a narrative essay on my first day in secondary school

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Essay on My First Day in School: Sample in 100, 200, 350 Words

a narrative essay on my first day in secondary school

  • Updated on  
  • Jan 23, 2024

Essay on my first day in school

Essay on My First Day in School: The first day of school is often considered an important day in every child’s life. It is a time of a mix of emotions, like nervousness, excitement, homesickness, feelings of shyness, and likewise. But did you know these feelings are responsible for making our day memorable?

As children, we all are like a blank canvas, easily dyed into any colour. Our first day in school is like a new world to us. As a child, we all have experienced those feelings. So, to make you feel nostalgic and refresh those special feelings, we have brought some samples of essay on my first day in school.

Quick Read: Essay on Best Friend

Table of Contents

  • 1 Essay on My First Day in School in 100 words
  • 2 Essay on My First Day in School Sample in 200 Words
  • 3 Essay on My First Day in Day in School in 350 Words
  • 4 FAQs 

Essay on My First Day in School in 100 words

It was a cloudy day when I took my first step into the compound of my school. I was carrying a new backpack that was filled with notebooks. Though the backpack was a bit heavy, instead of focusing on the weight, I was excited about the beginning of my journey on my first day in school.

My classroom was at the end of the corridor. As I entered my classroom, my class teacher introduced me to the class and made me feel welcome. Activities like reading, solving problems in groups, and sharing our lunch boxes slowly and steadily transformed the new student with a sense of belonging.

The whole day progressed with mixed excitement as well as emotions. As the bell rang, declaring the end of the school day, the school felt like a world of possibilities where the journey was more than textbooks.

To improve your essay writing skills, here are the top 200+ English Essay Topics for school students.

Essay on My First Day in School Sample in 200 Words

It was a sunny day and the sun was shining brightly. With my new and attractive backpack, I was moving through the school gate. It was my first day in school and I was filled with nervousness and excitement. From the tower of the building to the playground everything was bigger than life. As a school student, I was about to enter a new world. 

The corridor was filled with the echo of students. As I entered the classroom, wearing a mix of curiosity and excitement, my classmates and class teacher welcomed me with a warm smile. After a round of introductions and some warm-up activities, strangers gradually started tuning into potential friends. At lunchtime, the cafeteria was filled with the smell of delicious food. However, I hesitated before joining the group of students but soon enough, I was laughing with my new friends and sharing stories. The unfamiliar were now my friends and transformed my mixed emotions into delightfulness. 

The bell rang for the next class and I stepped out for new learning in my new academic home. My first day of school had many memorable stories, with old subjects and new introductions of knowledge. The day was spent learning, sharing and making new memories. 

Also Read: Essay on Joint Family in 500+ words in English  

Essay on My First Day in Day in School in 350 Words

My first day in school started by stepping onto the school bus with a bag full of books and a heart full of curiosity. It was like I was starting a new chapter in my life. After travelling a long way back, I stepped at the gate of my school. The school gate welcomed me with open arms and greeted me with a sense of excitement as well as nervousness.

As I entered the classroom, I found many new faces. Arranging my stuff on the seat, I sat next to an unknown, who later on turned into the best friend of my life. I entered my class with a welcoming smile, and later on, I turned everything in with ease. During our lunchtime, the cafeteria was filled with the energy of students. 

At first, I hesitated to interact with the children, but later on, I was a part of a group that invited me to join the table. At lunchtime, I made many new friends and was no longer a stranger. After having delicious food and chit-chatting with friends, we get back to our respective classrooms. Different subjects such as mathematics, science, and English never left the same impact as they did on the first day of school. 

The teacher taught the lessons so interestingly that we learned the chapter with a mix of laughter and learning. At the end of the day, we all went straight to the playground and enjoyed the swings. Moreover, in the playground, I also met many faces who were new to the school and had their first day in school, like me.

While returning home, I realised that my first day was not just about learning new subjects; it was about making new friends, sailing into new vibrant classrooms, and settling myself as a new student. The morning, which was full of uncertainty at the end of the day, came to an end with exciting adventures and endless possibilities. With new experiences, I look forward to new academic and personal growth in the wonderful world of education.

Also Read: How to Prepare for UPSC in 6 Months?

Also Read: Trees Are Our Best Friend Essay

My first day of school was filled with mixed feelings. I was nervous, homesick, and excited on the first day at my school.

While writing about the first day of school, I share my experience of beginning my journey from home. What were my feelings, emotions, and excitement related to the first day of school, and how did I deal with a whole day among the unknown faces, these were some of the things I wrote in my first day of school experience essay. 

The first day of school is important because, as a new student, we manage everything new. The practice of managing everything is the first step towards self-responsibility.

Along with studying my favourite subjects, I share fun moments and delicious foods with my friends in school. 

Parents are filled with emotions on the first day of their child. As school is the place to gain knowledge, skills, and experience, parents try their best to give their children the best academics they can.

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My First Day At School Essay

500 words my first day at school essay.

Our lives are full of new events which we experience on different days. Similarly, going to school for the first time is also memorable. How can one forget their first day, it is only natural to remember the day, no matter good or bad. Thus, my first day at school essay will take you through my experience.

my first day at school essay

A New Experience

My first day at school was a completely new experience for me. It is because the atmosphere completely changes for any child. You always stay in the comfort and safety of your own home.

