The Ultimate Guide to Narrative Essay vs Descriptive Essay
Narrative Essay is a personal experience narrated by the author. Whereas the descriptive essay requires an author to describe something like a place, object, experience, and more.
Still confused between the narrative essay and the descriptive essay? Don’t worry, you have an exciting ‘narrative essay vs descriptive essay’ coming up in this exciting blog post. So, let’s get started.
Comparison Between Narrative and Descriptive Essay
Narrative Essay
A narrative essay tells a story. It could be based on your own experiences or from your imagination. You need to make sure it has a plot, characters, setting and a start, middle, and end. The main aim is to get the reader to connect with the story, so you need to include things like dialogue, and vivid descriptions and the events must be in order. That way it will create an emotional connection with the reader.
Descriptive Essay
A descriptive essay focuses on giving the reader a vivid sensory experience through details that appeal to their senses. The writer uses descriptive language and imagery to create an atmosphere that allows the reader to visualize and experience what is being described. Unlike a narrative essay, a descriptive one doesn’t necessarily tell a story in a particular order, but instead focuses on delivering sensory impressions.
Key Differences
Purpose: Narrative essays tell a story with a moral or message, while descriptive essays create a vivid picture of something by using sensory details.
Structure: Narrative essays have a story with people, events, and a specific order. Descriptive essays are all about the words and senses, usually not sticking to an exact timeline.
Emphasis: Narrative essays try to get the reader involved and make them feel something through telling a story. Descriptive essays try to make the reader really experience it by giving them images to look at in their head.
Narrative essays are great for captivating readers with a good story, while descriptive ones can make readers feel like they’re really there with the help of detailed descriptions. It all comes down to what the writer wants to convey and which one will have the desired effect on the audience.
Narrative Essay Example
The Journey Home
The rain was pouring down hard as I dragged my feet down the street, my bag filled with textbooks and my head weighed down with stress. I had taken this route so many times, but that night felt different. Every step brought back memories – the laughs, the disagreements, the experiences that made up my college years. As I made my way along the familiar path, I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to change, and an era was coming to an end.
Descriptive Essay Example
The Abandoned Carnival
The carnival was totally deserted, a spooky quietness filling the air where there had once been a lot of noise. The rickety swings creaked in the breeze, their metal chains showing the wear of the years. The booths were faded and worn, only hinting at the exciting, lively scenes they’d once seen. There was a musty smell in the air, mixed with a faint memory of the sound of kids laughing, now replaced by a creepy silence. Nature had started to take over, weeds sprouting up through the concrete and claiming back the forgotten amusement park.
In a narrative essay, the focus is all about the narrator’s personal experience, like the journey home that brings on all kinds of emotions and reflections. It has a beginning, middle, and end that tells the story of something that happened in the author’s life.
Basically, the descriptive essay takes you into the abandoned carnival and really makes you feel like you’re there. It doesn’t necessarily tell a story or go in order, but it brings the place alive with all the sensory details, and it’s meant to make you feel something about the setting.
Elements of a Narrative Essay
Plot/Storyline: A narrative essay has a plot that starts at the beginning, goes through the middle, and ends at the conclusion. It’s like a story that’s told in chronological order.
Example: As I stepped onto the train platform, I never imagined that chance encounter would change the course of my life. It was a typical morning until.
Characters: In a narrative essay, characters take on different parts, whether they’re people, animals, or representations of feelings or ideas.
Example: Sarah, with her infectious laughter and unwavering optimism, was the guiding light through the darkest moments of my journey.
Setting: The backdrop gives you an idea of the situation and kind of puts you in the space where everything’s happening.
Example: The quaint little cafe nestled in the heart of the bustling city became our sanctuary, where conversations flowed as freely as the aromatic coffee.
Conflict/Resolution: Typically there’s a problem or struggle that helps move the story along, ultimately resulting in a solution or some kind of growth.
Example: The decision to leave home was daunting, but the sense of adventure overshadowed my fears, propelling me toward unknown horizons.
Point of View: The story is usually told from the point of view of the person telling it, which allows the reader to get close to what the narrator is going through.
Example: I gazed out of the window, watching the world pass by, pondering the twists of fate that brought me to this moment.
Elements of a Descriptive Essay
Sensory Details: Descriptive essays put lots of emphasis on using the senses to create an image for the reader.
Example: The warm, golden rays of the sun danced across the emerald meadow, creating a kaleidoscope of colors that bathed everything in a soft, ethereal glow.
Vivid Language/Imagery: Using a ton of detail and colorful words helps to create a feeling you can almost touch.
Example: The air was heavy with the aroma of freshly baked bread, and the sound of crackling firewood filled the cozy cottage, embracing me in a comforting embrace of home.
Emotional Appeal: Descriptive essays try to stir up emotions by giving lots of details.
Example: The abandoned, dilapidated house stood as a haunting reminder of forgotten memories, evoking a sense of melancholy that lingered in the air.
Emotional Appeal: Essays that try to paint a picture with words and get you feeling something through detailed descriptions.
Example: The abandoned, dilapidated house stood as a haunting reminder of forgotten memories, evoking a sense of melancholy that lingered in the air.
Focused Description: This essay delves into one particular topic, person, location, or event, going into great detail.
Example: The ancient oak tree, with its gnarled branches reaching toward the heavens, cast a protective shadow over the tranquil pond below, a sanctuary for weary travelers.
Organized Structure: Although not necessarily chronological, descriptive essays usually have an organized structure that permits the reader to easily visualize the topic.
Example: From the top of the hill, the sprawling city unfolded like a tapestry, each building a testament to human ambition and progress. The skyline glittered against the setting sun, offering a breathtaking panorama of urban life.
Take Away
Narrative essays and descriptive essays are two very different academic activities. Often at times, students get confused between the two. That’s where we felt the need to address the issue in this exciting narrative essay vs descriptive essay blog post. Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of the differences between the two.
