.
Worst day at school.
The day I got my first pet.
The hour we spent looking at our baby's album.
My first attempt at cooking.
My first Japanese pastry.
My first foreign friend.

Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 9

A visit to the countryside.
How I lost my faith in humanity.
A car accident.
My friend had an accident.
A trip I will never forget.
The most enjoyable Christmas.
A bad experience that completely changed my behavior.
How I used to spend my summer vacations.
My experience with a tornado.
I got lost in the streets of venus.

Narrative Essay Topics for O Levels

A special moment when I got my first bike.
A disappointing birthday party.
The most embarrassing thing that happened to me.
A disastrous date.
The moment of success.
Growing up in New York.
A sporting experience.
A random act of kindness.
The first six months of COVID-19.
The end of my relationship.

Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students

Personal narrative ideas in high school include the classic moments that are stereotypical of the secondary school experience.

Special homecoming court moment.
A friendship that started long before high school.
Prom dress shopping and your self-esteem.
Anticipation for graduation.
An award or scholarship you received.
Participating in a school musical.
Coming to America: A Narrative of a Journey of Hope.
Your first love.
A moment you stood up for what you believed in.
How your relationship with your parents changed for the better.

Narrative Essay Topics for Middle School

Middle school is a great time of self-discovery that’s filled with firsts and memorable moments. Use these milestones as the topic for your narrative essay.

Making an unlikely friend.
How bad relationships help you become a better person.
The first time you opened your locker.
The teacher that makes you feel smart.
Moving from elementary school to middle school.
A social media post that inspired you.
A news story about a kid/teen that was uplifting.
A comment from a teacher that made you feel good.
A comment from someone you’re not friends with that made you feel good.
Being yourself.

Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

College is another time in your life that’s wrought with self-discovery and seeing the world as it truly is.

Frederick Douglass Narrative.
Frame Narrative in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Narrative on The Definition of Bravery in Beowulf.
A Critical Examination of Social Commentary and Narrative Execution.
Examples of community on campus.
A test experience that boosts your self-esteem.
The moment you realized you were going into the right field.
What does a college degree mean to you?
College is a microcosm of the world.
The feeling of independence.

Conclusion

Teachers and students are very fond of narrative essay topics, as they are flexible enough that everyone can find a topic that is close to them. If you can’t decide on a topic yourself, then the list that we presented in our material will help you. We sincerely wish you good luck and inspiration for writing the best essay. And the topics we have suggested will help you with this!

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

50 Narrative Essay Topics

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a narrative essay can also tell an exciting story and create vivid pictures in the reader’s mind! We’ve got 50 narrative essay topics designed to prompt students to craft memorable written narratives. These can be modified for students in elementary, middle and high school. Feel free to print the entire narrative essay topics list for plenty of inspiration for your next narrative essay assignment!

Narrative Essay Topics

Your first day of school.
Your most exciting day of school
A field trip that your class took.
Your favorite summer vacation.
A trip that included something unexpected or surprising.
A time that you experienced something spooky.
A time that you experienced something truly frightening.
A time that you learned something new that changed you in some way.
The moment when you met someone who changed your life.
The day that you got your first pet.
A move from one place to another.
Something funny that happened to you.
Something funny that happened to one of your family members or friends.
Something embarrassing that happened to you.
Your favorite birthday party.
A birthday that was disappointing.
A big storm (rain, snow or even a tornado!).
A time that the power went out.
A summer day when the temperature got much higher than expected.
A time when you went to an amusement park.
A time when you got lost somewhere.
A memorable experience with a favorite family member.
A sad experience with someone about whom you care.
Your most exciting moment playing sports.
Your most exciting moment performing in a play, singing, playing music or dancing.
An experience that left you feeling frustrated.
An experience that was hard but ended up being worth it.
A time that you experienced rejection.
A weird encounter with a stranger.
A random act of kindness.
A time that you took a stand for someone or for an issue that you care about.
A moment when you thought you might get hurt but didn’t.
Breaking a bone (or otherwise suffering an injury).
Your first time away from home for the night (or longer).
A time when you experienced a historic event.
Where you were when a major event happened. (Note: You don’t need to have been at the site of the event; this prompt is about where you were when you found out about the event and how you reacted.)
A time when you rebelled against your parents or teacher.
A dangerous experience.
A misunderstanding between yourself and someone else.
A difficult decision that you had to make.
The end of a friendship or relationship.
The beginning of a friendship or relationship.
A time when you judged someone first and then realized that you were wrong about the person.
A time when someone judged you first and then realized that he or she was wrong about you.
A moment when you felt that you were starting to grow up.
A time when you saw one or both of your parents in a different light.
A time when you looked up to your older sibling.
A time when your younger sibling looked up to you.
A time when you were grateful to be an only child.
An experience that you think has only ever happened to you!

Looking for more essay topics? Compare and Contrast Essay Topics Descriptive Essay Topics Cause and Effect Essay Topics Persuasive Essay and Speech Topics

Narrative Essay Writing

Narrative Essay Topics

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics and Ideas

16 min read

Published on: Mar 22, 2023

Last updated on: Mar 25, 2024

Narrative Essay Topics for Students

If you're a student, you probably have to write an essay at some point. Getting an interesting topic idea is not easy. We have gathered some essay topics for different academic levels to help you with the task.

Let's dive right into the narrative essay topics list without any delay.

Narrative Essay Topics For University Students

The worst interview of your life
A time when you discovered something precious
A time when you were insulted or disrespected
A time you discovered one of your skills
The moment when your loved one was hurt
The moment when your best friend had an accident
The day your father caught you smoking
A mistake that taught you something significant
An action you thought would help the person but got you in trouble.
The moment when someone else's experience saved your life
The time when you underestimated a junior
How has practicing helped you become a professional?
The time when your beliefs were shaken
An event that made you feel sorry about a person
The time when you had to let go of one of your most important things

Narrative Essay Topics For College Students

First experience of living in a hostel
The worst roommate ever
Frightening memory of your childhood
Why you chose a specific major
What studying in a dream college feels like?
The most healthy part of your routine
The time you inspired someone
What should you tell your younger self?
Your favorite author and his work that you most relate to
A moment when your joke offended your friend

Narrative Essay Topics For Grade 12

Your favorite activities in your leisure time
How you overcome your fears
The hardest thing you did in life
What regrets do you have in life?
Your biggest motivation to score well in academics
Share a cherished family tradition and its impact on you.
Recall a moment where you stood up for your beliefs.
Discuss a tough decision and its impact on your character.
Explore a memory that highlights the value of friendship.
Reflect on a book, movie, or art that shaped your perspective.
Overcome a setback or failure and what you learned.