However, your first day at school opens door to unknown experiences and opportunities. Much like any other child, I was also scared on my first day. I remember clearly not letting go of my mother’s hand, hesitant to go in the classroom.

On my first day, I got up excited and put on my uniform for the first time. The feeling it gave me was so memorable, I can never forget it. As it was my first day, both my parents went to drop me off.

I remember seeing the classroom full of little children. Some crying while the others playing with others. I looked at my mother and gave her the look that I didn’t want them to leave. They had to go so I kept crying but eventually, my teacher consoled me.

Once I settled in the class, I talked with the other kids and started playing with them. The colourful walls of the classroom fascinated me a lot. We got many toys to play with so it all the other kids also got distracted and stopped crying.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

My Sister My Saviour

My advantage was that my sister was also studying in the same school. She is 3 years older than me so she was my senior. During recess, I was starting to miss my parents so I got teary-eyed.

But, then my sister came to meet me and I feel she was no less than a saviour for me that day. She took permission from the teacher to take me out and I went with her to the playground.

We were swinging throughout recess. All my worries went away because I had a known face with me. After eating and swinging together, the bell rang to mark the end of the recess . So, she dropped me back to my class.

Before leaving, she gave me a kiss and patted my head. It was enough for me to go through the rest of the day without crying. Thus, it made me feel extremely blessed that I had my sister there for me.

Conclusion of My First Day At School Essay

Thus, my first day at school was really pleasant. It fills me with pride when I look back at it and share my experience with others. I feel my first day helped me become confident in school which ultimately shaped the rest of my years there. Thus, it was indeed a memorable experience for me.

FAQ on My First Day At School Essay

Question 1: Why is the first day of school memorable?

Answer 1: We usually remember the first day of school because it is a new experience for us completely. It is the first time we step out from the comfort of our home as kids, so it will be memorable.

Question 2: Does everyone have a good first day at school?

Answer 2: Not necessarily. Everyone’s experience differs, some kids enjoy a lot on their first day. While some which are maybe shy or feel homesick don’t enjoy it that much. Nonetheless, it grows on you and eventually kids start to love going to school.

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My First Day of High School Personal Narrative Essay

  • Author Writer

          I woke up this morning and it was harder to get out of bed than usual. I tossed and turned all night because my anxiety was at an all-time high. I had nightmares because of the scary movie I watched the night before, and spicy food usually leads to my comfort in sleeping at night. I also had a million questions racing through my mind.  What should I wear? What should I pack in my backpack? A million questions are an understatement but they were still going through my mind at 4 in the morning. I finally fell asleep around 5:45 and my alarm started going off at 6. Well, it’s time for me to kick start my day, whether I like it or not.

          I always dreamed of what my first day of high school would be like. Would I make a lot of friends? Would I trip and fall in front of the whole class? Would I somehow be summoned to the geek squad? I couldn’t let those thoughts cloud my mind. I had to prepare myself for one of the most important days of my life.

          I ate a bowl of cereal, Captain Crunch of course, and then brushed my teeth. I packed my notebooks, folders, calculator, and make-up and headed out the door. I had to take the train to school. I hate taking the train. The crowded train, the messy station, the strangers with their hands in your face asking for money...I am not a fan. I can’t take the bus though, my school is on the other side of the city which is far away from bus stops.

          I get to the school building and it doesn’t look the same as orientation day. The lawn was glistening in the sun, the fountain was shooting water in pretty designs, and students were in a joyous mood on orientation day. Today, it is the complete opposite and makes me question whether I want to step foot in the door. I hesitantly open the door to begin my first day in high school.

          My first class wasn’t too bad. I had to listen to my English teacher discuss the importance of themes and plots, but otherwise, it was a pretty easy-going class. I did notice a guy who caught my attention and I must say, he may have increased my interest in this class. I don’t think I would get tired of admiring that eye candy. My other classes that followed after were pretty much the same (a few eye candies in those as well). Not too many cliques were joining yet from what I noticed, but then again, lunch didn’t start yet. Thinking about all of this made me wonder where I would sit during lunchtime. I was hoping I wouldn’t feel singled out and would find a decent table to sit at and enjoy my lunch. Hopefully, though, it will be some good food getting served today.

          I ate a pepperoni pizza and had an orange soda to wash it down. I’m grateful for the food not tasting horrible so I wouldn’t have that in my mind for the rest of the day. I still didn’t manage to find any new friends to sit with, but I’m just happy I found a table to sit at. It would have been tortured if I had to sit in a classroom to eat lunch, or an empty hallway with the possibility of some kids walking past and laughing.

          My first day at school was almost over and I felt a tap on my shoulder in Chemistry class. It was a girl named Samantha asking if she could share my textbook with me because hers didn’t get shipped yet to her house. I told her yes and invited her to scoot her chair next to mine. We made small conversations and connections with similar interests. When the class bell rang, we exchanged numbers to hang out after school. I felt like my day couldn’t go any smoother and was eager for school to be finished. I just had one more class to get through and I would be done for the day.

