How to Write a Narrative Paragraph

Narrative Paragraph: "Tina"

1. Tina lived a long and meaningful life. 2. She was an obedient daughter to her parents, a caring wife and mother, and a successful farmer. 3. Growing up, Tina was not one to question her parents' rules. 4. She helped with the household chores and attended to her younger siblings' needs. 5. Because of a family arrangement, Tina got married when she was 18 to the most eligible bachelor in her hometown. 6. The match turned out positively for the couple. 7. She supported her husband while he tended to their livelihood. 8. Over the next eight years, she gave birth to eight healthy boys and girls. 9. She stayed home to care for her children. 10. She loved seeing them grow up in a loving environment. 11. Years later, Tina's husband purchased farmland, which Tina spent her golden years overseeing. 12. She constructed pig pens, chicken coops, barns for ducks, goats, and cows, tended fruit-bearing trees, and cultivated vegetables. 13. She produced fresh food for her family and shared farm goods with relatives and friends. 14. Tina had a fulfilling life.

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Let's analyze the narrative paragraph using the four qualities in writing an effective paragraph: unity, coherence, emphasis, and development.

Unity. The paragraph achieves unity through the topic sentence, supporting details, and closing sentence. The topic sentence is the first sentence: Tina (main point) + lived a long and meaningful life (sub point). The second sentence expounds the subpoint in three ways:
-an obedient daughter to her parents
-a caring wife and mother
-a successful farmer
The subsequent sentences provide supporting details of the subpoints: sentences three to six describe the first subpoint, seven to 10 relate to the second subpoint, and sentences 11 to 13 are information on the third subpoint. The last sentence is a closing sentence, a restatement of the topic sentence.

Coherence. The paragraph is coherent because it has structural devices and an orderly movement of thoughts. Transition words such as "while growing up, married when she was 18, over the next eight years, years later" indicate time. The pronoun "she" references Tina, expressing that the paragraph is a short story about her life. The chronological order of events connects the story from start to end.

Emphasis. There is an emphasis on the points of the paragraph through the topic sentence (main point + subpoint) located in the first sentence and elaboration of sub-points in the second sentence. The subpoints have a proportionate number of supporting sentences and follow a parallel grammatical structure using declarative, simple, complex, compound statements, third-person objective pronouns, and simple past tense. Repeated words such as "meaningful, fulfilling, life" refer to the main point, Tina. Finally, the story tells the significant milestones of Tina's life from beginning to end, achieving its climactic order.

Development. This is a narrative paragraph. It has the essential elements of a story:
-a simple plot (beginning-middle-end)
-characters (Tina and her family)
-setting (Tina's lifetime in her hometown)
-point of view (narration in third person objective)
-theme (Tina living a meaningful/fulfilling life)
The paragraph could be developed as a character sketch if given more details about Tina's characteristics and circumstances.


Splice music: Stories from the Sky, Sid Acharya

References:
Casinto, C.D., Morales, M.E., Adriano, T.Q. (2013). Models of Study and Thinking Skills. Malabon City: Mutya Publishing House, Inc.

Clark, R. P. (2016). Writing tools: 50 essential strategies for every writer. Little, Brown and Company.

Zinsser, W. K. (2016). On writing well: The classic guide to writing nonfiction. Harper Perennial.