narrative essay on your first day in university

My First Day at University: Narrative Essay

The first day at university marks the beginning of a new chapter in life, filled with excitement, anticipation, and a hint of nervousness. It’s a day that symbolizes new beginnings, fresh starts, and endless possibilities. In this narrative essay, I will recount the experiences of my first day at university, from the nervous excitement before to the exhilarating moments that followed. Stepping onto the university campus for the first time was a whirlwind of emotions. Excitement bubbled within me as I imagined the new friends I’d make and the knowledge I’d gain. In this essay, I’ll share the story of my first day at university, from the excitement before to the experiences that unfolded.

Getting Ready and Feeling Excited

In the days leading up to my first day, I was a jumble of emotions—nervous yet thrilled, anxious yet excited. The prospect of embarking on this new chapter in my life filled me with a sense of anticipation unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

I dedicated hours to preparing for the big day. I meticulously planned my schedule, making sure I had everything in order. I went over my checklist again and again, ensuring that I had all the necessary books and supplies. Each item I ticked off the list brought me one step closer to being ready.

Arriving on Campus

On the morning of my first day, I arrived on campus early, eager to begin this new adventure. The campus was buzzing with activity, and I felt a sense of belonging as I joined other students in orientation sessions and explored the campus.

As I walked around, I was impressed by the state-of-the-art facilities, from the well-equipped libraries to the modern lecture halls. Everything was designed to support students in their academic journey, and I felt reassured knowing that I had access to such excellent resources.

Orientation and Welcoming Atmosphere

During orientation, I was introduced to the university’s facilities and services, which helped ease my nerves. I also had the chance to meet other students and begin forming friendships that would last throughout my university years.

One of the highlights of orientation was meeting other students who were also starting their university journey. We bonded over our shared excitement and nerves, and before long, we were chatting and laughing as if we had known each other for years. These early friendships would prove to be invaluable throughout my university years, providing support, friendship, and a sense of belonging.

Making Connections Settling In and Finding My Way

Throughout the day, I engaged in conversations with my fellow students, exchanging stories and experiences. These initial interactions played a crucial role in helping me feel more comfortable and enthusiastic about the journey ahead. The shared laughter and companionship we experienced during these conversations created a sense of belonging and anticipation for the friendships that would blossom in the coming years. These interactions also helped me realize that I was not alone in my feelings of excitement and nervousness; we were all embarking on this new adventure together. By the end of the day, I felt a renewed sense of confidence and excitement about the experiences that lay ahead, knowing that I had already formed connections that would accompany me on this journey.

Settling In and Finding My Way Lessons Learned

Throughout the day, I attended my first classes, immersing myself in the academic side of university life. The workload was challenging, but I was eager to learn and grow. The professors were engaging, and the material was fascinating. I felt a sense of accomplishment as I completed my assignments and participated in class discussions. These early experiences reinforced my excitement about my chosen field of study and motivated me to excel in my academic pursuits.

Lessons Learned

Thinking back to my first day, I realize how much I’ve learned and grown already. I learned to accept change and try new things, which made me feel more independent and sure of myself. This experience has helped me become more confident and able to handle new challenges. Each day brings something new, and I’m grateful for the chance to learn and grow even more.

Excitement for the Future

Conclusion:.

My first day at university was a mix of emotions, but it was also a day filled with excitement, new beginnings, and endless possibilities. As I continue my journey, I’m grateful for the experiences that have shaped me and excited for all that lies ahead.

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First Day at College experience

Categories: College Life College Students Expectations

About this sample

Words: 896 |

Published: Jul 7, 2022

Words: 896 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited:

Aller, S. (2019). The story behind the beloved book Little Women. National Geographic Kids. https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/general-history/story-behind-little-women/
Bussey, T. J. (2015). Little Women. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature.
Louisa May Alcott. (2019). Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Lyon, D. (2018). The feminist legacy of Little Women. Literary Hub.
McCormack, K. (2021). 10 surprising facts about Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Smithsonian Magazine.
Nissen, E. (2018). The legacy of Little Women: How Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel became a feminist touchstone. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-legacy-of-little-women-how-louisa-may-alcotts-classic-novel-became-a-feminist-touchstone-107181
Olsen, S. (2019). Little Women: A feminist reading. Humanities Commons. https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:25904/
Silverthorne, D. (2018). The secret feminist history of Little Women. Independent.
Thomason, K. (2019). Little Women: Themes & analysis. CliffsNotes.
Urbanski, H. (2016). Little Women and the feminist imagination: Criticism, controversy, personal essays. Routledge.

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An Essay on My First Day at College

Introduction
Arrival and Orientation
Initial Impressions
Navigating Challenges
Memorable Encounters

The first day at college is a milestone in every student’s life. It marks the beginning of a new journey filled with excitement, challenges, and countless opportunities. I vividly remember my own first day, where a mix of nerves and anticipation filled the air. The air seemed charged with potential, as if the very atmosphere held the promise of knowledge and growth. With my backpack slung over one shoulder and a heart brimming with dreams, I stepped onto the campus, ready to embark on this transformative adventure.

As I approached the college gates, a sense of awe washed over me. The sprawling campus seemed like a bustling city in itself, teeming with students from various walks of life. The orientation session provided a warm welcome, with faculty members extending their support and guidance. They shared valuable insights about the college, its traditions, and the resources available to students.

The classrooms, with their neat rows of desks, looked like stages awaiting the actors. The library, a treasure trove of knowledge, beckoned with its shelves of books. The campus grounds offered a serene escape, inviting students to pause and reflect. Each corner held a promise of discovery, and I felt a surge of eagerness to explore them all.