          Once the last bell rang, I was eager to get home and tell my childhood friend how my day went at a brand new school. I knew Charlie was going to have an "I told you so” moment, but I didn’t care. I was just excited to speak to a familiar voice and vent out my feelings that I endured all day. I wondered how his day went at his brand new school as well. I guess before I know it, I would find out if he made friends easily and if he’s excited about the classes he will be taking.

          I got on the same train line that I took to school and headed back home. The train ride was more pleasant going home than it was going to school. There were hardly any people on the train, and I was sitting pleasantly in a window seat most of the ride home.

I was home before I knew it and speaking to Charlie on the house phone. I found out he made plenty of friends during lunchtime and felt that his classes would be easy. Charlie hardly ever has to study for a test, so I will take his word for it with regards to his classwork. Once I got off the phone, I let out a big sigh of relief and plopped on top of my bed. Even though I would have to do this all over again tomorrow, I’m glad I got through my first day at school.

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My First Day In Secondary School

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The First Day back at School By Tr ” iona Buckley, Just thinking about it makes me nervous. It is like starting off at junior infants again. This year I’m starting secondary school, approximately 10 miles from home. I’m on my own. I know nobody else starting with me. I can imagine my surroundings, as I got a great tour of the school on the open day.

The smell of the big hall where we will all gather. Mr. O’ Brien, the principal will probably welcome us. We are the only class to go in on Friday August 31 st.

Hopefully I will make some friends. Even travelling on the bus is a new venture for me. I am excited and anxious about this new journey. Chapter 1 I live on a cattle and dairy farm. We milk the cows twice a day but I do it mostly in the evenings.

First we put out the ration and gather up the cows and when they have finished eating we start the milking. Towards the end of the milking we feed the calves and the cattle and leave off the milking cows. If one of the cows are cross one of us has to sit on her back and hold back her tail. We have a cat that had five kittens. One of them is black and the other four have white on their noses and white on their paws. We are giving two kittens to our cousin for her birthday.

Our nana had the mother of our cat but that cat was killed on the road. She also had six kittens. We gave one to our nana, one to our cousin and kept one for ourselves. The other three died. One of them was nearly eaten by our dog but I saw the dog with the kitten in his mouth and got the kitten back. She was alive, but after a couple of days she died.

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So, Mr. City Slicker, this is the first time milking a cow! Heck, it just might be the first time touching one, unless college days involved cow tipping. If it helps the awkwardness, introduce yourself to her, and become acquainted before proceeding. And just a suggestion: Lose the tie! It won't do much good drowning in a bucket of milk. Gather the materials, follow these instructions precisely, ...

We found the other two dead. We used to have a dog and two puppies but they ran away. We have six fish one each for my brothers, one each for my sisters and one spare. I have to feed the fish once a day and every three weeks I have to clean out one third of the tank and every three months the whole tank.

The reason I have the tank is because I won it in a project I did on birds. Celina and I were coming home from Bandon when we saw a dead badger and a dead cat on the road. Another day when I was walking on my way to my Nana’s I saw two dead birds and when we were coming home I saw a pheasant walk across the road and hop into the next field. We have a lot of pigeons and sparrows around the yard. There are blue tits, robins and sometimes even a yellow hammer. I also saw a swallow nest in our garage and a field mouse scurrying into its hole in the ditch.

Chapter 2 Recently there was foot and mouth disease in England and Ireland, but Ireland got the better of it. It was a very contageous disease, which spread quickly. Only cloven hoofed animals can get it. They get blisters in their mouth and blisters in their feet so they can’t eat or walk.

To stop the disease from spreading the animals with the disease must be slaughtered, and the neighbour’s cattle. Then they must be burned on a big bonfire. They get pallets and put the cattle on top. One of the bonfires was so big that it was 1 km long. It travelled through the air into France, Belgium and other countries. One time one of the men involved in slaughtering the cattle actually got foot and mouth disease, but it is not as dangerous for humans.

For our holidays last year we went to England. It looked a bit like Ireland but the roads were very confusing. We went to visit our two grandaunts and when we were looking for Cadbury’s factory we saw people playing cricket. In Cadbury’s factory you get free sweets and you go through kind of a maze, and in the middle they show you how they make the chocolate.

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Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better know as Mad cow disease is a relatively new disease. Most sources state that BSE first showed up in Great Britain in 1986 [Dealler p.5] but some say it popped up in 1985 [Greger p.1]. However the official notification was not until 21 June, 1988 [Dealler stats. p.1]. Spongiform encephalopathies are invariable fatal neurodegenerative diseases and there ...

We also went to Alton Towers. It was brilliant. There were loads of rides and different places like Storybook land, Adventure land, X-sector, Ug land, Forbidden valley, and Gloomy wood. There were also monorails and sky rides. The two rides that looked really scary were the Oblivion and the Nemesis. My favorite ride was the Corkscrew because it went upside down and really fast.

One time we went to the Zoo where you would drive around in your car like ina safari park. A camel nearly bit off Celina’s finger because she put her hand out the window and our cousin closed up the widow and it got stuck but I rolled down the window just in time. They had all sorts of animals like wolves tigers, and buffalo’s and ostriches. One of the ostriches was picking at one of the side mirrors looking at her reflection and wouldn’t stop. Chapter 3 There was a Fleadh Cheoil in Mac room and I was competing in a group. It was on from Friday to Sunday.