Narrative Essay Topics High School

The most interesting summer school memory
The moment when you saw your favorite actor in real life
The first time you helped a needy person
How you became friends with your best friend
A person who left a deep influence on you
The day when you became a class representative
Your first speech on the stage
Your first term paper
Your favorite high school studentâs profession
The first time you stood up for something you believed in

Narrative Essay Topics For Grade 10

A time when you had to stand up for something you believed in
The most significant challenge you have faced in your life so far
A moment that changed your life forever
A decision that you regret making and what you learned from it
A person who has had a significant impact on your life
A time when you learned an important life lesson through a mistake you made
A trip that you will never forget
A time when you felt like you had to prove yourself to someone
A moment when you felt like giving up, but you pushed through anyway
An experience that helped you discover something new about yourself.

Narrative Essay Topics For Grade 9

A time when you overcame a fear
The most memorable day of your life
A difficult decision you had to make
The first time you tried something new
A moment when you learned an important life lesson
An experience that changed your perspective on something
A time when you made a mistake and what you learned from it
A memorable trip you went on
The first time you fell in love with a hobby or activity
A moment when you felt proud of yourself for overcoming a challenge.

Narrative Essay Topics For Class 7

My favorite sibling
Betrayal in friendship
Why is television so important in your life?
A hobby of yours that you recently adopted
The most memorable farewell
A memorable encounter with a new friend
The day when you became a class representative
Your dream college
Your favorite profession

Narrative Essay Topics For Class 6

The time when you underestimated a junior
The time when your beliefs were shaken
An event that made you feel sorry about a person
The time when you had to let go of one of your most important things
Your favorite activities in your leisure time
The most adventurous thing you've ever done
Your biggest motivation to score well in academics

Narrative Essay Topics For Grade 5

Your first day at school
Your favorite teacher
Your best winter vacations
The happiest day of your life
Your best birthday ever
The moment when you got lost in a mall
The most painful injury
Your first pet
The feeling of losing loved ones
The hardest goodbye

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Short Narrative Essay Topics

Exploring family traditions
Narrating standing up for beliefs
Recounting a tough decision
Reflecting on the value of friendship
Sharing shaping perspectives
Reflecting on overcoming failure
Revisiting meaningful places
Delving into a social passion
Narrating stepping out of comfort zones
Reflecting on influential role models

Best Narrative Essay Topics

An unexpected act of kindness
A transformative travel experience
The day everything changed
Lessons learned from failure
A secret that changed everything
Discovering my passion
The power of forgiveness
A moment of serendipity
Conquering my greatest fear
Lessons from a cultural exchange

Topics For Narrative Essays on Themes

Narrative essay themes contain a range of subjects and ideas that serve as the central focus or underlying message of the narrative. These themes often reflect aspects of human experience, emotions, relationships, and societal issues.

Here are some common narrative essay themes and their topic ideas:

Childhood Memories Narrative Essay Topics

My favorite toy from childhood
Exploring my grandparents' house
Building forts and imaginary worlds
The day I lost my first tooth
Baking cookies with my mom
Playing hide and seek in the neighborhood
My first pet and our adventures together
Celebrating holidays with family traditions
Exploring nature in my backyard
The joy of making new friends in kindergarten

Life Lessons Narrative Essay Topics

Overcoming stage fright during a school performance
Finding strength through a sports injury
Learning patience through gardening
Embracing change after moving to a new city
The value of empathy in understanding others
Discovering inner courage during a difficult decision
The power of forgiveness in healing relationships
Finding beauty in imperfection and embracing flaws
The rewards of volunteer work and helping others
Overcoming self-doubt through creative expression

Personal Growth Narrative Essay Topics

Exploring my cultural heritage through food and traditions
Overcoming language barriers in a foreign country
Finding confidence through public speaking
Rediscovering creativity through art and music
Exploring new career paths and passions
Finding balance between work, family, and self-care
Embracing vulnerability and authenticity in relationships
The journey of self-discovery through traveling alone
Overcoming limiting beliefs and embracing personal power
Learning to set boundaries and prioritize self-respect

Relationships Narrative Essay Topics

The bond between siblings: shared adventures and conflicts
Lessons learned from a long-distance friendship
Reconnecting with an estranged family member
The influence of a childhood teacher on personal development
Building trust and communication in romantic relationships
Exploring the dynamics of multigenerational relationships
Navigating friendships through life transitions
Overcoming misunderstandings and repairing relationships
The role of pets in family dynamics and emotional support
Exploring the meaning of unconditional love through relationships

Social Issues Narrative Essay Topics

Empowering youth through education and mentorship
Exploring access to healthcare in underserved communities
Addressing mental health stigma and promoting awareness
Bridging the digital divide: access to technology and information
The impact of climate change on local communities
Exploring racial justice and equity in society
Overcoming barriers to LGBTQ+ equality and acceptance
Supporting refugees and building inclusive communities
The importance of intersectional feminism in social justice movements
Promoting diversity and inclusion in educational settings

Personal Narrative Topics

A personal narrative essay is a type of essay in which the writer shares a personal story, experience, or event from their own life. In this section, we will look into some different personal narrative ideas:

Personal Experience Narrative Essay Topics

Overcoming a fear of public speaking
The day I conquered my greatest phobia
Learning to embrace vulnerability and authenticity
A life-changing encounter with a stranger
Navigating a crossroads: choosing between passion and stability
Finding resilience through adversity
The transformative power of self-reflection
Lessons learned from a failed business venture
Exploring the joys and challenges of parenthood
Overcoming cultural barriers in pursuit of personal growth

Personal Narrative Essay About Friendship

The unlikely friendship that changed my life
Weathering storms together: the strength of true friendship
Navigating the ups and downs of high school friendships
From strangers to soulmates: a journey of friendship
The power of empathy in strengthening friendships
Exploring cultural differences through friendship
The art of forgiveness: repairing broken friendships
Lessons learned from a childhood best friend
Finding support and laughter in friendships across generations
Celebrating diversity: embracing friendship beyond borders

Personal Narrative Stories Ideas on Traveling and Holidays

A solo journey to self-discovery
Living with locals in a foreign land
Traveling alone to remote destinations
Exploring culinary delights around the world
The joy of spontaneity
A holiday to remember
Traveling through time
From backpacker to business class
Discovering hidden gems off the beaten path
Family road trips