You May Like: An Essay on Pleasures of College Life

The first day brought its own set of challenges. Finding my way around the campus was like solving a puzzle, but with every wrong turn, I stumbled upon a new corner of this academic wonderland. Time management suddenly became paramount, as lectures, assignments, and extracurricular activities jostled for attention. Adapting to the pace of college life required patience and a willingness to learn.

Amidst the whirlwind of activity, I had the chance to meet a diverse array of fellow students. Each person brought their own unique story, adding vibrant hues to the tapestry of our college community. From classmates to roommates, every encounter was an opportunity to learn, grow, and form lasting connections.

One memorable encounter was with a senior who offered a helping hand, sharing tips and advice on navigating the college terrain. Their kindness and warmth reassured me that I was not alone in this new adventure.

Looking back, that first day at college was like starting a grand adventure. It taught me a lot about being strong when things get tough and making friends in new places. I learned that there’s so much more to learn and discover in this big world. As the sun set on that special day, I felt like a brave explorer, excited to see what comes next. That first day wasn’t just the beginning of college; it was the start of a whole journey of learning and growing that will last a lifetime.

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My First Day at College Essay | 2nd Year, 1st Year | 1000 Words

My First Day at College

College is dreamland of every student’s educational career. It is a beautiful period of learning, enjoyment, freedom and friendship. Sweet memories of college life are simply amazing. They have an everlasting impact on human memory.

Related Quotes:

1. What a beautiful chapter of a student’s life, College life is!

2. Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed.

3. Life in a college is more than a serious effort to get education. Moreover college is a place of making friends and chalking programs to go out to the pictures, cinemas and picnics.

College life has its own charm and beauty. Each and every moment spent there is always worth-living, worth-enjoying and also worth-remembering. Out of all the days, we can never forget the first day of college life.

4. A New place and a New Life with a New lifestyle.

First day of college is really very special and memorable for every student. The first of anything impresses us most. That is why we hardly ever forget our first love, our first success, our first friend. Likewise, we cannot forget our first day at college, the day that symbolizes the transition period from one life, so to say, into another. It comes to my mind again and again with those alien but lively feelings, those impressions, and sights and sounds.

College is dreamland of every student’s educational career. It is a beautiful period of learning, enjoyment, freedom and friendship. Sweet memories of college life are simply amazing. They have an everlasting impact on human memory.

At last the result of matriculation examination was declared and I came out with flying colors. After I passed my school examination with good grades, many excited and heated discussions took place on the choice of subjects and college. I decided to take admission in Government College which was the biggest college of my city. I had heard a lot of stories about college life from my elder sibling and relatives. According to them college is not as strict as school. I was full of excitement, inner joy and high hopes for a promising future. I thought college life would be full of pleasures and of course it was. College life is not as strict as the school life.

On the very first day, I got up early in the morning as I was much excited for the college life. I offered Dawn Prayer and took a hearty bath and got ready for the college. I could even do breakfast because of excitement. As soon as I stepped into the college, I felt like I have entered a new world. It was indeed a completely new world for me. The college had a wonderful building, lovely playgrounds and devoted Professors. The grand traditions, good mannerism, and liberal atmosphere made a great difference to my life. My first-day entry in college always fascinates me. My first day was an unforgettable experience of my educational life.

5. My impressions of the first day at college are still fresh in my memory. It seems impossible to erase those Sweet memories.

On first September, I got up early in the morning, took bath and said my prayers. Meanwhile, my mother prepared breakfast for me. I hurriedly took my breakfast and went to college by bus. As soon as I stepped into the college, I felt like I have entered a new world. It was indeed a completely new world for me. The college had a wonderful building, lovely playgrounds and devoted Professors. The grand traditions, good mannerism, and liberal atmosphere made a great difference to my life. My first-day entry in college always fascinates me. When I reached the gate of the college, some senior students of the college were standing there. Some of them where in a jolly mood and wanted to befool the new-comers. They had worked out their own plans to make the new-comers indulge in strange actions. However, we decided to act together to avoid their practical jokes. Some of the senior were approaching us with an air of superiority. They were large in number so they made us subdue immediately. They asked us to do strange things like singing ridiculous songs and doing monkey pranks. The sense of self- respect did not allow me to act according to their wishes. Still they forced me to obey their orders. I felt a little humiliated but took it sportingly.

Meanwhile, a senior Professor of the college came to our rescue. He asked the boys to assemble in the hall were the Principal would address them. We want to the hall. The Principal addressed the students and advised them not to take part in politics at college. They should pay full attention to their studies and try their best to achieve their goal. Afterwards, a Professor guided us about our time-table and class rooms.

Our first period was of English. We want to the classroom and set on the benches. A Professor entered the room, the boys stood up greet him. He took our roll-call and entered the names of the students in his attitude register. He did not teach us but advised us about our future life. He stressed what we should not misuse the liberty here rather we should keep full use of the opportunity to achieve our end. Afterwards, we moved another room where our teacher in Arabic came. He delivered his lecture on the importance of Arabic language and advised us to come to the class with our books. Then there was no other period on that day. So, we want to the library and read some newspapers. We discussed the lecture of our teacher and decided to work very hard from the beginning to get through the examinations getting very good marks. Then we left the library, shook hands with one another and departed. I took a bus and reached my home. I found a considerable between the school life and that of college. I concluded that liberty or freedom must not be misused at all.