We were competing in a lot of competitions on Sunday and Saturday like Ceol Beirte, Bodhhran, Ceol Tri ” ur, Buion Cheoil Chili, Grupai Cheoil that the under 15 s won, and Consartina. Celina took part in the Ceol Beirte, Ceol Tri ” ur, Buion Cheoil, Consartina and Grupai Cheoil. I took part in the Grupai Cheoil and English Singing. The under 12 s didn’t get placed in the Grupai Cheoil, then under 15 s came 1 st and the under 18 s came 3 rd.

Everyone who competed got a certificate. We entered a lot of solos, duets and tri ” urs. Our music teacher has changed her garden alot. She put a pond in it and a rockery. S’ile De Vale re will be opening the music centre and the Lord Mayor of Cork on the 6 th of July. There will be a barbecue and a marquee.

We were helping our music teacher plant her garden. We planted flowers like red and white delves heather, lobelia and surfin ias. We were at a monster chile in the Duh allow Loge. There was a lot of people there and Seamus Begley was playing there.

We were playing at the start and Seamus Begley at the end. It went on for a very long time because we came home at 4 O’clock in the morning. Seamus Begley presented our medals to us that we won in the Fleadh Cheoil. At the end we had a small session and went home.

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a narrative essay on my first day in secondary school

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Narrative Essay on My First Day in School

Narrative essay generator.

Childhood memories are the treasures of our past, vividly painting the innocence, adventures, and joy of our early years. These memories, both sweet and bittersweet, form the mosaic of our identity, influencing who we become. This essay delves into the essence of childhood memories, exploring their impact and significance through a personal journey back in time.

The Magic of Childhood

Childhood: a period of life where every day feels like a new adventure, filled with curiosity and wonder. My childhood was no different. It was a time when the smallest things felt like grand discoveries, from finding a caterpillar in the backyard to the first time I rode a bike without training wheels. These moments, though seemingly small, are monumental in the eyes of a child. They represent growth, learning, and the boundless joy of living.

A Journey Back in Time

One of my most cherished memories takes me back to my grandmother’s house, a quaint cottage nestled in the heart of the countryside. It was a place out of a storybook, surrounded by lush gardens and towering trees that whispered secrets with the wind. My summers there were filled with endless days of exploration, from the crack of dawn until the stars claimed the sky.

The Garden Adventures

The garden was a magical realm where imagination had no bounds. My cousins and I would embark on epic adventures, pretending to be explorers in a mystical land. We built forts out of branches and leaves, declaring them castles of ancient times. The garden was our kingdom, and in it, we were invincible. The laughter and shouts of our play still echo in my mind, a reminder of the carefree joy of youth.

Lessons Learned

Amidst the fun and games, childhood also presented its set of challenges and lessons. I recall a particular rainy day when our garden escapades led to a muddy disaster. Our clothes were stained, and the indoors became a canvas for our muddy footprints. The scolding that followed taught us the importance of responsibility and the consequences of our actions. Yet, even in that moment of admonition, there was love and the gentle guidance towards making better choices.

The Power of Friendship

Childhood is also a time when friendships are formed, bonds that often last a lifetime. I met my best friend under the most unusual circumstances, a mishap during a school play where a missed cue turned into a comedy of errors. Instead of embarrassment, we found laughter and a friendship that stood the test of time. It was through these friendships that I learned the value of trust, support, and the sheer joy of having someone to share life’s moments with.

As the years passed, the innocence of childhood gradually gave way to the responsibilities of adulthood. The endless days of play were replaced by schedules and commitments. Yet, the memories of those carefree days remain, a beacon of light guiding me through life’s challenges. They remind me to find joy in the simple things, to approach life with curiosity, and to cherish the bonds formed in the innocence of childhood.

Childhood memories are more than just moments of the past; they are the foundation upon which we build our future. They teach us lessons, shape our values, and influence our paths. As I reflect on my journey through childhood, I am grateful for the experiences that shaped me, the challenges that strengthened me, and the joy that filled my days. These memories are a precious gift, a reminder of a time of innocence and wonder that continues to inspire and guide me as I navigate the complexities of adulthood.

In the end, our childhood memories are a testament to the beauty of life, a collection of moments that remind us of who we are and where we’ve come from. They are treasures to be cherished, stories to be shared, and lessons to carry with us as we journey through life. For students participating in an essay writing competition, delve deep into your own reservoir of memories, and let the magic of your childhood illuminate your writing. Through your words, you have the power to transport your readers back in time, to relive the wonder, the lessons, and the joy of childhood.

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My First Day in The New School

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Published: Jun 5, 2019

Words: 961 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

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a narrative essay on my first day in secondary school

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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.

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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 .

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3 Great Narrative Essay Examples + Tips for Writing

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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 —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.

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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.

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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.

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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 !

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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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Back to School Writing Prompts for the Secondary Classroom

With the new school year on the horizon, here are some helpful back to school writing prompts to use with your new students!

Back to school writing ideas for middle school and high school

Assigning a personal narrative at the beginning of the school year doesn’t have to mean assigning a full, five-paragraph essay. These personal narratives can be anywhere between a sentence long to several paragraphs. Here are some of my go-to back-to-school writing prompts for secondary students.

