As every student knows there are generally four main types of essays - an argumentative, narrative, expository, and descriptive essay. The last one, is probably the most creative one of all. But, at the same time, it is not less hard to write than other types of essays.

So, you need to write a narrative essay, what’s next? Where to start and how to ensure success? It shouldn’t surprise you, but the first step in writing a paper is the choice of a topic. Moreover, this very choice is basically the biggest part of success. Thus, it is vital that you pick a topic wisely.

In this article, we are going to share with you the most effective tips on how to choose a good topic and also provide plenty of great examples for your inspiration.

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What Is a Narrative Essay?

In a nutshell, a narrative is a story. Respectively, you can think of writing as telling a story to the reader. Often, this type of essays are telling a story about some personal experience, so they are written in the first person.

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What is the purpose of a narrative paper? As you already know, one of the key goals is to tell a story. However, there is much more to it than seems from first sight. This kind of essay should have an entertaining nature. But, at the same time, it should make a point. Simply put, there should be a central idea - something that shows the importance of a particular experience and teaches a lesson.

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The key features that make this kind of essay different from other types of papers are that it can be personal, experimental, and anecdotal. It gives students the freedom to express their creativity through different techniques that are not typical for academic writing.

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Here are some of the key things you should also know about narrative paper writing:

  • It has the elements of a story, such as characters, plot, setting, and climax.
  • It should be vivid and engaging.
  • It should always have the main theme.
  • The story is typically told chronologically.
  • You may include dialogue in this essay.
  • There should be lots of vivid descriptions and sensory details that will keep the readers engaged.

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Narrative Essay Topics: How to Choose the Best One?

Choosing good narrative essay topics is important in many ways. The topic is what lies at the heart of your essay. So, the better it is, the more high-quality essay you can create.

Below, we have gathered some of the handiest tips that will help you choose a perfect narrative essay topic:

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  • Never forget that you are telling a story. Most academic papers are raw, dry, and quite boring. This fact often misleads students and they make a common mistake - pick a flat and emotionless topic. So, the first tip is to always remember your purpose. This type of essay should be an engaging, touching, and unique piece of storytelling and your topic should be the same.
  • An event from your life may be the best topic for narrative essay. As mentioned earlier, an essay can and even should be personal. That’s why it is very common to choose an event from real life as a topic for this paper. Consider doing the same.
  • Focus on something meaningful and engaging. This essay is a great opportunity to write about something you are personally interested in and passionate about. Feel free to focus on what matters to you. If you are writing about something you are genuinely interested in, your paper has to turn out great!
  • Don’t skip the prewriting stage. Crafting a good story is a big step to completing the task and getting a deserved high grade. However, that’s just a part of the process. Many students prefer to skip the planning stage. But, we encourage you not to make the same mistake. To write a good story, you have to plan it well. So, don’t neglect this tip, and be sure to create an outline before you get to writing.
  • Don’t be afraid to experiment. This type of essay is one of the very few academic papers that give you space for creativity and experiment, so don’t miss this chance! Feel free to experiment with narrative essay topic ideas, styles, and techniques. Search for possible ways to make your essay stand out.
  • Always stick to the right essay structure. When working on your essay, feel free to choose an interesting topic, stay open to experiments, and unleash your creativity, but remember that it is still an essay. Therefore, you should remember to stick to the appropriate structure, which includes an introduction, at least three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

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80 Topics for Narrative Essay

So, you already know that choosing the right topics for writing a narrative essay is a half-way to success and you also know some basic tips for making this choice. But, what if you feel like that’s not enough?

First of all, don’t worry! Often, all you need to find inspiration and get on the right track is to check out a few good examples of topics. Below, you can find many good topics for a narrative essay divided by the level of complexity and subject matter.

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Narrative Essay Topics for College

College essay topics are probably the most commonly used ones. But, they can be just as effective as other, more creative topics if you choose them wisely.

Here are some topics for college students you can consider:

  • What is your favorite thing about being a college student?
  • What book made the biggest impact on you?
  • Describe your experience of learning remotely
  • What would you change in your college and why?
  • Your most memorable college experience

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Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students

What is the difference between an essay for college and for high school? In a nutshell, they will be pretty much the same. However, the topics for high school students can be less serious and complicated. Are you thinking, "How to write my research paper easily?"

Here are some topics you can encounter:

  • Describe the best memory of your freshman year
  • Your first high-school dance
  • Your biggest achievement at school
  • What are the biggest challenges of being in a high school?
  • Your favorite extracurricular activity at school
  • What do you love about school?

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Personal Narrative Essay Topics

As was already mentioned, an essays can be personal. Thus, it is always a good idea to choose a more personal topic. But, keep in mind that it should still deliver a meaningful point through your personal experience (e.g. a lesson learned, the way something changed you, etc.).

If you are looking for a personal topic, here are a few ideas:

  • An experience that changed you the most
  • Describe a situation when you made a big mistake
  • A situation that changed the way you treat your parents
  • Your role model
  • A day when you became a pet owner and how it changed your life

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Narrative Argument Essay Topics

Unlike a standard narrative paper that just tells a story, a narrative argument essay also strives to convince the reader to agree with your viewpoint. In order to write this type of essay, you need to choose a controversial topic that gives you enough scope to argue about something.