At the end of the first day, I returned home. When I was returning home, all the memories of my first day at College came to my mind. It was like a film. It had fun and fear. I remembered all the happenings and reached home with a smile. I had entered the college to gain knowledge and wisdom and to become a good citizen. Thanks, Almighty Allah I got what I wished. I wrote my memories in a special notebook.

In the end, I can say that college life is a beautiful blend of joys and memories. Right from my first day, every day spent in College was full of colorful events. Surely, College life is an ideal part of student life.

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Essay on First Day At College

Students are often asked to write an essay on First Day At College in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on First Day At College

My first day at college began with a mix of nerves and excitement. I stepped onto the big campus feeling like a small fish in a huge pond. The tall buildings and busy students rushing by were a little overwhelming but thrilling too.

In my first class, I saw many new faces. Some looked as nervous as I felt, while others seemed at ease. We all sat quietly, waiting for the teacher. When class started, the room buzzed with energy.

Exploring the Campus

During break, I walked around the college, taking in the sights. The library was huge, and the cafeteria had so many food choices. Everything was fresh and interesting.

Ending the Day

As the day ended, I felt tired but happy. I had made a couple of friends, learned my way around, and was excited for what the next day would bring. My college journey had just begun.

250 Words Essay on First Day At College

Starting college, new faces and places.

When you walk onto the campus, you see so many new faces. It’s a mix of feelings. You might feel excited to make new friends and a bit nervous too. The college buildings are bigger than school, and there are so many rooms and halls to find.

Classes and Teachers

In the classroom, everyone is a stranger, but soon they will be your classmates for years. The teachers introduce themselves and talk about the subjects they will teach. They seem kind and know a lot. They tell us that they are there to help us learn and grow.

Freedom and Responsibility

College is different from school because you get more freedom. You can decide which clubs to join and what you want to study more about. But with freedom comes responsibility. You need to manage your time and make sure you do all your work.

Looking Ahead

At the end of the day, you go home tired but happy. You have a lot to think about, like your classes, homework, and new friends. The first day is just the start, and there’s so much more to come. You feel ready and excited for the days ahead at college.

500 Words Essay on First Day At College

My arrival at college.

My first day at college was a mix of excitement and nerves. I woke up early, eager to start this new chapter in my life. After getting ready, I stepped out of my house with a bag full of books and a heart full of dreams. The journey to college felt different. The roads, the trees, and even the morning air seemed to be telling me that I was stepping into a new world.

Entering New Grounds

As I walked through the college gates, I saw a large building with many windows. It looked like a place where many stories were waiting to be written. Around me, there were groups of students. Some were like me, new and looking around with wide eyes. Others seemed to know where they were going. I felt a little lost but also thrilled to be part of this new place.

Meeting New People

In the first class, I sat next to a girl who had a friendly smile. She said her name was Sarah, and we started talking. It felt good to make a new friend on the first day. We shared our thoughts about the first day, and it was nice to know someone else felt the same way as I did. Throughout the day, I met many new people. Some of them might become my friends, and some might just stay as faces I pass by in the halls.

First Lessons

The teachers entered the classrooms, and the lessons began. It was different from school. The teachers talked about big ideas and asked us what we thought. It was not just about listening; it was also about speaking up and sharing your own thoughts. I liked this new way of learning. It made me feel grown-up and important.

During the break, I walked around the college with Sarah. We saw the library, which was full of books from the floor to the ceiling. There was also a place where you could get coffee and talk with your friends. We saw the sports field, where some students were playing football. The whole campus was alive with the energy of students learning and having fun.

Feeling at Home

By the end of the day, I felt tired but happy. I had been worried that I might not like college or that it would be too hard. But after just one day, I felt like I belonged there. It was a place where I could learn new things, meet new people, and grow up.

Looking Forward

As I walked back through the college gates at the end of the day, I looked back at the building. It was no longer just a big structure; it was a part of my life now. I was excited to come back the next day and continue this adventure. The first day at college was over, but my journey had just begun.

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3 Great Narrative Essay Examples + Tips for Writing

General Education

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.

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.

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.

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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44 Student Narrative Essay Examples

The pot calling the kettle black….

“You aren’t acting normal,” my dad said with a dopy, concerned look on his face. He was a hard-working, soft and loving man. He was smaller than my mother, physically and figuratively. She sat beside him. She had a towering stature, with strong, swimmers’ shoulders, but she was hunched often. She didn’t really have eyebrows, but she didn’t need them. She had no problem conveying emotion on her face, especially negative ones.

“What’s wrong?” my mother asked. She took my hand frantically. Not the way one might take someone’s hand to connect with or comfort them. She needed reassurance more than I did.

My parents were sitting across from me on cushioned, bland-colored chairs in my dad’s office, while I sat on a rickety, torturous wooden chair. My dad’s office generally utilized natural light due to the expansive glass windows that allowed the light to drown the room, enclosing us in the chamber. I felt like an inmate being prepped for lethal injection. The weather was particularly gray and dismal. Perhaps it was the ambiguous, gray, confusing feelings I was breathing through. My parents had somewhat regular “interventions” to address my somewhat regular (sometimes public) emotional breakdowns, my self-medicating habits, and my general shitty attitude.

This week in particular, I had purposely destroyed two of my mother’s collectible horses. She had a maniacal obsession for them. She also maniacally collected sunflower artwork, which was the one obsession, of many, I found endearing. My old babysitter noted at one point there were 74 collectible horses in the house. After my outburst, there were 72.