Fictional Narrative Essay Ideas

Lost in a parallel universe: A journey through time
The last survivors of a post-apocalyptic world
A magical creature's quest for home
The secret society of time travelers
Escaping from a dystopian society
Adventures in a virtual reality game
Discovering a hidden portal to another dimension
The mystery of the abandoned spaceship
Guardians of the enchanted forest
A quest for the legendary artifact of power

Literacy Narrative Essay Topics

How a childhood book shaped my imagination
Learning to read and write in a second language
Discovering the power of poetry through personal experience
The influence of storytelling in family traditions
Overcoming dyslexia: My journey to literacy
Exploring literary classics through different cultural lenses
The impact of technology on reading habits
The role of libraries in nurturing a love for reading
Finding my voice through creative writing workshops
Using literature to navigate life's challenges

First-Person Narrative Essay Ideas

My journey through a haunted house on Halloween night
A day in the life of a street performer in New York City
Surviving a wilderness adventure in the Rocky Mountains
Exploring the abandoned mansion at the edge of town
My experience as a volunteer in a refugee camp
Racing against time: My first marathon experience
Finding love in unexpected places: A summer romance
The night I spent stranded on a deserted island
Becoming a detective for a day: Solving a mystery in my neighborhood
My encounter with a UFO: An unforgettable extraterrestrial experience

Funny Narrative Essay Topics

The misadventures of my clumsy pet cat
Embarrassing moments during family gatherings
My hilarious attempt at learning a new dance
Surviving a disastrous cooking experiment in the kitchen
The comedy of errors: my unforgettable road trip
Accidentally sending a funny text to the wrong person
The day I accidentally wore mismatched shoes to school
My awkward encounter with a celebrity lookalike
The unintentional pranks I played on April Fools' Day
When auto-correct turns texting into a comedy show

Tips to Choose the Right Narrative Essay Topic

When selecting a narrative essay topic, consider the following tips:

Authenticity: Choose topics that align with your personal experiences and values.
Relevance: Select topics that are relevant and meaningful to your intended audience.
Engagement: Opt for topics that are engaging and thought-provoking, sparking curiosity and empathy in readers.
Scope: Ensure that the topic allows for sufficient depth and exploration within the confines of a narrative essay.

If you want to get an idea of writing a narrative essay, visit our narrative essay examples blog and get access to free PDF examples.

Summing it up!

Essays provide a unique opportunity to share personal experiences, insights, and reflections with readers. By choosing the right topic and crafting a compelling narrative, you can engage and inspire your audience.

Remember to infuse your writing with authenticity, emotion, and vivid detail to create narratives that resonate long after they're read.

If you find yourself short on time or unsure where to begin, seeking professional assistance is always an option. The custom essay writing service at CollegeEssay.org is here to help you with your writing needs.

Additionally, don't forget to try our essay writer AI tool for further assistance!

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Narrative Essays: Examples And Topic Ideas For Students

Writing a narrative essay is a great way to share your life with others. Here, we’ll explore topics that will set you up to write a great narrative essay.

If you’re searching for a list of personal narrative essay topics, you’re likely writing a middle school, high school, or college essay. A personal narrative describes your life experience, usually from the first-person point of view.

There are many different approaches to take to writing a narrative essay. Good narrative essay topics are engaging and can be either serious or silly. A personal narrative is not an argument essay or a persuasive essay; rather, it tells a story from your point of view.

Narrative essay writers are constantly on the lookout for things that happen in their lives that teach a lesson, make a point, or tell a funny story. When brainstorming for the best topic for your narrative essay, think about something that happened in your life that you love sharing with others, and work to translate your story into written prose that will hook your readers.

Here, we’ll explore some of the best narrative essay topic examples and ideas, helping you get your writing started right.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

Narrative Essay Examples

1. the power of potstickers by lauren brown, 2. everyone should have a best friend 30 years older than them by lucy holden, 3. all it takes is a small act of kindness by maddie huiras, 4. a reflection on working in labor & delivery by dr. amos grunebaum, md, 5. pressures of being a first generation american-born citizen by helen bezikyan, narrative essay topic ideas, 1. your first day of high school, 2. how you met your best friend, 3. your best birthday party, 4. your favorite (or most difficult) childhood memory, 5. your most embarrassing moment, 6. how you made a difficult decision, 7. an act of kindness, 8. a tribute to your first pet.

Although I find the exact measurements of recipes comforting, I do my best to add a pinch of this and a dash of that in my meals every so often. It’s how I get to go outside my comfort zone every day. And I see in myself a newfound wisdom: it’s ok to go off the beaten path, you can experiment, compromise can lead to something new and beautiful. My mother’s cooking taught me that and I expect to bring that with me wherever I may go.

In this food-based tribute to her mother’s ingenuity, Brown discusses important family memories while sharing lessons from her mother that she now carries through everyday life. The combination of rich descriptive language with an explanation of how the experience of cooking with her mother shaped her life draws the reader in, helping them to feel like they’re in the kitchen with Brown and her mother.

In short, we adopted each other as confidants and met regularly to discuss life in general. He was more supportive than anyone else I met during the whole three years and stepped out of his remit to give me tailored advice that definitely helped me to get a job in journalism. It was clear from the start that he cared more about what was right for me than what was right for the university league tables, perhaps because he actually knew me. When I told him I was worried that the long days I was doing in the student newspaper office would take a toll on my degree, he told me I could get a first if I wanted one, but thought the student paper stuff would help my career much more.

It can be hard to find a friend who knows you better than yourself, and Holden discusses that phenomenon in their essay on friendship. She discusses how her friend affected her life during their time together and how he affected her after being separated by distance. In this narrative essay, the author works to describe the feelings she experienced through the ups and downs of their friendship, writing about universal truths that all humans experience in relationships.

Throughout his life, he had gotten used to dealing with Dyskeratosis congenita, and as life went on, he eventually developed cancer; but even while battling cancer, my dad showed kindness. In fact, on the night before he passed away, even though he knew he wouldn’t be with us for much longer, he tried his best to focus on the positive stuff.

In this essay, Huiras reflects on the life and death of her father and celebrates his commitment to kindness to others throughout his life. While Huiras narrates the events that led to her father’s death, she also describes how his actions and character significantly affect her life, helping her grow into the woman she wants to be.