Here you have some nice argument essay topics to look at:

  • Describe your experience of watching a movie (reading a book) that changed your mind about something
  • A time when you talked to someone with different political beliefs
  • A moment in your life when you had to defend yourself
  • What is love based on your personal experience?
  • Your thoughts on the climate change issue

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Funny Narrative Essay Topics

This kind of essays can be not only touching and personal, but also funny. Here are some funny topic ideas to highlight your sense of humor:

  • Something funny that happened to your family members or friends
  • The most embarrassing moment in your life
  • An experience that you believe has only ever happened to you
  • The funniest memory from middle school
  • The funniest story from when you were a child

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Easy Narrative Essay Topics

Narrative essay topics can be very deep and complex. But, they also can be simple. Even with a simple topic, you can create an engaging story, but it is still important to choose your topic wisely.

Here is a list of some good and simple ideas:

  • Your first time visiting a zoo
  • The happiest moment of your life
  • A regular day in your life
  • Your favorite childhood memory
  • The biggest challenge you’ve faced so far
  • Your first family trip

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Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

Our own culture as well as different cultures we discover throughout our lives have a large impact on our identities and personalities. Thus, it can be a great topic for your story.

Here are a few ideas for an essay on culture:

  • Describe your first experience of learning a foreign culture
  • What are your favorite traditions from other cultures?
  • Your cultural heritage
  • Describe a situation when you got over stereotypes
  • The most unusual cultural experience you’ve had so far

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Autobiographical Narrative Essay Topics

Autobiographical essays give you a chance to write about your real-life experiences and the way they influenced your life.

Here are some examples of autobiographical college narrative essay topics for your inspiration:

  • The best day in your childhood
  • The biggest loss you’ve experienced in your life
  • What people have influenced you the most?
  • The worst day of your life
  • Your first date

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Fictional Narrative Essay Topics

Although events from real life can serve as a great basis for your essay, that does not mean that you can’t make up a fictional story. On the contrary, fictional essays can show even more of your personality and help you reveal your creative potential.

If you would like to write an essay on a fictional topic, here are some good ideas:

  • Describe your most recent memorable dream
  • What would it be like to be a US president?
  • Describe a dinner with your favorite celebrity
  • What would it be like to become a space traveler?
  • What would it be like to have a superpower?
  • What would you do if you get a million dollars?

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Narrative Essay Topics on Social Media

Social media plays a huge role in our daily lives. We bet that each of you spends lots of time on different social networks and, probably, you have some personal stories to share that are related to social media.

  • What role does social media play in your life?
  • What is your personality on social media?
  • The most memorable story you have connected with social media
  • Why do you like sharing photos on Instagram?
  • A special person you met thanks to social networks

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Narrative Essay Topics on Sports and Games

Sports and games are inherent in the lives of all students. These both topics can be very engaging and, at the same time, meaningful. And, students who enjoy playing games or doing sports often have lots of great stories related to these topics, which makes them great for an essay.

To help you get started, here are a few nice options to consider:

  • How have sports changed your life?
  • Favorite childhood games
  • What is the most fun sports experience you’ve had?
  • Why do you enjoy playing video games?
  • The most memorable sports event you’ve had

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Narrative Essay Topics on Traveling

Traveling is fun and beneficial for anyone. Everyone who has traveled at least once in a lifetime knows that these memories are the most precious. Essays about traveling are always extremely engaging and inspiring, which is why this might be one of the most interesting narrative essay topics of all.

Check out these cool topics on traveling:

  • If you could go anywhere in the world, what cities and countries you would visit?
  • Tell about your most memorable road trip
  • What is your dream vacation?
  • What is the best place you have ever visited?
  • How does traveling affect you and your life?
  • Would you want to live in a foreign country someday?

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Narrative Essay Topics on Morality and Religion

Both the topic of religion and the topic of morality is as old as the world. Such topics are always relevant and pretty deep, which means they give you plenty of space for thought and discussion.

Here are some nice examples of narrative essay topics on morality and religion:

  • An event that made you more or less religious
  • Why do you enjoy helping others?
  • What are your life values?
  • A time when you lied and regretted it
  • Your first time attending a church
  • The hardest ethical dilemma you’ve faced so far

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Narrative Essay Topics on Gender Roles

Gender roles and equality have always been big and trending topics. It may not be one of the easiest topics for narrative essay. But, if you are willing to write about something truly meaningful and ready for the challenge, this can be a great option.

Here are a few attention-grabbing topics on gender roles:

  • A time when you realized that standard gender roles are not relevant in the modern world
  • A situation when you acted differently from what is expected of you based on your gender
  • What gender roles are present in your family?
  • A time when you faced gender bias
  • How did common gender roles affect your life and personality?

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Best Narrative Essay Topics - Our Choice

If you haven’t found your ideal topic yet, we’ve got some more ideas for you. Here is our top-picks list of narrative essay topics that we find the best:

  • The most life-changing event of your life
  • A time when you chose a wrong role model and realized it
  • The thrill of winning
  • Overcoming traumatic experience that happened to you
  • The biggest life lesson you’ve learned so far

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Final Words

Choosing the right topic is the key to creating a top-notch essay. However, even though it may seem like a simple task, formulating a good topic can be very tricky.Hopefully, after reading our comprehensive guide, you have a better idea of how to choose perfect narrative essay topics. And if you're still struggling with it - you can always buy an essay paper online and watch professionals do it for you.To wrap it up, let’s recall some of the key takeaways on how to find good topics for a narrative essay you’ve learned from this article:

  • A topic has to be interesting to you.
  • It should be relevant to your story.
  • It can be something personal or funny.
  • It is always a good idea to write about something that happened to you in real life.
  • There should be a deeper meaning to your topic and the story itself, for example, a vital lesson you’ve learned.

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