Back to school writing prompts about summer break.

  • What did you do over summer break?
  • What was your favorite thing about summer break?
  • What was your least favorite part of summer break?
  • What song best represents your summer break and why?
  • What movie best represents your summer break and why?
  • What life lessons did you learn over summer break?
  • What accomplishments did you achieve over summer break?
  • What hardships did you experience over summer break?

Back to school writing prompts about last school year.

  • What was your favorite thing about school last year?
  • What was your least favorite part about school last year?
  • What class was your favorite and why?
  • Which class did you struggle with the most and why?
  • What life lessons did you learn last school year?
  • What accomplishments did you achieve last school year?
  • What hardships did you experience last school year?
  • What obstacles did you face last school year and how did you overcome them?

Back to school writing prompts about this school year.

  • What are your goals for this school year?
  • What is the most frightening thing about a new school year?
  • What is the most exciting thing about a new school year?
  • What are you most excited about this year?
  • What are you dreading about this school year?
  • What current obstacles or hardships are you facing this school year?
  • As your teacher, how can I best help you succeed in my classroom?
  • What do you want me to know about you?

Back to school writing prompts about life in general.

  • What is your most cherished childhood memory? Describe the event/memory in detail.
  • What is the biggest challenge you have ever faced? How did you overcome this obstacle?
  • What is your life dream and how do you plan to achieve it?
  • Describe the most frightening moment of your life.
  • What are you most proud of and why?
  • What is a typical day in your life like? Explain in detail.

Back to School Resources for the Secondary Classroom:

  • Digital Back to School Stations
  • Back to School Activities
  • Growth Mindset Activities

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Thank you so much for this list of writing prompts! It will help me tremendously!

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  • How to write a narrative essay | Example & tips

How to Write a Narrative Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a story about a personal experience you had. This type of essay , along with the descriptive essay , allows you to get personal and creative, unlike most academic writing .

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Table of contents

What is a narrative essay for, choosing a topic, interactive example of a narrative essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about narrative essays.

When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.

A narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way. You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace.

These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense.

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Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with.

  • Write a story about your first day of school.
  • Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.

You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic.

  • Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself.
  • Write about an achievement you are proud of. What did you accomplish, and how?

In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

For example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something.

Narrative essays in college applications

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.

In this context, choose a story that is not only interesting but also expresses the qualities the prompt is looking for—here, resilience and the ability to learn from failure—and frame the story in a way that emphasizes these qualities.

An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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a narrative essay on my first day in secondary school

If you’re not given much guidance on what your narrative essay should be about, consider the context and scope of the assignment. What kind of story is relevant, interesting, and possible to tell within the word count?

The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to reflect on a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

Don’t worry too much if your topic seems unoriginal. The point of a narrative essay is how you tell the story and the point you make with it, not the subject of the story itself.

Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a university application.

When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL – COMPOSITION

                              MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

                                               Teacher’s Activities

Activity one (1): Draw out information from the students about their experience at school on the first day they started.

Activity two (2): To guide the pupils in writing a detailed composition about the topic, write and explain the following guidelines on the board.

Activity three (3): Look at, interpret, and explain the example.

                                  GUIDELINES

Paragraph one (1):   Write about how you felt a day before you started school.

Paragraph two (2): Write about how you were taken to school and how you felt.

Paragraph three (3): Write about how the school you were taken to and its environment.

Paragraph three (3): Write about what happened at the school. How you were registered, the behaviours of teachers and pupils, etc.

 . 

COMPOSITION: my first day at school

I cannot forget my first day at school in a hurry. When my mother told me that I would soon start school, I thought she was a heartless woman. A day to the day, the thought of how the next day would be give me a terrible feelings of fear and anxiety that  I could not sleep all through the night.

I was taken to school by my father.it was an unknown place to me. Teachers and students were strangers to me. When I entered the school I felt nervous. I thought my parents have treated me badly and thought of running away.

It was a big building with a large compound wall. The school environment was call and quiet.  It was an old and very popular school in our locality. Its name is King’s School.

At the headmaster’s office, my father introduced me to the headmaster after they had greeted each other. The both of them were childhood friends. My father requested him to admit me to the school. I was enrolled and led to my class. The teachers and pupils were good and kind hearted and before long I got used to school life.

Pupil’s Activity one (1): Read the example carefully and thoughtfully.

Pupil’s Activity two (2): Write a detailed composition about what your first day at school.

CHOOSING A CAREER

Preparation of compost/manure, basic science and technology second term scheme of work for primary five (5)/ basic five (5), control measures of farm and animal tools.

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School Resumption: Minister of…

Scheme of work

THIRD TERM SOCIAL STUDIES…

A composition about a…, why farm produce should…, leave a reply cancel reply.

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My child’s disabilities made her first day of school anything but typical

my daughter's first day of school- teacher helping student in wheelchair

Shutterstock/ wavebreakmedia

No other parent in JJ’s grade would be checking anything like this off their list.

By Claire McMurray August 25, 2024

A few days before kindergarten was set to begin for my daughter, JJ, I gathered up all the school supplies I needed to deliver during Back to School Night. I looked down at the list I created earlier in the summer and mentally ticked off the items: Clorox wipes, Crayola markers, pencil case. Then I looked at the stack of neatly folded papers sitting on top of the supplies, and my stomach lurched. No other parent in JJ’s grade would be checking anything like this off their list.

