I need help with an outline for a narrative essay?

A narrative essay is probably the most personal and least formal type of academic essay you will be asked to write.  Narrative essays are all about storytelling, which means that they may be somewhat less structured or rigid than other types of essays.  While that can be a benefit to some writers, for others the fact that narratives are not as tightly structured makes them more difficult to approach.  One way to help your narrative keep the structure of an essay is to keep in mind that while a narrative tells a story, it does not only tell a story.  It is also thesis driven.  A narrative is told to support your thesis, and while it can meander from the topic in a way that might be unacceptable in other forms of academic writing, it ultimately has to support the thesis that your present.

A template for the outline of a narrative essay would be:

I. Introduction

A. Hook

B. Supporting language

C. Thesis

II. Body Paragraphs

A. Body paragraph

B. Body paragraph

C. Body paragraph

III. Conclusion

A. Reiterate your thesis

B. Supporting language

1. Reference from body paragraph A

2. Reference from body paragraph B

3. Reference from body paragraph C 

Because there is so much less structure in a narrative than there is in other types of academic writing, the template is pretty basic.  It may be easier to understand by looking at an example.  This one would be for an essay about dogs as a person’s best friends.  

I. Introduction

A. Hook: My best friends have always been furry.

B. Frosty

C. Snowball

D. Blizzard

E. Thesis: Because they lack self-interest, dogs are protective and loyal in a way that humans are not.  

II. Body 

A. Frosty

1. Woke up the household in a fire

2. Dragged me out of the way of a car when I was playing in the street

B. Snowball

1. Thwarted an attempted home invasion

2. Chased away a would-be rapist

C. Blizzard

1. Friendliest dog in the world

2. Bit someone who was trying to touch my toddler

III. Conclusion

A. Dogs show loyalty that humans lack, because they are not worried about appearances or social status, just about their people. 

B. Blizzard

C. Snowball

D. Frosty