Narrative text

"El lenguaje es el vestido de los pensamientos" (Samuel Johnson)

Hi! I'm Samira Medellin. Today we're going to talk about the narrative text: definition, structure and features.
I hope you like it.

The Narrative Text

Is a story with complication or problematic events and it tries to find the resolutions to solve the problems. An important part of narrative text is the narrative mode, the set of methods used to communicate the narrative through a process narration.

Purpose

The basic purpose of a narrative text is to entertain, to gain and hold a reader's interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions e.g. 

The common structure or basic plan of narrative text is known as the "story grammar". Although there are numerous variations of the story grammar, the typical elements are:

• Setting: When and where the story occurs.
• Characters: The most important people or characters in the story. 
• Initiating event: An action or occurrence that establishes a problem and/or goal.
• Conflict/goal: The focal point around which the whole story is organized.
• Events: One or more attempts by the main character (s) to achieve the goal or solve the problem.
• Resolution: The outcome of the attempts to achieve the goal.

Features

• Characters with defined personalities/identities.
• Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
• Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.

Structure 

In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:

Orientation

(Introduction) in which the characters, setting, and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? When? Where? E.g. Mr. Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.

Complication or problem

The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).

Resolution

There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.

Further more, when there is plan for writing narrative texts, the focus should be on the following characteristics:

• Plot: What is going to happen?
• Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
• Characterization: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
• Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
• Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?