Final answer:
A narrative essay is a creative nonfiction piece that details a personal experience and highlights personal growth. The essay should focus on a single moment and utilize descriptive imagery, potentially within a 750-1500 word limit. Students should convey a unique aspect of their identity, countering the 'single story' narrative.
Step-by-step explanation:
A narrative essay is a form of creative nonfiction that recounts a personal experience and shows how that experience has contributed to the writer’s development. Unlike descriptive essays that focus on the significance of a person, place, or thing, a narrative essay traces the chronological progression and personal growth resulting from a specific event. The scope of a narrative essay is typically narrowed down to a single moment or a brief period, to create a more impactful and detailed story within a limited word count, generally 750-1500 words.
When writing a personal narrative, employing descriptive imagery is crucial for engaging the reader and bringing the story to life. Students can draw inspiration from examples such as “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde or “The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf, which showcase how a tightly focused scope can effectively capture significant life experiences. Another interesting technique is the use of the epistolary form, telling a story through journal entries or letters, as illustrated in Francisco Cantu's “Bajadas”.
For the assignment, students are encouraged to reflect on a moment, object, or setting that was instrumental in shaping their identity. This story should give peers and professors insight into the student’s unique perspective, countering the “single story” trope introduced by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in “The Danger of the Single Story”.