In many respects narrative writing is straightforward to define, it is a type of writing used to tell a story from the perspective of a person providing an overview of the situation. Essentially narrative writing is carrying out the same role as telling a story by reading it out aloud, or performing the role of a narrator in a play.
It is writing that tell a story and it gives the framework to, which dialogue, or speech from characters from other than the narrator can be added. When sections meant to be from others have finished the story then goes back to the narrative writing. The context of the work will determine how much of it consists of narrative writing.
On occasions though the narrative writing will form the entire work in question. That is most likely to be the case when the entire piece is written from the perspective of the narrator. If the writing is non fictional then the views expressed in the narrative writing are far more likely to be the views of the writer themselves. When it comes to fictional works then whatever expressed by the narrator does not have to be of the same opinion of the author, and the narrative writing can be more to do with telling a story, or providing a moral stand point for the work taken as a whole.
Narrative writing can be taught in the classroom by clearly explaining to students what it is and then provide them with one or two examples so that they understand the concept, and so that they could use it in the right context. Here it is worth mentioning that the student needs to understand when narratives are being objective or subjective in their nature, e g are accounts aiming to be neutral, or just presenting one-sided of an issue.
One method to teach them about narrative writing is to ask them to read samples of it so they can understand how published authors have perfected how to use it for the benefit of completing the work in question. As well as asking students to read examples out load to the rest of the class. To make it more relevant it is worth giving examples of both fictional an non fictional narrative writing to allow them to pick up on any differences between the examples.
It is worth providing several examples of narrative writing to allow the students to note any variations in how this type of writing may appear to whoever is reading the pieces of writing. However there is no point in providing more than several examples as the learning will not be consolidated any further.
The best way to consolidate the learning on narrative writing is to have the students do their own narrative writing exercises using the relevant lesson plans and textbooks. Ideally the students will write fictional and non fictional narrative accounts. Also students should practice writing narratives that are neutral, as well as ones that are biased.
In summary narrative writing is when the writer sets the scene in their fictional or non fictional work. The style is used to inform the reader about the subjects or issue within the work. The subject can be taught by telling students the basic concepts related to narrative writing. Then it is best for students to read several examples of it and ask question about the information they gained from those readings.
Finally the last step is to have students write their own narrative accounts and to provide feedback after the work has been marked.