A NARRATIVE

TOPIC
Writing a narrative is like telling a story.
MODEL: The New Neighbour
Last summer, a man moved into our building. As soon
as they had seen him, the other neighbours began to
talk. They said that he was probably a criminal. He
really looked frightening and he never said a word to
anyone.
One day, I heard shouts coming from the stairs. Mrs.
Thompsons baby was choking and she was screaming
fro help! All of a sudden, the new neighbour appeared.
He grabbed the baby and helped her breathe again.
He was a doctor, and he had saved the babys life.
After that, we all began to talk to him.
We found out that he was in England and didnt know
much English. That was why he was so quiet. We had
all been wrong about him. In the end, we learned a
lesson from what had happened: you cant rely on first

YOUR TASK
Write a survival story. Use 100 150 words.
a. BRAINSTORM. Think of the characters and events. Answer the
questions to help you.
o
o
o
o
o
o

Who are the main characters?

Where / when does the story take place?
What problem do the characters face?
What do they do to try to solve the problem?
What difficulties do they have solving it?
How does the story end?

b. ORGANISE YOUR IDEAS. Use the plan to organize your ideas.

PLAN: A Narrative
PARAGRAPH 1 Set the scene (characters, time and place,
introduce the situation).
PARAGRAPH 2 Write the main events of the story.

USEFUL
LANGUAGE
PARAGRAPH
3 Say how the story ended, how the problem is
solved.

 TIME EXPRESSIONS
When

As soon as

While

By the time

Before

Until

After

During

It all began when

Meanwhile

Shortly after

A few minutes later

Yesterday

It all began when

All night

It was a cold day

A week later

Before I knew it

Last summer

Suddenly

Immediately

All of a sudden

Shortly after

It was a experience
Ive never been so

ESPRESSIONS OF SEQUENCE
First

In the beginning

Next

At last

At first

To begin with

Later

In the end