I could see behind my parents, through the glass-paned door, my two younger sisters were secretly observing the altercation from the dining room, hiding under the table. They were illuminated by the ominous weather, which was also watching in on the dismal conversation through the windows. I was envious, jealous even, of my spectating sisters. My sisters didn’t have overflowing, excessive emotions. They didn’t have emotions that were considered “excessive.” I felt like an offender being put at the stocks: my parents were the executioners, and my sisters were the jesters.

“I’m angry.”

“What about?” my dad asked, puzzled. “Did someone do something to you?”

“Honey, were you—” my mother looked to my dad, then concealed her mouth slightly with the other hand, “ raped ?”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice. “No, Mom, I wasn’t raped, Jesus.” I took a moment to grind on my teeth and imagine the bit I was chomping at. Calm, careful, composed, I responded. “I’m just angry. I don’t feel—”

“What don’t you feel?” She practically jumped on me, while yanking my imprisoned hand toward her. She yanked at my reins.

“I don’t feel understood!” My mind was bucking. I didn’t know why I needed to react by raising my voice. It felt instinctive, defensive. Shouting forcefully, I jerked my hand away from her, but it remained in her clutches. I didn’t feel satisfied saying it, though what I said was the truth.

“What are you talking about?” my dad asked mournfully. I knew he felt betrayed. But he didn’t understand. He didn’t know what it’s like for things to be too much. Or to be too much. My dad looked at me longingly, hoping I would correct what I had said. He looked lost, incapable of understanding why I was doing what I was doing. My mother interjected, cutting off my dad’s hypnotic, silent cry for connection.

“You’re crazy!” she said, maintaining eye contact. My mother then let go of my hand, flipped it back to me. She reclined in her chair, retracting from me and the discussion entirely. She crossed her legs, then her arms. She turned her head away, toward the glass windows, and (mentally) left.

I was and am not “too much.”

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 18 years old.

I had just stepped off a squealing MAX line onto a broken sidewalk slab, gnarled from tree roots, when I felt my phone buzz rhythmically.

“I need you to come to the hospital. Mom had a little accident.” My dad’s voice was distant and cracking, like a wavering radio signal, calling for help.

“What’s going on? Is she okay?” I asked while making my way to campus.

“Where are you?” He wasn’t going to tell me anything over the phone. Adrenaline set in. I let him know I was downtown and headed to campus, but that I would catch a Lyft to wherever they were. “We’re at Milwaukie Providence. How soon can you get here?

“I’ll let you know soon.” My assumption was that my parents had been in an argument, my mother left the house in a rage, and crashed her car. She’d been an erratic driver for as long as I could remember, and my parents had been arguing more than usual recently, as many new “empty-nesters” do. The lack of information provided by my dad, however, was unsettling. I don’t really recall the ride to the hospital. I do remember looking over the river while riding from the west to east side of town. I remember the menacing, dark clouds rolling in faster than the driver could transport me. I remember it was quick, but it was too much time spent without answers.

When I arrived at Providence, I jumped out of the sedan and galloped into the lobby of the emergency room like a race horse on its final lap. My younger sister and Dad were seated on cushioned, bland-colored chairs in the waiting room. There were expansive glass windows that allowed the light to drown the room. The weather was particularly gray and dismal. Perhaps it was the ambiguous, gray, confusing feelings I was breathing through. I sat down beside my dad, in a firmer-than-anticipated waiting room chair beside him. He took my hand frantically. He took it in the way one might take someone’s hand to connect with or comfort them. He needed reassurance more than I did.

“Where did she get in the accident?” I asked.

My sister, sitting across from me with her head in her knees, looked up at me with aquamarine, tear-filled eyes. She was staring through me, an unclouded window. “Mom tried to kill herself.”

“What?” My voice crescendoed from a normal volume to a shriek in the span of a single word. My mind felt like it was bucking. I grabbed at my hair, pulling it back tight with my spare hand. The tears and cries reared, no matter how hard I yanked my mane.

“We got in another argument this morning, and she sent me a message saying she didn’t want to be in pain anymore. She told me to tell you girls she’s sorry. I’m so sorry.” I’d never seen my dad cry before; I didn’t know he could. I didn’t know his tears would stream like gushing water from a broken dam. He looked lost, incapable of understanding why she was doing what she was doing. I looked from my dad to my sister to my hands. One hand remained enveloped by my dad’s gentle palm. At this point in life, I had not yet learned to be gentle with myself, or others. I cut off my dad’s hypnotic, silent cry for connection.

“She’s crazy!” I let go of my dad’s hand, flipped it back to him. I reclined in the

chair, retracting from the situation entirely. I crossed my legs, then my arms. I turned my head away, toward the glass windows, and (mentally) left.

“Crazy” is a term devised to dismiss people.

My mother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 50 years old.

Teacher Takeaways

“This essay makes excellent use of repetition as a narrative strategy. Throughout the essay, terms and phrases are repeated, generally with slight alterations, drawing the reader’s attention to the moment in question and recontextualizing the information being conveyed. This strategy is especially powerful when used to disclose the separate diagnoses of bipolar disorder, which is central to the narrative. I also appreciate the use of dialogue, though it mostly serves an expository function here. In itself that’s effective, but this narrative would be strengthened if that dialogue could serve to make some of the characters, especially the mother, more rounded.”

– Professor Dunham

My College Education

The following essay, “My College Education” is from Chapter 15.2 – Narrative Essay , Writing for Success , University of Minnesota Libraries.

