Good writing skills are necessary to have a narrative essay done. Such a school task requires a lot of practice and knowledge of English grammar. A narrative essay has to be engaging, worth reading and grammatically correct. Each sentence has to be carefully structured, not too complicated, yet not too simple. The first introductory paragraph is of utmost importance. 

The Characteristics of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is a type of essay with a central point and the remaining narrative story. For this kind of paperwork, the highest form of students’ creativity and imagination is required. The story needs to be captive and follow the same format. A narrative essay consists of an introduction, a plotline, an atmosphere, a climax, and a conclusion.

How to start a narrative essay? The most common suggestion would be to include a quote. There are several quote platforms such as Brainy Quotes, Wisdom Quotes, Goodreads, and Quotes.net.

• An Anecdote

There is often the possibility to start an essay with an anecdote that is defined as a short amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It is a brief, revealing paragraph of an individual or a person or an incident. If written at the beginning of a narrative, it helps us to understand certain points of the narrative in general. Their point may be funny, sad or melodramatic.

The main idea of an anecdote is to set up the right track of the whole paper. It has to be captive and introductory.  In certain cases, an anecdote may resemble real-life traits.

• Statistics

Depending on the story itself, certain essays may begin with statistics. Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable. It is used in the majority of research papers, but as well in narrative essays. When using numbers, 99% of all statistics only tell 49% of the story. Teachers appreciate a lot of these kinds of statistical sentences due to the complexity and more detailed information they provide.

• A question

“What was there so enchanting and mysterious that made me sit there in silence with my eyes wide open? I didn’t know then and neither I know now. But this was the day when I discovered the hypnotic power of nature.”

When you start your essay with a question instantly makes your reader wonder what the answer to this question is. This is one of the most commonly used literary devices that help to establish contact with your readers and engage them.

Finally, these are the major examples of how to start an essay – it is up to the writer and the topic to carefully plan the overall structure of the essay.