Optional Course – Successful Writing – First-Person Narratives 08

FIRST-PERSON NARRATIVES

First-person narratives are written in the first-person (I/we) about a series of events, real or imaginary,
which happened to us. A first-person narrative should consist of:
a) an introduction in which you set the scene (who was involved, time, place, etc) in an interesting way
to make the reader want to continue reading;
b) a main body, consisting of two or more paragraphs, where you develop your story, presenting the
events in the order they happened; and
c) a conclusion which includes what happened at the end of the story, as well as people's feelings, final
comments or reactions. A surprising ending makes a longlasting impression on the reader.

! You should normally use past tenses in such pieces of writing, as well as a variety of adjectives or adverbs to
make your story more attractive to the reader. Narratives can be found in articles, letters, novels, etc. To attract
the reader's attention, give interesting and catchy titles to your stories, especially if they are for a magazine,
newspaper, etc.

1. Read the rubric and underline the key words, then answer the questions.
A local newspaper is holding a story competition and you have decided to enter. Your story should start with:
"I stood on the deck staring at the huge waves." Write your story for the competition.
1. Who is going to read your story?
2. Who should your story be about? A your brother B yourself
3. What should your story be about?
A a boat trip B a train accident C a warm summer's day in the mountains

Introduction Paragraph 1 Set the scene (who - where - when - what)

Main Body Paragraphs 2-4 Develop the story: detailed description events in the order they
happened

Conclusion Final Paragraph End of story, feeling comments or reactions

2. a Read the story below and answer the questions.

1. Where did the story take place: on a ship? on a train?
2. What was the weather like: cold and windy? Warm and sunny?
3. What do you think the problem was: a hijacking? A fire in the engine room?
4. What happened in the end: the ship reached the port? The ship sank?
5. Which of the following can you find on a ship? Tick : deck, bedroom, loudspeakers, engine room,
platform, lifeboat station, cabin, sitting room, lifejackets, bus station.

AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY
By Jane Feldon
I stood on the deck, staring at the huge waves. From the moment we 1) left/were leaving port and
sailed into the English Channel, the weather had got worse and worse. Now, lightning flashed across the sky,
which was covered in dark clouds.
Suddenly, the noise of the engines 2) had stopped/ stopped. The ship 3) slowed/ was slowing, rolling
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heavily in the rough sea. A voice over the loudspeakers 4) told/ was telling us to remain calm - then added that
 Optional Course – Successful Writing – First-Person Narratives 08

a fire had started in the engine room, and said that all passengers must go immediately to the nearest lifeboat
station.
We all 5) ran/had run onto the deck, following the signs to the lifeboats. The ship's officers arrived,
made sure we had lifejackets and 6) showed/were showing us how to put them on.
I 7) looked/was looking again in horror at the wild, stormy sea. The thought of being out there in a tiny
boat was terrifying. Minutes 8) had passed/ passed like hours, until at last a voice 9) was announcing/
announced that everything was under control and the danger was over. We 10) cheered/had cheered as the
engines started again and the ship 11) moved/was moving forward into the waves, still couldn't believe it was
over, though - not until we had reached port and I 12) was standing/had stood on solid ground again!

b. Read the story and underline the correct tenses. Then, label the paragraphs with the following
headings: • development of story • setting the scene • end of story, feelings

c) Read the story again and number the events in the order in which they happened. Then, use the
list to retell the story as if it had happened to you.
_ We were asked to go to the nearest lifeboat _ We reached port.
station. _ We went to the lifeboats.
_ We put on lifejackets. _ The engines stopped.
_ A fire started in the engine room. 1 The ferry left port.
_ The ship slowed. _ The engines started again

d) Read the story again and fill in the correct adjectives, then make sentences using the completed
collocations.
……… waves ……… clouds ……… sea ……… boat ……… ground
Before you start writing your story you should decide on the plot line, i.e. the main events which
make up the story.

You should make sure that you write these events in the order they happened. To show the sequence of
events you can use linking words such as: as soon as, while, before, first, next, then, etc.

3 a) Read the rubrics below and match them to the plot lines. Can you suggest alternative plot
lines?
1 A magazine is holding a competition for the best short story ending with 'We wouldn't lose our house."
2 Your teacher has asked you to write a short story ending with "The boy looked at me and smiled. I had saved
his life."

A B
 I walked down the railway tracks.  My brother and I were looking at some bills.
 I saw a young boy listening to a  The phone rang.
walkman playing on the tracks.  A lawyer invited us to his office.
 The train came.  He told us a distant relative of
 I ran towards the boy.  ours had died.
 I pushed him off the tracks.  She left us £100,000.
 The train went by.

b) Read the rubric and the plot line, then put the events in the order they happened. Finally, use
the plot line to tell the story as if it had happened to you.
A magazine has asked its readers to submit short stories starting with these words. "As soon as I got off the
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train I knew this would be a special day in my life."

 Optional Course – Successful Writing – First-Person Narratives 08

5 Read the extracts below and fill in the gaps with the linking words and phrases from each list.
before, eventually, meanwhile, as soon as, suddenly, after a while
1) …… I arrived at the bank I joined the queue and waited for my turn. 2) …… two men burst through
the door and ran to the cashier, shouting loudly. 3) …… we knew it; the men had forced the cashier to
open the security door. 4) …… bank manager called the police. 5) …… we heard the police car siren
blaring, but by the time they arrived, the robbers had left the building. The police chased them and 6)
…… caught them.

at first, soon, suddenly, finally, then, as

1) …… we were driving home down the winding mountain road it started to snow. Soft white snowflakes were
falling lightly onto the road and it 2) …… became very slippery. 3) ……, a deer shot out in front of the van and
I had to swerve violently to avoid it. I heard a loud thump and managed to stop. I quickly jumped out of the van
and ran back to see if the deer was hurt.
I found it lying in the road. 4) ……, I thought it was dead. Then, the deer opened its eyes and I realized
that it was alive. I jumped back, relieved as the deer struggled to its feet. For a moment it stood looking at me
with its large soft brown eyes, 5) …… it ran off into the forest and 6) …… disappeared from view.

PAST TENSES
You can use various past tenses in your story:
 past simple, to describe actions which started and ended in the past, or actions which happened one after
the other in the past,
e.g. I went to Paris last month. I walked past the bank and stopped at the post office to buy some stamps.
 past continuous, to set the scene or to describe events/actions in progress at a certain time in the past.
e.g. It was pouring with rain that evening. We were all sitting in the living room.
 past perfect, for actions which happened before other past actions, or to give the background of the story,
e.g. I decided to call Mr. Jones and tell him the truth about what had happened.

6. Read the extract below and underline the correct past tense.
At first, I 1) wasn't/hadn't been frightened by the noise as I 2) was thinking/thought it 3) had been/was just
the wind which 4) was rattling/ rattled the windows. Then I 5) was freezing/froze when I 6) heard/had
heard the wooden stairs creaking outside my bedroom door. I 7) was deciding/decided to be brave and 8)
went/was going downstairs to see if it 9) had been/was really a burglar. A few minutes later, I 10) had
stood/was standing terrified at the bottom of the stairs, looking round for a burglar. It was then that I 11) was
seeing/saw that the 'burglar' 12) was/had been my little brother, who 13) was getting/had got up to get a glass
of water.

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