The first class I went to in college was philosophy, and it changed my life forever. Our first assignment was to write a short response paper to the Albert Camus essay “The Myth of Sisyphus.” I was extremely nervous about the assignment as well as college. However, through all the confusion in philosophy class, many of my questions about life were answered.

I entered college intending to earn a degree in engineering. I always liked the way mathematics had right and wrong answers. I understood the logic and was very good at it. So when I received my first philosophy assignment that asked me to write my interpretation of the Camus essay, I was instantly confused. What is the right way to do this assignment, I wondered? I was nervous about writing an incorrect interpretation and did not want to get my first assignment wrong. Even more troubling was that the professor refused to give us any guidelines on what he was looking for; he gave us total freedom. He simply said, “I want to see what you come up with.”

Full of anxiety, I first set out to read Camus’s essay several times to make sure I really knew what was it was about. I did my best to take careful notes. Yet even after I took all these notes and knew the essay inside and out, I still did not know the right answer. What was my interpretation? I could think of a million different ways to interpret the essay, but which one was my professor looking for? In math class, I was used to examples and explanations of solutions. This assignment gave me nothing; I was completely on my own to come up with my individual interpretation.

Next, when I sat down to write, the words just did not come to me. My notes and ideas were all present, but the words were lost. I decided to try every prewriting strategy I could find. I brainstormed, made idea maps, and even wrote an outline. Eventually, after a lot of stress, my ideas became more organized and the words fell on the page. I had my interpretation of “The Myth of Sisyphus,” and I had my main reasons for interpreting the essay. I remember being unsure of myself, wondering if what I was saying made sense, or if I was even on the right track. Through all the uncertainty, I continued writing the best I could. I finished the conclusion paragraph, had my spouse proofread it for errors, and turned it in the next day simply hoping for the best.

Then, a week or two later, came judgment day. The professor gave our papers back to us with grades and comments. I remember feeling simultaneously afraid and eager to get the paper back in my hands. It turned out, however, that I had nothing to worry about. The professor gave me an A on the paper, and his notes suggested that I wrote an effective essay overall. He wrote that my reading of the essay was very original and that my thoughts were well organized. My relief and newfound confidence upon reading his comments could not be overstated.

What I learned through this process extended well beyond how to write a college paper. I learned to be open to new challenges. I never expected to enjoy a philosophy class and always expected to be a math and science person. This class and assignment, however, gave me the self-confidence, critical-thinking skills, and courage to try a new career path. I left engineering and went on to study law and eventually became a lawyer. More important, that class and paper helped me understand education differently. Instead of seeing college as a direct stepping stone to a career, I learned to see college as a place to first learn and then seek a career or enhance an existing career. By giving me the space to express my own interpretation and to argue for my own values, my philosophy class taught me the importance of education for education’s sake. That realization continues to pay dividends every day.

Model Student Essay

Innocence again.

Imagine the sensation of the one split second that you are floating through the air as you were thrown up in the air as a child, that feeling of freedom and carefree spirit as happiness abounds. Looking at the world through innocent eyes, all thoughts and feelings of amazement. Being free, happy, innocent, amazed, wowed. Imagine the first time seeing the colors when your eyes and brain start to recognize them but never being able to name the shade or hue. Looking at the sky as it changes from the blackness with twinkling stars to the lightest shade of blue that is almost white, then the deep red of the sunset and bright orange of the sun. All shades of the spectrum of the rainbow, colors as beautiful as the mind can see or imagine.

I have always loved the sea since I was young; the smell of saltiness in the air invigorates me and reminds me of the times spent with my family enjoying Sundays at the beach. In Singapore, the sea was always murky and green but I continued to enjoy all activities in it. When I went to Malaysia to work, I discovered that the sea was clear and blue and without hesitation, I signed up for a basic diving course and I was hooked. In my first year of diving, I explored all the dive destinations along the east coast of Malaysia and also took an advanced diving course which allowed me to dive up to a depth of thirty meters. Traveling to a dive site took no more than four hours by car and weekends were spent just enjoying the sea again.

Gearing up is no fun. Depending on the temperature of the water, I might put on a shortie, wetsuit or drysuit. Then on come the booties, fins and mask which can be considered the easiest part unless the suit is tight—then it is a hop and pull struggle, which reminds me of how life can be at times. Carrying the steel tank, regulator, buoyancy control device (BCD) and weights is a torture. The heaviest weights that I ever had to use were 110 pounds, equivalent to my body weight; but as I jump in and start sinking into the sea, the contrast to weightlessness hits me. The moment that I start floating in the water, a sense of immense freedom and joy overtakes me.

Growing up, we have to learn the basics: time spent in classes to learn, constantly practicing to improve our skills while safety is ingrained by our parents. In dive classes, I was taught to never panic or do stupid stuff: the same with the lessons that I have learned in life. Panic and over-inflated egos can lead to death, and I have heard it happens all the time. I had the opportunity to go to Antarctica for a diving expedition, but what led to me getting that slot was the death of a very experienced diver who used a drysuit in a tropic climate against all advice. He just overheated and died. Lessons learned in the sea can be very profound, but they contrast the life I live: risk-taker versus risk-avoider. However, when I have perfected it and it is time to be unleashed, it is time to enjoy. I jump in as I would jump into any opportunity, but this time it is into the deep blue sea of wonders.

