5

Readings: The Words We Are, the Stories We Tell

Introduction

In this module we discussed how to tell compelling stories. Before you start writing your own narrative paper, though, it can be helpful to look at someone else’s story to see how an effective narrative works. Thus, in this section you will find a piece of writing that exhibits all the elements of a classic narrative: it features a protagonist embroiled in a conflict and tells his story through time using chronological order. ⁽¹⁾

Professional Essay

Remember that for a narrative to connect with an audience it needs to use vivid details to bring a character to life as he or she has to overcome some kind of obstacle. It also has to clearly transport us through time as we follow the main character through to the resolution of this conflict. As you read the following story, ask yourself the following active reading questions to make sure you understand how the narrative is working and why it is effective:

1. What is the essay’s central conflict ? Is it established early or late in the story?
2. How does description function in the essay? Do the story’s descriptive details help us understand the protagonist and his overall purpose?
3. How is the story organized ? Does it use transitions to help us navigate from beginning to end? Does it move back and forth in time?
4. How does the essay’s conclusion resolve its conflict? ⁽¹⁾

Select and read this article, “Looking for My Father in the Atacama Desert”  .

Reading Reflections: Professional Essay

Let’s reflect on the active reading questions we asked at the beginning to break the story down in detail. ⁽¹⁾

Directions: Select the questions below to reveal their answers.

Attribution

⁽¹⁾ Content by Florida State College at Jacksonville is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License  .