Narratives

---

Narratives and the Use of "I"  What is a Narrative? Reasons for Using a Narrative The Narrative Features Structure Place & Purpose Special Linguistic Features The Use & Non-Use of "I" What is a Narrative?      Stories           oral or written           non-academic or academic

Reasons for Using a Narrative

Reader Interest

In the fourth grade I embarked upon a grandiose reading project….

Reader Recall

"Give me the names of important books" I would say to startled teachers…And each time I finished a book, I reported the achievement to a teacher and backed in the priase my effort earned…When one of the teachers suggested to his drowsy tenth-grade English class that a person could not have a complicated idea until he has read at least two thousand books, I….

Source of Raw Evidence

Features of Narrative Writing

There is a set of characters
The story is set at a time & place
There is a series of ordered events
These events bring about a change
This often involves multiple Cause-Effect relationships
This leads to a main point
The story is told through a Narrator

Structure of a Narrative

Abstract
Orientation
Complicating Action
Evaluation
Result or Resolution
Coda

Options for Place in Academic Writing

Entire Text (eg. Case Study)
Part of a Text
    Introduction
     Body
     Conclusion

Introduction

Steven was 16 and played Dungeons and Dragons. The longer he played, the more he seemed to change. The posters of Cheryl Ladd came down and were replaced by ones of demons. The occult seemed to dominate Steven’s life. The one day, Steven killed himself with carbon monoxide from the family car. What could have brought this youth to commit suicide? Steven’s sister accuses the fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons as the main catalyst…(as qtd in Fleishmann, 1991, p. 262)

Purpose of Narrative

Expressive
Informative
Persuasive

Linguistic Features

Past vs Present Tense
Chronological Order
Person

Tone ‘web of feelings throughout the essay’



TONE & TOPIC

Serious   ------------- Non-serious

Subjective -----------  Objective

TONE & READER

 

Should "I"?

Gorn 1973

"I" is unacceptable in Masters and thesis work (but it may be used at the whim of the professor in term papers)

McMahan & Day 1988

expressions like the writer, the author should be avoided

The Pronoun "I"

IN NARRATIVES
IN OTHER TYPES OF WRITING

Use selective "I" to convey yourself in your writing
Use selective "I" to emphasise a point

Avoid
Needless use of "I"
     I think that Martin Luther King was….

Excessive use of "I"
     gives the impression that you haven’t done your homework
     feels too subjective