A sea of wonders waits to be explored. Every journey is different: it can be fast or slow, like how life takes me. The sea decides how it wants to carry me; drifting fast with the currents so that at times, I hang on to the reef and corals like my life depends on it, even though I am taught never to touch anything underwater. The fear I feel when I am speeding along with the current is that I will be swept away into the big ocean, never to be found. Sometimes, I feel like I am not moving at all, kicking away madly until I hyperventilate because the sea is against me with its strong current holding me against my will.

The sea decides what it wants me to see: turtles popping out of the seabed, manta rays gracefully floating alongside, being in the middle of the eye of a barracuda hurricane, a coral shelf as big as a car, a desert of bleached corals, the emptiness of the seabed with not a fish in sight, the memorials of death caused by the December 26 tsunami—a barren sea floor with not a soul or life in sight.

The sea decides what treasures I can discover: a black-tipped shark sleeping in an underwater cavern, a pike hiding from predators in the reef, an octopus under a dead tree trunk that escapes into my buddy’s BCD, colorful mandarin fish mating at sunset, a deadly box jellyfish held in my gloved hands, pygmy seahorses in a fern—so tiny that to discover them is a journey itself.

Looking back, diving has taught me more about life, the ups and downs, the good and bad, and to accept and deal with life’s challenges. Everything I learn and discover underwater applies to the many different aspects of my life. It has also taught me that life is very short: I have to live in the moment or I will miss the opportunities that come my way. I allow myself to forget all my sorrow, despair and disappointments when I dive into the deep blue sea and savor the feelings of peacefulness and calmness. There is nothing around me but fish and corals, big and small. Floating along in silence with only the sound of my breath— inhale and exhale . An array of colors explodes in front of my eyes, colors that I never imagine I will discover again, an underwater rainbow as beautiful as the rainbow in the sky after a storm. As far as my eyes can see, I look into the depth of the ocean with nothing to anchor me. The deeper I get, the darker it turns. From the light blue sky to the deep navy blue, even blackness into the void. As the horizon darkens, the feeding frenzy of the underwater world starts and the watery landscape comes alive. Total darkness surrounds me but the sounds that I can hear are the little clicks in addition to my breathing. My senses overload as I cannot see what is around me, but the sea tells me it is alive and it anchors me to the depth of my soul.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.” … In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man in spite of real sorrows….” The sea and diving have given me a new outlook on life, a different planet where I can float into and enjoy as an adult, a new, different perspective on how it is to be that child again. Time and time again as I enter into the sea, I feel innocent all over again.

Write What Matters Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Narrative essay My first day at the University

Narrative essay: My first day at the University

The 2nd of march, 2015 year was the day that helped me to overcome one of my greatest fears. This was my first day at one of the most prestigious universities in Uzbekistan and nothing was familiar. I had just entered the doors of INHA University and started my life-changing journey.

I was trying to find the lecture room, but eventually I got lost in the labyrinth of the majestic building. I was embarrassed and many questions were running in my head. Where was my class? Where was the professor’s room? How should I behave with new classmates? However, all this questions were minor in comparison with my main fear. I began to panic.

From my earliest childhood, I was introvert. Therefore, I was afraid of talking to new people because I might look foolish and embarrass myself or just because I thought that, I could do everything by myself. In addition, by reason of nervousness I could start to stammer. Anyway, I had to find someone to help me because I could not be late for the first lesson!

Scraps of foreign speech were traveling from the room at the end of long corridor. Gathering courage, I decided to enter that room and ask for the help. Fortunately, a passing manager asked me if I have problems and kindly offered to accompany me to the classroom.

In a minute, we took a lift and I was on the threshold of the auditorium. To make a step forward was the most difficult action because the noisy classroom was full of new faces. Almost all places were occupied and I sat at the end of the row. In 5 minutes, the calculus professor Lee Yoon Weon came and silence reigned. Subject was not simple, but that was just a starter. I faced some difficulties related to educational process, but my classmates were very kind and were ready to help me at any time. Thereby I made new acquaintances. By the end of the day, I had learnt a lesson.

After the first day at INHA University, I understood that all problems can/could be solved much faster and easier, when you have a supporter. People around us not angry and always willing to help, just forget about your fears and make step forward to them!

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Sentence: However, all this questions were minor in comparison with my main fear. Description: A determiner/pronoun, singular is not usually followed by a noun, plural, common Suggestion: Refer to this and questions

People around us not angry People around us are not angry

Attribute Value Ideal Score: 4.0 out of 6 Category: Good Excellent No. of Grammatical Errors: 2 2 No. of Spelling Errors: 0 2 No. of Sentences: 27 15 No. of Words: 384 350 No. of Characters: 1678 1500 No. of Different Words: 203 200 Fourth Root of Number of Words: 4.427 4.7 Average Word Length: 4.37 4.6 Word Length SD: 2.569 2.4 No. of Words greater than 5 chars: 109 100 No. of Words greater than 6 chars: 81 80 No. of Words greater than 7 chars: 48 40 No. of Words greater than 8 chars: 36 20 Use of Passive Voice (%): 0 0 Avg. Sentence Length: 14.222 21.0 Sentence Length SD: 6.5 7.5 Use of Discourse Markers (%): 0.37 0.12 Sentence-Text Coherence: 0.308 0.35 Sentence-Para Coherence: 0.511 0.50 Sentence-Sentence Coherence: 0.106 0.07 Number of Paragraphs: 6 5

How can I write an essay…

How can I write an essay about my first semester at BIGA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION.

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'One day at a time': My first days at university

A University of Bristol student from New York shares her experience of her first few days in the UK...