The folded papers were letters I created to introduce my daughter to the other families in her mainstream classroom. She will spend a good amount of time in her special education classroom, receiving specialized attention and support. However, several times each day, she will be integrated into a class of her typically developing peers. I knew that the minute she rolled into the room in her wheelchair, with her speech device clamped onto a mount in front of her, that her classmates would see how different she was from them. This is why I had gotten permission from the school to send a letter home with each child. I desperately wanted to get ahead of their whispered questions and curious stares.

Related: 11 encouraging phrases to tell your kids on the first day of school

The letter explained all about JJ’s rare syndrome and her equipment but also described how smart, funny and alert she is. There are still many ways in which JJ resembles her peers, so I also attached a little card explaining my daughter’s personality and interests. It included fun facts—her adaptive, motorized car—and a list of her likes—Kidz Bop, Matilda, and princesses. 

As I stared at the stack of letters and cards, I realized why they made me feel so strange: They signaled not only JJ’s differences, but my own. If my daughter is not a typical kindergartner, then I am not a typical kindergarten mother. There are so many experiences, hopes, fears and dreams I will never share with the parents of my daughter’s classmates.

Instead of the usual rites of passage, my family has had other milestones we celebrated on our journey to marking JJ’s first day of kindergarten . For example, on the night before she took the first dose of a special new medication—the very first approved to treat her syndrome.The four of us dressed up, ate cupcakes and had a party. More unusual milestones followed, like the times when the medicine helped our daughter say a few words again or to sit up on her own for the first time in years. 

Related: 5 myths about disability mothering

Families like mine have our own moments of private joy. During these, we don’t commemorate the passage of time or the brightness of the future like others do. We try not to focus on whether or not that particular milestone will ever be repeated or what it could mean for the future. Instead, we celebrate the amount of work, bravery and perseverance it took us all to get there.

Three days after Back to School Night , I wheeled her onto the bus for her first day of kindergarten. She looked excited as I gave her one last wave and watched the para secure her wheelchair to the floor of the vehicle. As the bus drove away, I thought about all the obstacles and complications that my family had overcome in order to reach this moment. We navigated multiple diagnoses, an emergency brain surgery, the loss and return of JJ’s sight, the installation of a feeding tube and months of uncontrolled seizures.

That same morning the school organized a “Coffee and Kleenex” event for all the kindergarten parents. As soon as I read the title of the event, I knew I wouldn’t attend it. Not because I didn’t appreciate the sentiment, I just knew I wouldn’t fit in. No part of me would grieve my daughter’s first day of school . I have been waiting a long time for the relief and help it would provide. School gives JJ so many things that my husband and I cannot: constant stimulation, a sense of independence, opportunities for daily therapies, and socialization with a host of other children. We might have needed tissues at many other times, but we certainly didn’t need any now.

Related: Your first day of school is a first for me, too

As the bus rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight, I imagined JJ sitting in her wheelchair, eager to begin the next chapter of her life. Then I turned back toward my now quiet house. Once I crossed the threshold, I smiled and released a sigh of relief. I felt ready to begin my next chapter too.

This story is a part of The Motherly Collective contributor network where we showcase the stories, experiences and advice from brands, writers and experts who want to share their perspective with our community. We believe that there is no single story of motherhood, and that every mother's journey is unique. By amplifying each mother's experience and offering expert-driven content, we can support, inform and inspire each other on this incredible journey. If you're interested in contributing to The Motherly Collective please click here .

a narrative essay on my first day in secondary school

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As the mom to a neurodivergent child, seeing Gus Walz in the spotlight gives me courage

For years, I’ve been fighting for my 8-year-old son, who is neurodiverse, to be included — in classrooms, playgrounds, birthday parties and beyond. That’s why the appearance and inclusion of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz’s neurodiverse son in last week’s Democratic National Convention struck me as a watershed moment in disability culture in America. 

To be clear, my son does not have the same diagnoses as Gus Walz . The Walz family reports that Gus has a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and anxiety . My son, John, has autism spectrum disorder (level 3, severe) , ADHD, and is nonverbal.

Gus Walz,  Liz Brown and her neurodivergent son

Nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD) affects an individual’s spatial-visual processing, not their ability to speak or read. Individuals with NVLD may struggle with motor coordination and social skills. Nonverbal autism is a condition that, in my son’s case, means he can only verbalize a handful of words. It also means that he struggles with other forms of communication including using his AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) device — an electronic tablet with a library of words that he can use to write sentences. We spend hours every week trying to add words to his vocabulary. It is painstaking, but we can’t give up. My son’s condition also means that he struggles to understand social norms, socialize with his peers, and look out for his own safety.

John could not have done what Gus Walz did at the DNC. It is beyond his capabilities to tolerate hours of speeches in an arena of thousands of cheering people and then stand up to call out “That’s my dad!” with joyful pride. I don’t know if John will ever be able to develop capabilities to navigate life with the level of functionality that Gus Walz displays. That’s not what’s important to me. What’s important is that Gus is neurodivergent , and his family didn’t try to hide it. In fact, they proudly featured him front and center.