Labor & Delivery is getting tears in your eyes when you watch a couple you’ve connected with welcome their baby into the world. Even though you’ve just met and will likely never see each other again, there’s something special about sharing that experience that makes you feel like you’ve known each other forever. Labor & Delivery is a place full of opposites. A woman grieving a devastating loss can be in the room next door to a family celebrating a new addition and 14-year-old mother can be in the room next door to a 45-year-old mother. Regardless of the circumstances, each family that walks through the L&D doors will be forever changed.

In this essay on life behind the doors of the delivery room, Dr. Grunebaum shares what it’s like to both celebrate and grieve with families and how difficult it can be to manage both the chaos and joy that comes with the birth process. If you choose to write an essay about a process so personal as birth, leave out any details that could identify the people involved, as Grunebaum does in this essay.

The struggles that come with having immigrant parents may include constant seeking of approval, always having to be responsible, as well as immigrant parents discussing the future that they may have already planned for their child. More often than not, immigrant parents constantly remind their child, or children that they expect big and great things from them in the future, which is part of why they came to this country.

In this essay, Bezikyan discusses the unique pressures of being a first-generation American-born citizen. In addition to offering her perspective, she also offers the opinions of others in similar circumstances. This helps to support her opinion and help others see the shared experience of people born to immigrant parents.

Narrative Essay Topics: Your first day of high school

Whether you’re a college or high school student, you likely remember your first day of high school—stepping away from middle school and becoming a young adult. The first day of high school is rife with emotion, and describing your experience can provide your reader with an interesting perspective on how you deal with transition and change.

When describing the big day, use details. Explain how you felt as you walked toward the door, how you felt when you struggled to find your classes, and what it was like opening your new locker for the first time. As you write, you may find it helpful to avoid technical details (like the minute-to-minute scheduling of your classes) and instead focus on unique or tough moments or how accomplished you felt by the end of the day.

Your best friend has been there for you through thick and thin, and writing about how the two of you met can be a fun narrative essay topic, no matter your age or writing level.

As you tell the story of how you met your best friend, describe how your connection grew over time. Perhaps you were thick as thieves right away, or you needed some time to realize that you’d met a lifelong friend. For some inspiration, reach out to your best friend and ask them what they remember from the day you met—it can be fun and fresh to get their perspective on how your first meeting went.

Birthdays are a time to celebrate, and writing about a particularly excellent birthday can be a great topic for your narrative essay. When discussing your best birthday party, include all details, including who you invited, what you ate, and how you celebrated with family and friends.

You may also want to talk about why that particular birthday was so meaningful to you. If it was a landmark birthday (like your sweet 16) or a special event (like your last birthday party at home before you left for college), be sure to mention this, so your reader understands why this event was so significant in your life.

There’s no way around it: traumatic things happen in childhood, and wonderful things happen. Writing about childhood memories can be relatable and provide an instant connection with your readers.

When choosing a favorite childhood memory to write about, think back to memorable times in your life because they’re connected with strong emotions. Perhaps you want to write about when your baby sibling came home from the hospital or your first baseball game.

If you choose to write about a difficult childhood memory, the process for choosing a topic is still the same. Think back to a childhood memory that evokes strong emotion. While writing about a negative childhood memory can be an excellent way to write a compelling personal essay, it can also bring up challenging thoughts and may feel traumatic.

Have a particular time that made you red in the face? Writing about an embarrassing moment is relatable and can provide a humorous topic for your narrative essay.

When writing about your embarrassing moment, it can be helpful if you’re willing to laugh at yourself and find the humor in the situation you went through. Be sure to describe what happened from start to finish, painting a clear picture of the moment for your readers. Describe your emotions as the embarrassing moment occurred, and talk about what happened after the moment was over.

Wrestling with a difficult decision can feel impossible at the moment, and reflecting on the experience of making a difficult decision to your readers can make for an excellent narrative essay topic.

When you’re talking about a difficult decision in your narrative essay, give plenty of background information so that the reader fully understands why you’re wrestling with a tough choice. Don’t give away your decision at the start of the essay; rather, take the reader through your thought process as you had to decide what to do.

Sharing an act of kindness you did with someone else—or a random act of kindness that someone did for you—can provide a warm, fuzzy topic for your narrative essay. When writing about an act of kindness, focus on how the act made you feel, whether you were the giver or the receiver of the act.

Much like writing about meeting your best friend for the first time, it can be helpful to talk about your state of mind before and after the act of kindness occurred. Perhaps you were going through a tough time, and the act of kindness helped to boost your mood. Explaining the emotions that came with the act of kindness and the facts of the situation can help your reader feel connected to your story.

Narrative Essay Topics: A Tribute To Your First Pet

Whether you have a dog, a cat, or something more exotic, many readers will be able to connect with the love that a kid has for their first pet. When writing a narrative essay about your first pet, please explain how you felt the first time you laid eyes on them. This may mean describing when they were first presented to you as a kitten or a puppy or the first time you saw your older rescue pet.

Talk about the qualities you loved most about your pet, whether that was their ability to comfort you after a bad day or how they were never too old or tired to go outside and play frisbee. Focus both on the descriptive qualities of your pet that allow your reader to imagine what they looked like and the emotional qualities that keep your first pet near and dear to your heart to this day.

If you have a pet currently, you can mention them in your narrative essay about your first pet, talking about their qualities that remind you of your first pet. While it can tug at your heartstrings to describe the memory of your first pet, writing about the love you have for an animal is nearly universally relatable, and your readers will love hearing about your fond memories of your furry friend.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

If you’re still stuck, check out our available resources for essay writing topics .

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

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164 Narrative Essay Topics for School & College Students

A narrative essay tells a story about a series of events. At the core of this kind of essay can be a personal experience or a fictional plot. Any story can be a basis for a narrative essay!

Narratives can look similar to descriptions. Still, they are different. A descriptive essay aims to explain the details of a specific moment. Narrative writing focuses on a sequence of events to tell a complete story.

In this article, we have prepared a list of narrative essay topics for high school, college, and university students. The topic ideas are divided by spheres. In the collection below, you’ll find the ideas based on personal experience as well as fictional narrative essay topics. Make use of resources offered by our custom writing experts to write any paper!

🔝 Top 10 Topics
📖 Fictional Topics
🧑✍️ Personal Narrative
✈️ Traveling
🧒 Elementary

✏️ Middle School

🧑‍🏫 high school.