We have another new student blogger, also from the University of Bristol . Her name is Emilia Morano-Williams, and she comes to us from the US. She is currently a fourth year Italian student, originally from New York. In her first entry she takes us back to her first few weeks in Bristol, including the attention her accent attracted, and more....

'I had seen Bristol a couple of times before I arrived there for university, but, from the moment I landed in Heathrow, I could tell that this time would be different. There was no return ticket, there was no easy lifting the suitcase and there was no way to enter the country without having my fingerprints scanned. I was here as more than a tourist, I was here to live.

Things have changed a lot since then, but my first few days in Bristol as a student have become the benchmark by which I measure how much I’ve grown since arriving at university. The awkward exchanges with possible friends, the blank room with a single university-issued poster hanging on the wall and even the frequent inability to eat this completely foreign food felt all encompassing back then. Little did I know that all those funny moments wouldn’t last.

I moved into halls much like the other students. My parents and I arrived with a couple suitcases at Churchill Hall in Bristol and walked into the painfully bare room. Within a few minutes everything was out and had a place. I had barely any belongings and my room resembled a bare Travelodge rather than a place in which I would be spending my first year of university. I glanced out onto the quad, a unique feature of my hall, and saw the other students moving in box after box. Could I ever forget the kid who brought his own television or a box of beer? Nope, not yet anyway.

Of course, the first day all passes in the longest whirlwind of your life. Soon my parents left and I went to say hi to the other students who I could see and hear chatting happily from my window. Once I said hi and began meeting people, it was easy to keep going. People heard my accent from the moment I began speaking and, just like that, we had a conversation going. There seemed to be a shockingly large amount of people who knew each other already, but I just shrugged it off with a smile that’s largeness probably betrayed the nerves that I felt.

Things got easier and harder after the first day. My first week of university life fell into the predictable pattern of attending induction talks, getting lost wandering around the university, trying to make friends and figuring out where to find the most basic of items. All of a sudden extension cords, mouthwash and folders became exotic items. When I wake up the first morning, I made the mistake of counting how many days until Christmas break would begin. In that moment, as the fear of spending ninety days away from home hit me, I learnt the most important lesson of my university career: take it one day at a time. I’ve been living peacefully with that mindset ever since.

During the first few weeks, I was hyper aware of not wanting to seem too foreign. All my images of international students came from movies and television shows where they were put into the corner and observed as if their culture was so completely different. Yet, I soon realized that because I was fortunate enough to speak English as a first language and to have spent many months travelling through England before arriving at university, the cultural differences weren’t as stark as I expected them to be. People would ask me questions about where I came from, but when we discovered common interests, those queries quickly gave way to other topics. If people thought of me as foreign, they certainly didn’t show that. I soon began to stop thinking of myself as foreign and just thought of myself as a Bristol student. Sure, it was hard when I talked to friends back home who were pleasantly ticking off all the required college experiences and got to go home at the weekend, but living abroad became less about being an American in a new country and turned into me having new experiences.

For me, the social and cultural struggles of arriving at university occupied more of my mental space than academic issues. I found it relatively easy to integrate into new classes and soon began to enjoy my schedule. The beginning of university is difficult for everyone, but as an international student it can be easy to think that you are the only one experiencing these issues because you are international. I didn’t realize it until later in the year, but everyone was struggling with the shift to university in their own way. It’s a culture shock to everyone; we just experience it in different ways.'

Interested in studying at the University of Bristol ? Read more about the University , watch their video, and browse the many courses they offer.

If you enjoyed this blog entry, read more posts by Emilia as she navigates life in the UK as an international student.

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What is a narrative essay?

When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.

Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay.

If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.

When would a narrative essay not be written as a story?

A good example of this is when an instructor asks a student to write a book report. Obviously, this would not necessarily follow the pattern of a story and would focus on providing an informative narrative for the reader.

The essay should have a purpose.

Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at all?

The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays oftentimes manifests itself in the form of authorial perspective.

Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.

The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.

As always, be organized!

Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your audience can follow your lead).

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Want to write a college essay that sets you apart? Three tips to give you a head start

1. Keep it real. It’s normal to want to make a good impression on the school of your choice, but it’s also important to show who you really are. So just be yourself! Compelling stories might not be perfectly linear or have a happy ending, and that’s OK. It’s best to be authentic instead of telling schools what you think they want to hear.

2. Be reflective . Think about how you’ve changed during high school. How have you grown and improved? What makes you feel ready for college, and how do you hope to contribute to the campus community and society at large?

3. Look to the future. Consider your reasons for attending college. What do you hope to gain from your education? What about college excites you the most, and what would you like to do after you graduate? Answering these questions will not only give colleges insight into the kind of student you’ll be, but it will also give you the personal insight you’ll need to choose the school that’s right for you.

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IMAGES

Write a narrative essay of about two foolscap pages on the topic: "My
🌱 First day at university essay. My First Day at College Short and Long
First Day Of University Narrative Essay
How to Write a Narrative Essay (12 Best Examples)
My First Day at College
How to Write a Narrative Essay (12 Best Examples)