Mother with her neurodivergent child

When we first enrolled in our local school district and notified them of John’s diagnosis, he was immediately routed out of the general education track into a class for children with varying levels of disability. This meant not going to the school two blocks from our house, but another one five miles away — which also meant an hourlong commute during Los Angeles rush-hour traffic. 

From kindergarten on, we entered school through a side gate around the corner from the main entrance, out of view of the neurotypical children and their parents. Sure, the side door was closer to their classroom, but sometimes I felt like it was intentional that we were out of view: I saw children screaming and sobbing at drop-off, sometimes throwing themselves on the ground and yelling “No!” — possibly the only word they could vocalize — as their parents walked away in tears, likely devastated but without options.

John was always among the highest functioning in the class. Somehow, through a countless stream of new aides and specialists and therapists, he learned to write his name, the alphabet, and his numbers to 100. He’s always loved attending school.

Still, it was hard to pull out of our driveway every morning while streams of children and their parents bounced happily along the sidewalk to the public elementary school down the street. We drove past the school he would have attended if he was “typically abled” every day and watched kids and parents congregate outside, laughing and hugging, carrying science projects and poster boards for presentations and cupcakes for class birthday parties. My heart ached with every commute.

Ahead of this current school year, I was told John would move to a classroom directly next door to his current one. I went to visit, but that’s when it clicked: He needed to get out of a segregated classroom. He needed to be part of the world, with everyone else. 

Getting him into our neighborhood school was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I brought years of documentation from his previous school, a lawyer, an advocate (a friend with her own disabled child), and the sheer, fierce will of a Mama Bear. I fought for hours in an IEP meeting — arguing, then demanding, then straight up begging for his acceptance. The district finally relented, I think more out of exhaustion than anything else, and we were granted “inclusion” at his home school.

Mother with her neurodivergent child

We’ve been attending for two weeks and under no circumstances has it been easy. It is John’s first time ever in general education. He can’t do the level of work that his peers can do. He’s never had the opportunity. I walk him to school, then I work and stare at my phone, waiting for a call from the school saying that John is too disruptive, that his unusual noises are too loud, and that he’s just too much for everyone to let him be part of his community. Even with a legal document that says he has the right to attend, my chest is always tight with the fear that he’ll face resentment from teachers, staff or other parents who think he is pulling too much focus away from their own kids. 

And yet, this is how inclusion is happening for us — not on a globally televised event, arm in arm, in front of an audience of millions cheering us on. For us, inclusion means taking that triumphant two-block walk to school every morning and hanging on to hope for dear life that those around him will be kind, patient, understanding and accepting.

The prevalence of autism is now estimated at 1 in 36 children , with up to 30% of those children considered to be “severely” or “profoundly” autistic like my son, John. As hard as things are for him now, this is as easy as they will get. When John is 21 years old, he will age out of eligibility for the extensive support services he currently receives, as will his profoundly autistic peers. We have just over a decade to prepare for a flood of adults with significant disabilities to fall off what neurodivergent families call the “services cliff.”  Families of disabled neurodiverse adults may go from networks of support to absolutely zero help overnight.

And of course, we live every day with the scariest truth of all. Barring some sort of obscene tragedy, John will outlive both his father and me. He has no siblings, no cousins his own age, no network of support. He will be on his own and at the mercy of caregivers who will never love him the way we do. I fight for inclusion because John needs it to survive. He will need to know how to access neurotypical spaces, how to interact with neurotypical people, and how to cope with a world that was not built with people like him in mind.

I fight for inclusion because John needs it to survive. He will need to know how to access neurotypical spaces, how to interact with neurotypical people, and how to cope with a world that was not built with people like him in mind.

Gus Walz’s appearance at the DNC may not directly impact the daily fight for inclusion that my family faces, but it nudges open a door. It gives me courage. It reminds me that there are other people in the world who believe children like my son have value. It gives me hope that the world is becoming more accepting of people like him. I’ll take every scrap of hope I can get.

Two days ago, when I opened John’s backpack, there was an invitation to a classmate’s birthday party inside — the first one John has been invited to in 5 years. I cried just two or three tears and told myself that I’m doing the right thing for him. I don’t know if the parent even knows there’s a profoundly autistic child in the class. She just sent home invitations for everybody — including us, and that’s what matters.

Liz Brown is a writer and mother living in Los Angeles. You can see more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here .

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COMMENTS

  1. Essay on My First Day in School: Sample in 100, 200, 350 Words

    Source - Cocomelon - Nursery Rhymes. Also Read: Essay on Joint Family in 500+ words in English Essay on My First Day in Day in School in 350 Words. My first day in school started by stepping onto the school bus with a bag full of books and a heart full of curiosity.

  2. My First Day At School Essay for Kids

    FAQ on My First Day At School Essay. Question 1: Why is the first day of school memorable? Answer 1: We usually remember the first day of school because it is a new experience for us completely. It is the first time we step out from the comfort of our home as kids, so it will be memorable. Question 2: Does everyone have a good first day at ...

  3. My First Day of High School Personal Narrative Essay

    Author Writer. Name. Tutor. Course. Date. My First Day of High School Personal Narrative Essay. I woke up this morning and it was harder to get out of bed than usual. I tossed and turned all night because my anxiety was at an all-time high. I had nightmares because of the scary movie I watched the night before, and spicy food usually leads to ...