👫 Relationships
🧸 Childhood
💡 Writing Guide and Tips

🔝 Top 10 Narrative Essay Topics: High School

Your childhood role model
How you overcame hardship
The best news you have ever heard
The time you experienced culture shock
A story of how you mistreated someone
The most memorable encounter you’ve had
An unexpected event that changed your life
The most embarrassing conversation you’ve had
When you realized you were wrong in an argument
A person who changed your opinion on something

📖 Fictional Narrative Essay Topics

The art of writing fiction is all about narrating a story. In a fictional narrative, you are free to create a tale that doesn’t relate to real life. Take a look at the fictional narrative essay topics below:

Write a narrative where a girl discovers her superpower.
A story about a land that has 25 hours in a day.
Describe your version of the future .
Fiction narrative where a person discovers big city life.
Come up with an apocalyptic story.
A group of scientists discovering a new world inside the Earth.

Write about a hamster that prevented a house robbery.
A person who saves the country from mass-produced poisoned food .
A group of high school students helping to improve their city.
A new civilization in a far away galaxy.
Write about a grandfather who was secretly a spy.
A narrative about a person waking up from the surgery with a different identity .
Create a story about a mysterious musical instrument .
A college student who won the presidential election.
Compose a story about a painting that looks different in every new house.
An anonymous person sends lots of money to the poor.
Come up with a fictional narrative about a family with unusual tendencies.
A movie star who lives out their roles in real life.
Passengers of an airplane encounter a UFO .
A narrative where a farmer grows strange plants.
Write about an orphan who finds out about their inheritance .
Story of siblings who resolve a long-lasting argument.

🧑✍️ Personal Narrative Essay Topics

A personal narrative is devoted to the author’s own experience. Therefore, feel free to write in first person. Include your thoughts and emotions. Do your best to describe the details of your narrative. This will help the reader to relive the story with you. Here is the list of excellent topic ideas for your essay:

Memories of your first sports coach.
A story of how you dyed your hair.
Write about something you did against your parents’ will.
Recall a day when you got in a fight with your best friend .
What was the most exciting adventure in your life?
An unfortunate situation that had a good ending.
Write about the time when you had to train hard for a competition.
Describe the turning point of your life.
An experience when you had to overcome your fear.
Write about the circumstances that brought you and your parents closer.
Describe a memorable conversation with someone.

An imaginary world you’ve created as a child.
Who gave you the most valuable lesson in your life?
One time when you regretted doing something.
A particularly embarrassing situation you went through.
Your memories of seeing something very beautiful.
A moment that made you proud of yourself.
Recall a time when you taught a child to do something.
What was the most memorable news report you saw in your life?
Describe a day when you stood up for someone.
Write about the best birthday party you’ve ever had.
Share your experience of being lost.

📚 Literacy Narrative Essay Topics

Literacy narrative revolves around reflecting on feelings connected to reading and writing. For this type of essay, think of yourself as a reader and a writer. You can describe any reading experience, whether it is a book, email, or social media post.

The most touching piece of writing you’ve ever read.
Write about a book that impacted you the most.
A news article that changed your view on life.
What book character do you most identify with?
Talk about a piece of fiction that captured your imagination.
What was your favorite novel growing up?
The scariest story you’ve ever read.
Recall your emotions after reading a heartfelt social media post.
What is the most boring book you’ve read?
Describe a book that you would reread over and over again.

A book report is considered a narrative essay.

Your experience of reading a story to a child.
Have you ever read something that taught you a lesson?
Do you see yourself becoming a professional writer?
Recall the day when you had to complete your first writing assignment.
How does sharing thoughts on social media make you feel?
If you were to write a book, who would be the main character?
Talk about the most personal thing you’ve ever written.
Describe your experience of composing a poem.
Why can someone have difficulty with writing?
Recall what it was like to read for the first time.
What does journaling mean to you?
Have you ever been proud of something you wrote?

✈️ Narrative Essay Topics about Traveling

In this section, you get to engage your creativity! A narrative essay about traveling is supposed to show the reader what it’s like to explore the world. Present a story taking place in a real or imaginary location:

Your first time traveling to another country.
Friends taking a trip to the Great Canyon.
Write a narrative about traveling to your dream location.
Describe a trip to the Taj Mahal.
A day-long road trip.
Share your experience of visiting a historical site.
Come up with a story about getting around the airport .
What to do if you are lost in a foreign country?
A day in the life of a flight attendant .
Write about eating unusual foods from around the world.
Describe talking to a local in a foreign language .
A narrative about going on a seven-day cruise .
Tell the reader about the most breathtaking view you’ve ever seen.
Write a story about riding a train.
A short narrative about an out-of-state road trip.

Traveling to see your family on holidays.
Come up with a narrative about hitchhiking across America.
What is it like to travel in the air balloon?
How to prepare for a trip around the world.
What to do if your luggage got lost in a foreign country.
Describe packing a suitcase for a long trip.
A story about a person missing their plane.

🏫 Narrative Essay Topics about School

This section is for all grades! Writing a narrative essay about school gives you a chance to share your personal experience as a student. You can write about precious memories, challenges, or influential people in your school career. Pick one of the narrative essay topics about school from this list:

🧒 Elementary School

Write a story with your favorite teacher as the main character.
Describe your first day at school.
A fun memory with your best friend.
What is your favorite thing to do during a break?
Tell your reader about something interesting you learned in class recently.
A day when you had to leave school early.
Recall your favorite celebration with classmates.
Write about your favorite school subject.
A story about your most unusual day at school.
How did you bond with your classmates?
Come up with narrative about a memorable event at the cafeteria .
The last day of school before the summer break .
One time when you forgot to bring something to the class.
Describe how you worked on a science project.
The most challenging class you took in middle school.
A story of how you pranked a friend.
Have you ever won a school competition?
The day when you’ve decided on your future profession.
Write about the teacher who impacted you the most.
A story of a serious conversation you had about your grades .
The day when you got in trouble with the principal .
Reflect on a class you will never forget.

👫 Narrative Essay Topics about Relationships

Narrative essay about relationships focuses on presenting a story about connections between people. You can write about your family, friends, or loved ones. Make sure to pick a statement that you will expand on in your story. Use the following list of narrative writing topics to come up with your narrative about relationships.

A conflict between generations .
What is it like to be in love ?
Write about how hatred can destroy relationships.
Describe an example of loyalty.
A story about maintaining friendship via social media .
Come up with a narrative where people with opposite personalities are getting along.
Tell the reader about somebody being generous.
Write about a couple being honest with each other.
A story where classmates treat each other with respect.
Describe a family that maintains loving relationship no matter what.
A story where you help somebody who used to be your enemy .
How friendliness can brighten up a person’s day.
Talk about the pain of ending a relationship .