COMMENTS

My First Day in the University Free Essay Example
Essay, Pages 2 (362 words) Views. 148986. My first day at college is an important event of my life. To me it is an unforgettable day. During my school days. I had a glimpse of college life from my elder brothers and sisters. I was most curiously awaiting the day when I would start my college life. I thought that the college life would offer me ...
Essay On My First Day At College in 150, 350 and 500 Words
Essay On My First Day At College in 150, 350 and 500 Words. July 7, 2022. Written By guidetoexam. A student's life begins anew when he graduates from school and advances to college. His memory of his first day at college will always remain etched in his heart. The purpose of writing practice in English is to ask students to compose an essay ...
How to Write a Narrative Essay
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. Specific prompts. Write a story about your first day of school. Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.
Narrative Essay on My First Day at University
The first day at university marks the beginning of a new chapter in life, filled with excitement, anticipation, and a hint of nervousness. It's a day that symbolizes new beginnings, fresh starts, and endless possibilities. In this narrative essay, I will recount the experiences of my first day at university, from the nervous excitement before ...
First Day at College Experience: [Essay Example], 896 words
It was indeed an opening to a new life of freedom and pleasure. At the end of the first day, I returned home. When I was returning home, all the memories of my first day at College came to my mind. It was like a film. It had fun and fear. I remembered all the happenings and reached home with a smile.
An Essay On My First Day At College
The first day at college is a milestone in every student's life. It marks the beginning of a new journey filled with excitement, challenges, and countless opportunities. I vividly remember my own first day, where a mix of nerves and anticipation filled the air. The air seemed charged with potential, as if the very atmosphere held the promise ...
My First Day at College Essay
1. What a beautiful chapter of a student's life, College life is! 2. Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed. 3. Life in a college is more than a serious effort to get education. Moreover college is a place of making friends and chalking programs to go out to the pictures, cinemas and picnics.
Essay on My First Day at College
500 Words Essay on My First Day at College Anticipation and Apprehension. The transition from high school to college is a significant milestone in a student's life. My first day at college was an amalgamation of emotions ranging from anticipation to apprehension. I was stepping into an environment that promised intellectual growth, new ...
Essay on First Day At College
250 Words Essay on First Day At College Starting College. The first day at college is a big step for anyone. It's like opening a new book. The pages are blank and you are about to write a new chapter in your life. This day marks the beginning of many new experiences and learning. New Faces and Places
3 Great Narrative Essay Examples + Tips for Writing
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.
Student Narrative Essay Examples
The following essay, "My College Education" is from Chapter 15.2 - Narrative Essay, Writing for Success, University of Minnesota Libraries. The first class I went to in college was philosophy, and it changed my life forever. Our first assignment was to write a short response paper to the Albert Camus essay "The Myth of Sisyphus.".
Narrative essay My first day at the University
Narrative essay: My first day at the University. Submitted by skeet on Sat, 05/09/2015 - 09:36. The 2nd of march, 2015 year was the day that helped me to overcome one of my greatest fears. This was my first day at one of the most prestigious universities in Uzbekistan and nothing was familiar. I had just entered the doors of INHA University and ...
The First Year of University Life Free Essay Example
The First Year of University Life. Categories: College Life Higher Education My University Life University. Download. Essay, Pages 3 (697 words) Views. 7464. I still remember the first day as if it was yesterday. All so fresh in my memory. Butterflies in my stomach, that feeling of crossing streets alone and taking the Jammie without even ...
Memorable Day Essay: My First Day In University
Similarly I also have many memories but the one which makes me happy is my first day in university. First day in a university is always very exciting because of the new environment, new people and obviously the new educational system. Therefore, I still feel the day very much and miss it. I have memories of many things happened in that single day.
'One day at a time': My first days at university
When I wake up the first morning, I made the mistake of counting how many days until Christmas break would begin. In that moment, as the fear of spending ninety days away from home hit me, I learnt the most important lesson of my university career: take it one day at a time. I've been living peacefully with that mindset ever since.
Narrative Essays
Use clear and concise language throughout the essay. Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader. The use of the first person pronoun 'I' is welcomed. Do not abuse this guideline!
My First Day at University
My First Day at Air Uni. Every student of college, in his life, at certain point, dreams about his university life. It is the dream of every student to get admission in a university of high esteem. A university with full colors of life makes a bigger share in good memories. I also thought about the same thing.
Personal Narrative: My First Day At Middle Tennessee State University
It can be quite discouraging on a daily basis. Once I had advanced through enough levels to be able to gain admittance to the university, though, I was beyond ecstatic. Here on the first day at Middle Tennessee State University, I knew that I would have a chance to utilize all of the skills that I had just spent countless hours studying. This ...
My First Day At The University Sample
My First Day At The University Sample. Categories: University. Download. Essay, Pages 2 (385 words) Views. 71. My University is professional business institute is widely recognized all over the country and beyond.it started as a private institution and was later taken over by government. University Of Professional has been my first choice ...
Want to write a college essay that sets you apart? Three tips to give
Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started, but the sooner you begin, the more time and thought you can put into an essay that stands out. Check out some tips: 1. Keep it real. It's normal to want to make a good impression on the school of your choice, but it's also important to show who you really are. So just be yourself!
My First Day at College Narrative Essay
Whack1 Jermaine Whack September 4, 2014 English 101/ Narrative Essay My First Day at College My first day of College was an extreme success. On the first day of College, I was nervous about coming to College. One reason I was nervous about coming, because I was coming to a new environment. I was also coming to a place where I did not know anyone.
Free Essay: My First Day in the University
My First Day in the School. My first day at school is a day that I will never forget. I went to school for the first time when I was only five years old, but I can recollect all the happenings on that day. The day before my school opened, my mother asked me to keep my books ready.…. 250 Words.
Memories of First Day in the University
Finally, I think that it is natural that on the first day we feel nervous, but the things always have a happy ending, that's why I have to say that my first day in the university was very good. I don't complain of having 1 extra week off. From an early morning trying to find my way to my classroom feels the smell of some spicy Thai food ...