  4. My First Day at School (in 150 Words)

    Published: Mar 17, 2023. I'd like to talk about my first day at school in this essay of 150 words. School life plays a crucial role in a child's development, as it provides a foundation for academic learning, personal growth, and socialization. The first day of school is often a memorable experience for many people, as it marks the beginning ...

  5. Personal Narrative Essay: My First Day Of High School

    750 Words3 Pages. My first day of high school as a freshmen in a new level of education Is what I was thinking when I woke from slumber that morning in bed. Stepping foot on the campus wasn't even the beginning, taking the school bus in the morning is where the first taste of being a freshmen and actually starting and being an high school ...

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    Personal Narrative Essay: My First Day Of High School. 750 Words | 3 Pages. My first day of high school as a freshmen in a new level of education Is what I was thinking when I woke from slumber that morning in bed. Stepping foot on the campus wasn't even the beginning, taking the school bus in the morning is where the first taste of being a ...

  7. My First Day In Secondary School, Sample of Essays

    Chapter 1 I live on a cattle and dairy farm. We milk the cows twice a day but I do it mostly in the evenings. First we put out the ration and gather up the cows and when they have finished eating we start the milking. Towards the end of the milking we feed the calves and the cattle and leave off the milking cows.

  8. Narrative Essay on My First Day in School

    Narrative Essay Generator. Narrative Essay on My First Day in School. Childhood memories are the treasures of our past, vividly painting the innocence, adventures, and joy of our early years. These memories, both sweet and bittersweet, form the mosaic of our identity, influencing who we become. This essay delves into the essence of childhood ...

  9. My First Day At School Essay

    Here are some sample essays on my first day at school. 100 Word Essay On My First Day At School. ... JEE Main high scoring chapters and topics Apply. As per latest 2024 syllabus. Study 40% syllabus and score upto 100% marks in JEE. View All Application Forms. News and Notifications.

  10. Essays on First Day of School

    About My First Day at High School. 1 page / 170 words. This is a 150-word essay about my first day at high school. The night before was filled with anxiety and excitement. As a student from a traditional Chinese background, I was used to following the norms and values of collectivism, frugality, and humility.

  11. My First Day in the New School: [Essay Example], 961 words

    It was my first day in the new school. I had two hours 10 till 12.I felt this new responsibility like a heavy load on my shoulders. At 10 a.m, I plucked up my courage and entered the classroom. Firstly, I greeted the students and introduced my name in their native language Berber. Second, I shed light on the importance of English both at the ...

  12. Narrative Essays: Examples And Topic Ideas For Students

    Narrative Essay Topic Ideas 1. Your First Day Of High School. ... 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 ...

  13. A Narrative Essay About My First Day In High School

    My First Day of High School. One day I'll never forget is my first day of high school. The first day was crazy, the hallways were busy, the older students were frightening and the whole new environment was just scary in itself. That day began early in the morning, to be exact… at 5:45am.That day I woke up fully awake, and basically jumped ...

  14. 3 Great Narrative Essay Examples + Tips for Writing

    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.

  15. Back to School Writing Prompts for the Secondary Classroom

    Assigning a personal narrative at the beginning of the school year doesn't have to mean assigning a full, five-paragraph essay. These personal narratives can be anywhere between a sentence long to several paragraphs. Here are some of my go-to back-to-school writing prompts for secondary students. Back to school writing prompts about summer break.

  16. How To Write A Narrative Essay About My First Day Of High School

    Today was the first day of not just any day but the first day of high school. All I could think about was the empowering, negative stories about high school being so repulsive with all the strict teachers, the really difficult tests, and being at the bottom of the food chain once again. "I pray to God that these stories are irrelevant to high ...

  17. Essay On My First Day In School

    Essay about First Day of Secondary School First Day of Secondary School - Original Writing I was so excited yet so terrified at the thought of my first day in secondary school. It felt much to me like my first day as an adult, the first day I ever felt grown up. As I packed my spanking new bag full of spanking new pens and pencils, I couldn ...

  18. How to Write a Narrative Essay

    A narrative essay tells a story. It is a personal and creative type of essay that tests your ability to create a clear and engaging narrative. ... Write a story about your first day of school. ... Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a ...

  19. narrative essay on the topic my first day at secondary school

    My First Day of High School Personal Narrative Essay. Author Writer; I woke up this morning and it was harder to get out of bed than usual. I tossed and turned all night because m

  20. MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

    MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. Teacher's Activities. Activity one (1): Draw out information from the students about their experience at school on the first day they started. Activity two (2): To guide the pupils in writing a detailed composition about the topic, write and explain the following guidelines on the board.

  21. My Daughter's First Day of School Was Not Typical

    Instead of the usual rites of passage, my family has had other milestones we celebrated on our journey to marking JJ's first day of kindergarten. For example, on the night before she took the first dose of a special new medication—the very first approved to treat her syndrome.The four of us dressed up, ate cupcakes and had a party.

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    My son, John, has autism spectrum disorder (level 3, severe), ADHD, and is nonverbal. Every day I fight for inclusion for my 8-year-old son. IE 11 is not supported.