Children learning from their parents about empathy .
A narrative about food connecting people.
Come up with a story about unfulfilled expectations.
The importance of authentic conversations in a friendship.
What relational patterns do you see in your family?
Manifestations of real love in everyday life.
A story when someone makes a sacrifice for the sake of others.
Describe a situation where parents are bonding with their child.
Talk about the most meaningful relationship in your life.

🧸 Childhood Narrative Essay Topics

Childhood narrative essays are about sharing memories from the time when you were little. You can write about playing with friends or a day when you fell off the bike. Or, ask your family members to recall some episodes from your childhood.

A story of how you received your nickname.
Write about playing with your favorite toys.
What is the most memorable place you went to when you were little?
What kind of friends did you have when you were little?
Did you ever break anything?
Recall your earliest childhood memories.
What was the first valuable lesson you’ve learned as a kid?
Share your favorite childhood sports memory.
A story of your first triumph.
What did you enjoy doing when you were little?

A moment from your childhood that your parents often recall.
Which talents did you have when you were a child?
What was it like to grow up with your siblings?
Write a narrative about your favorite pet.
The most memorable childhood moment with your family.
Were there any challenges you had to overcome as a kid?
What was your favorite children’s book ?
Did you ever get lost when you were little?
An exciting sleepover you had with friends.
Write a story about how you and your friends went on an adventure.
A family holiday that you will remember forever.
What was your favorite food in your early years?

💡 Narrative Essay Writing Guide and Tips

As you already know, writing a narrative essay is very similar to telling a story. Here are a few tips to remember for narrative writing:

Tip 1: Use your memories. Take time to write down everything you can recall about the event. You can use it as a basis for your paper.
Tip 2: Be clear. Stick to the main idea of the essay. It’s better not to add characters or details that are not relevant to the story you’re telling.
Tip 3: Choose words carefully. In an essay words to are like paint on a canvas. The use of vivid language can help you create a story worth reading.

Now, pay attention to this step-by-step guide. It will help you outline an on-point narrative essay:

Introduction. In the opening paragraph, determine the main idea of the paper. Make a clear thesis that reflects the purpose of your narrative. To help yourself with this part, you can try a narrative essay thesis generator .

In this essay, I want to share my happiest childhood memory of playing with my older brother.

The body. Since you are writing the narrative essay as a story, make sure to tell the story well. Think through the plot with conflict, climax, and a powerful conclusion. Take your time to introduce the setting and the characters. All this will make your paper entertaining and easy to read.
Conclusion. Bring your narrative to a logical end. Expanding on the thesis statement will help you write a great conclusion.

Playing with my older brother taught me the true meaning of family, and I’m very grateful for it.

We hope this article helped you figure out how to write a narrative essay!

You may be also interested in:

How to Write a Narrative Essay: Easy Guide and Useful Tips
How to Start an Autobiography about Yourself: Full Guide + Autobiography Examples
How to Write a Creative Essay: Tips, Topics and Techniques
Breaking Down the Types of Essays: a Complete Guide for Success

🔍 References

Narrative Essays: Purdue University
Nailing the Craft of Narrative Writing: WeAreTeachers
Narrative and Reflection Writing Samples: Western Technical College
Drafting a Narrative: Walden University
Scholarly Personal Narrative: University of Vermont
The Power of Personal Narratives in the Classroom: University of Washington
Fiction Writing Basics: Purdue University
How to Write a Literacy Narrative: Pen and the Pad
Literacy Narratives: UNC Charlotte
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100 Greatest Narrative Essay Topics

January 5, 2024 by Richard Leave a Comment

Welcome to our 100 Greatest Narrative Essay topics of all time list. These topics are written about over and over again by students and writers all over the world, and they are made new every time someone tells their story. Sharing personal stories can be a powerful way to connect with others. Whether it’s a humorous anecdote or an impactful life event, narrative essays give readers a glimpse into someone else’s world while reminding them of our shared humanity.

So, if you are having a hard time coming up with a topic to write about, try these 100. We seek to provide inspiration for your personal narrative essay. It compiles a list of 100 narrative essay topics ranging from lighthearted tales about childhood memories to profound life-changing events. With so many options, readers are sure to find an experience in their own lives that they can transform into an engaging first-person story.

Some of these narrative essay ideas evoke positive emotions – like achieving a major accomplishment, traveling somewhere new, or meeting someone influential. Other prompts allow reflection on challenging experiences – like encountering failure, coping with loss or illness, or facing down fears. The list also includes topics perfect for humor pieces – because the best personal narratives often share smiles and laughter too.

Readers can take a look at the list and see which topic speaks to them. Then they can start drafting their own unique story. Because each person’s tale offers its own dose of wisdom, inspiration, and connection. The stories readers craft based on these ideas will surely impact others.

Here are 100 potential narrative essay topics:

A time I overcame a fear
The day I met my best friend
A family vacation that went wrong
The experience of learning to ride a bike
Attending my first concert
My most difficult class in school so far
My proudest accomplishment
A time I failed at something
My experience learning a new language
Meeting someone famous
My experience as a camp counselor
My favorite family holiday tradition
The first time I traveled alone
A challenging hike I went on
Moving to a new place
Getting my first pet
Being bullied as a child
My first day of high school
My experience playing on a sports team
The day I got my driver’s license
Something funny my parent or sibling did
Working an unpleasant job as a teenager
Volunteering in my community
The day I became an older sibling
A parenting lesson my parents taught me
Attending my first homecoming dance
My favorite birthday celebration
A cooking disaster story
My experience getting stitches or breaking a bone
A mentor who impacted my life
My most memorable act of kindness from a stranger
The adoption of my pet
My experience being homeschooled
Starting a new hobby as an adult
My fondest childhood memory
My first heartbreak
My experience with online school
My journey recovering from an injury
Being a working student
Writing my first poem or short story
My scariest nightmare
Making a move to live on my own
Coping with my parents’ divorce
My adventure backpacking overseas
My most memorable day playing childhood games
The time I performed on stage
A cherished family tradition
My proudest moment as a parent
Meeting my grandparents for the first time
My experience being an older sibling
My fondest memory of a family pet
My most memorable birthday
My most humbling moment
My first experience with snow
A difficult goodbye
My favorite place to spend time as a child
Winning an award
My favorite holiday gathering
Studying abroad in college
Moving to a new city after graduation
My experience voting for the first time
A favorite item from my childhood
My experience overcoming sickness or surgery
My favorite family vacation
A memorable weekend road trip
My first paying job
My experience on the first day of a new school
Celebrating a cultural holiday
How I learned to overcome a bad habit
Staying up all night with friends
Attending prom
My experience being home alone
Getting elected as a group leader
Preparing for a major storm
Learning a lesson about honesty
The day I rescued an animal
My first impression of a famous landmark
My most memorable celebrity encounter
My experience with online dating
My first car buying experience
Deciding my college major
Changing career paths
My experience with unrequited love
Meeting an idol or someone I admire
My experience dealing with loss
My biggest regret
My proudest problem solving moment
My favorite concert experience
My experience with an act of heroism
My first time trying an extreme sport
How I overcame my biggest fear
My experience with an ethical dilemma
My most spiritual experience
My most terrifying moment
A major turning point in my life
My best day ever
My worst day ever
My experience immigrating to a new country
My experience parenting multiples (twins, triplets etc)
My funniest travel mishap

As evident, there is no shortage of engaging topics for personal narrative essays. The experiences humans accumulate throughout their lives – whether they make one laugh, cry, or change who one is – are what connects people at one’s core. Hopefully this list has provided some inspiration. Now one can take a chosen story and make it shine by adding rich details, thoughtful reflection, a meaningful central message, and a unique voice. After all, the magic manifests through the telling, and every individual has a one-of-a-kind tale only they can share. So embrace the memories and truths to craft an essay that resonates. Who knows which lives one’s words might touch or perspectives they may broaden? When more narratives are exchanged, perhaps we will begin to see that while specific adventures may differ, at heart most seek similar things – joy, purpose, wisdom, catharsis. And by reading others’ stories, people expand their wells of compassion. So take up the pen and start composing the next great personal narrative. Those words cannot wait to be read!

About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry. Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 3 great narrative essay examples + tips for writing.

General Education

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.

What Is a Narrative Essay?

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.

3 Great Narrative Essay Examples

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.

A Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace

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.

Death of a Moth by Virginia Woolf

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.

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

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.

5 Key Tips for Writing Narrative Essays

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.

Develop Strong Motifs

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!

Use First-Person Perspective

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.

Stick to the Truth

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.

Use Sensory Descriptions

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.

What’s Next?

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 !

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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What is a narrative essay?

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.

If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.

When would a narrative essay not be written as a story?

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.

The essay should have a purpose.

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?

The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

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.

Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

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.

The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.

As always, be organized!

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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What I’ve Learned From My Students’ College Essays

The genre is often maligned for being formulaic and melodramatic, but it’s more important than you think.

An illustration of a high school student with blue hair, dreaming of what to write in their college essay.

By Nell Freudenberger

Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn’t supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they’re afraid that packaging the genuine trauma they’ve experienced is the only way to secure their future. The college counselor at the Brooklyn high school where I’m a writing tutor advises against trauma porn. “Keep it brief , ” she says, “and show how you rose above it.”

I started volunteering in New York City schools in my 20s, before I had kids of my own. At the time, I liked hanging out with teenagers, whom I sometimes had more interesting conversations with than I did my peers. Often I worked with students who spoke English as a second language or who used slang in their writing, and at first I was hung up on grammar. Should I correct any deviation from “standard English” to appeal to some Wizard of Oz behind the curtains of a college admissions office? Or should I encourage students to write the way they speak, in pursuit of an authentic voice, that most elusive of literary qualities?

In fact, I was missing the point. One of many lessons the students have taught me is to let the story dictate the voice of the essay. A few years ago, I worked with a boy who claimed to have nothing to write about. His life had been ordinary, he said; nothing had happened to him. I asked if he wanted to try writing about a family member, his favorite school subject, a summer job? He glanced at his phone, his posture and expression suggesting that he’d rather be anywhere but in front of a computer with me. “Hobbies?” I suggested, without much hope. He gave me a shy glance. “I like to box,” he said.

I’ve had this experience with reluctant writers again and again — when a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously. Of course the primary goal of a college essay is to help its author get an education that leads to a career. Changes in testing policies and financial aid have made applying to college more confusing than ever, but essays have remained basically the same. I would argue that they’re much more than an onerous task or rote exercise, and that unlike standardized tests they are infinitely variable and sometimes beautiful. College essays also provide an opportunity to learn precision, clarity and the process of working toward the truth through multiple revisions.

When a topic clicks with a student, an essay can unfurl spontaneously.

Even if writing doesn’t end up being fundamental to their future professions, students learn to choose language carefully and to be suspicious of the first words that come to mind. Especially now, as college students shoulder so much of the country’s ethical responsibility for war with their protest movement, essay writing teaches prospective students an increasingly urgent lesson: that choosing their own words over ready-made phrases is the only reliable way to ensure they’re thinking for themselves.

Teenagers are ideal writers for several reasons. They’re usually free of preconceptions about writing, and they tend not to use self-consciously ‘‘literary’’ language. They’re allergic to hypocrisy and are generally unfiltered: They overshare, ask personal questions and call you out for microaggressions as well as less egregious (but still mortifying) verbal errors, such as referring to weed as ‘‘pot.’’ Most important, they have yet to put down their best stories in a finished form.

I can imagine an essay taking a risk and distinguishing itself formally — a poem or a one-act play — but most kids use a more straightforward model: a hook followed by a narrative built around “small moments” that lead to a concluding lesson or aspiration for the future. I never get tired of working with students on these essays because each one is different, and the short, rigid form sometimes makes an emotional story even more powerful. Before I read Javier Zamora’s wrenching “Solito,” I worked with a student who had been transported by a coyote into the U.S. and was reunited with his mother in the parking lot of a big-box store. I don’t remember whether this essay focused on specific skills or coping mechanisms that he gained from his ordeal. I remember only the bliss of the parent-and-child reunion in that uninspiring setting. If I were making a case to an admissions officer, I would suggest that simply being able to convey that experience demonstrates the kind of resilience that any college should admire.

The essays that have stayed with me over the years don’t follow a pattern. There are some narratives on very predictable topics — living up to the expectations of immigrant parents, or suffering from depression in 2020 — that are moving because of the attention with which the student describes the experience. One girl determined to become an engineer while watching her father build furniture from scraps after work; a boy, grieving for his mother during lockdown, began taking pictures of the sky.

If, as Lorrie Moore said, “a short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage,” what is a college essay? Every once in a while I sit down next to a student and start reading, and I have to suppress my excitement, because there on the Google Doc in front of me is a real writer’s voice. One of the first students I ever worked with wrote about falling in love with another girl in dance class, the absolute magic of watching her move and the terror in the conflict between her feelings and the instruction of her religious middle school. She made me think that college essays are less like love than limerence: one-sided, obsessive, idiosyncratic but profound, the first draft of the most personal story their writers will ever tell.

Nell Freudenberger’s novel “The Limits” was published by Knopf last month. She volunteers through the PEN America Writers in the Schools program.

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Narrative Essay Topics: TOP 200 Choices for Students
Focus on a specific event or detail to make your narrative more focused and impactful. Look for universal themes like love or personal transformation that connect with readers on a deeper level. Brainstorm ideas and write freely to uncover compelling topics. Decide on storytelling techniques like flashbacks or foreshadowing and choose a topic ...
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The list of 100 narrative essay topics that we've compiled is a versatile and expansive set designed to inspire students at various educational levels. The topics range from lighter, more relatable experiences like your "first job interview" or "a memorable birthday party," to deeper, more introspective themes such as "an experience ...
100+ Interesting Narrative Essay Topics For Your Next Paper
Narrative Essay Topics for Grade 5. My First Day at a New School. The Time I Learned to Ride a Bike. A Visit to a Haunted House. The Day I Met a Real-Life Superhero. My Most Memorable Family Vacation. A Surprising Encounter with an Animal. The Mystery of the Missing Homework. The Best Birthday Party I Ever Had.
150 Best Topic Ideas For Narrative Essay
Good Narrative Essay Topics for College Students. Just like high schoolers, students at colleges and universities are fond of talking about their everyday matters. Whether a topic about students' affairs or reflection on new relationships, the most popular narrative topics for college students are collected here.
50 Engaging Narrative Essay Topics for High Schoolers
A good narrative essay will begin with an attention-grabbing opening line. But make sure to avoid common clichés, such as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.". Instead, come up with something original and specific to you and your situation. For example: "My pre-calc teacher was obsessed with circles.
Narrative Essay Topics
A narrative essay is a prose-written story that's focused on the commentary of a central theme. Narrative essays are generally written in the first-person POV, and are usually about a topic that's personal to the writer. Everything in a narrative essay should take place in an established timeline, with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
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Update, Sept. 9, 2022: We published a new collection of 445 narrative and personal writing prompts. We've been posting fresh writing prompts every school day for over a decade now, and every so ...
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Updated with 80 new prompts from the 2022-23 school year! We've been posting fresh writing prompts every school day for over a decade now, and every so often we create a themed collection like ...
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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. College application prompt. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure.
150 Narrative Essay Topics
An experience helping another student ‍ Personal narrative essay topics. Since narrative essays are often written in the first person and rely on the experiences and thoughts of the author, they can all be considered personal, but a personal essay asks you to specifically tell a story about a time that changed you in a meaningful way. Here ...
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Narrative essay ideas help students reflect on or explore memorable moments in their school years and the lessons learned from these events. This includes telling about challenges you overcame, highlighting your resilience, or describing a student-teacher relationship and how it shaped your identity. Additionally, topics can comprise memories ...
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Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students. Personal narrative ideas in high school include the classic moments that are stereotypical of the secondary school experience. Special homecoming court moment. A friendship that started long before high school. Prom dress shopping and your self-esteem. Anticipation for graduation.
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We've got 50 narrative essay topics designed to prompt students to craft memorable written narratives. These can be modified for students in elementary, middle and high school. Feel free to print the entire narrative essay topics list for plenty of inspiration for your next narrative essay assignment! Narrative Essay Topics. Your first day of ...
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Here is a PDF of all 650 prompts, and we also have a related lesson plan, From 'Lives' to 'Modern Love': Writing Personal Essays With Help From The New York Times.. Below, a list that ...
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Narrative Essay Topics for Students. If you're a student, you probably have to write an essay at some point. Getting an interesting topic idea is not easy. We have gathered some essay topics for different academic levels to help you with the task. Let's dive right into the narrative essay topics list without any delay.
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9. Imagine if…. A narrative essay topic starts with the words "Imagine If…" and usually requires you to create a story about an alternate universe, or what your life could be like in the future. This subtopic is one of the most popular among students because it allows us to make up anything.
Narrative Essays: Examples And Topic Ideas For Students
7. An Act Of Kindness. Sharing an act of kindness you did with someone else—or a random act of kindness that someone did for you—can provide a warm, fuzzy topic for your narrative essay. When writing about an act of kindness, focus on how the act made you feel, whether you were the giver or the receiver of the act.
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16. Space Exploration: Write about a time you imagined traveling through space. 17. Student Leadership: Narrative writing ideas for leading a school project. 18. Favorite Teacher's Impact: A personal narrative about your favorite teacher. 19. A Pet's Life: Tell a story from the perspective of your first pet. 20.
150 Narrative Essay Topics To Impress Teacher in 2024
An example of a personal narrative essay is sharing memory of a person the author saw in the childhood and who left a stark impression (e. g. due to exceptional qualities). Here is a little of 65, narrative essay topics for high school students and college/university attendants.
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Take a look at the fictional narrative essay topics below: Write a narrative where a girl discovers her superpower. A story about a land that has 25 hours in a day. Describe your version of the future. Fiction narrative where a person discovers big city life. Come up with an apocalyptic story.
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Here are 100 potential narrative essay topics: A time I overcame a fear. The day I met my best friend. A family vacation that went wrong. The experience of learning to ride a bike. Attending my first concert. My most difficult class in school so far. My proudest accomplishment. A time I failed at something.
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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 ...
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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. If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a ...
What I've Learned From My Students' College Essays
May 14, 2024. Most high school seniors approach the college essay with dread. Either their upbringing hasn't supplied them with several hundred words of adversity, or worse, they're afraid ...

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Personal Narrative Essay Topics on Relationships

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Best Narrative Essay Topics: How to Choose the One That Resonates

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150 Best Topic Ideas For Narrative Essay

How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay?

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Topics for essays on themes:

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50 Engaging Narrative Essay Topics for High Schoolers

What’s Covered:

Where You Will Encounter Narrative Essays

Show, Don’t Tell

Begin with a Strong Opening Line

Follows a Three-Act Structure

Conclude with Personal Reflection

Use Dialogue

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Relationships

Self Reflection

Overcoming Adversity

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