Participate in collaborative discussions about arguments by evaluating claims, findings, reasoning, relevance, and evidence from multiple sources.
Arizona's K-12 Academic Standards:
8.W.3.a
Common Core State Standards:
Literacy.W.8.3a
Georgia Standards:
ELAGSE8W3a
Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS):
W.8.3.a
Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
W.8.3a
North Carolina - Standard Course of Study:
W.8.3.b
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
8W3a
Engage the reader by establishing a point of view and introducing a narrator and/or
characters.
Tennessee Academic Standards:
8.W.TTP.3.a
Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or participants/characters.
8.W.TTP.3.b - Organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
W.8.1
Compose reflective, formal, and creative writing, which may happen simultaneously or independently, for a variety of high-stakes and low-stakes purposes.
Arizona's K-12 Academic Standards:
8.W.3.b
Common Core State Standards:
Literacy.W.8.3b
Georgia Standards:
ELAGSE8W3b
Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS):
W.8.3.b
Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards:
W.8.3b
North Carolina - Standard Course of Study:
W.8.3.c
New York State Next Generation Learning Standards:
8W3b
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Tennessee Academic Standards:
8.W.TTP.3.d
Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection when appropriate, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
Wisconsin Academic Standards:
W.8.2.a
Write arguments to introduce and support claim(s) using logical reasoning, relevant evidence, and literary theory. Use accurate, credible sources and demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
Tennessee Academic Standards:
8.W.TTP.3.c
Create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
8th Grade Writing - Narrative Writing Lesson
Narrative Openings and Point of View
Engage and Orient
The opening of a narrative has two jobs. It must engage the reader, which means that it makes the reader curious enough to keep reading. It must also orient the reader by establishing the context: where and when the story takes place, what situation the characters are facing, and who is telling the story.
Point of View
Point of view is the position from which a story is told. A first-person narrator is a character inside the story who tells it with words such as I and me. A third-person narrator tells the story from outside of it. A third-person narrator may know the thoughts of only one character. An all-knowing narrator reveals the thoughts of every character in the story.
To write an opening that engages and orients the reader, a writer makes four decisions.
Start with a moment: begin with an image, an action, or a feeling that makes the reader curious. Avoid announcing the topic, defining a word, or revealing the ending.
Establish the context: within the first few sentences, show where and when the story happens and what problem or situation the characters are facing.
Introduce the narrator and characters: choose details that matter to the story, such as what a character wants or why a particular character is important to the narrator.
Choose a point of view for its effect, and then hold it: a narrator who knows only one character's thoughts keeps the reader guessing along with that character, which builds suspense. An all-knowing narrator lets the reader see the difference between how characters behave and how they actually feel, which can create humor or tension. Once a writer chooses a point of view, the narrator reports only what that point of view allows.
Example:
Step 1: Find what the opening is missing. Sentence 1 announces the topic instead of making the reader curious. Sentence 2 mentions a time but does not describe the place or the situation, so the reader has no strong reason to keep reading yet.
Step 2: Revise to engage and orient at once. A stronger first sentence drops the reader directly into the moment: "The planetarium dome went black, and countless stars burst across the ceiling above our class." This sentence creates curiosity and also shows where the story happens and who is there. The writer no longer needs sentences 1, 2, and 3, so the draft moves straight to Joaquín grabbing the narrator's arm.
Example:
Step 1: Check each sentence against the point of view. Because the narrator knows only Elena's thoughts, every sentence must show what Elena sees, hears, or thinks. Sentence 3 reveals Sofia's private feelings, which Elena cannot know. It also gives away the answer that the reader is supposed to be wondering about.
Step 2: Replace it with something Elena could observe. The writer could write, "At the soccer table, Sofia laughs at a joke, but she never once looks back." Now the reader knows only what Elena knows. The point of view holds, and the suspense lasts until Elena discovers the truth.
Event Sequences and Turning Points
Event Sequence
An event sequence is the order of the events in a narrative. In a sequence that unfolds naturally and logically, each event follows from the one before it, so the reader never has to guess how the story moved from one moment to the next.
Turning Point
The turning point is the moment when the direction of a story changes, such as when a character makes an important discovery, faces the conflict directly, or makes a decision that cannot be undone. The events before the turning point gradually build tension, and the events after it show the reader what changes as a result.
To organize an event sequence that builds to a turning point, a writer follows four guidelines.
Keep one clear timeline: put each cause before its effect, so that every event grows naturally out of the event that comes before it.
Raise the stakes: let each event make the problem a little more difficult or a little more important, so that the tension increases step by step.
Hold the release: save the moment when the tension eases for after the turning point. An event that solves the problem too early allows the tension to leak away.
Fill the gaps: if the reader would have to guess how one event led to the next, add the missing event. Remove any events that lead nowhere.
Example:
Step 1: Trace the tension from event to event. Events 1, 2, and 4 each raise the stakes: the boat is built, it begins to leak, and the next race will decide everything. Event 3 shows the cousins celebrating with medals, which releases the tension before the problem is solved and before any race has been won.
Step 2: Move the release after the turning point. The celebration belongs after event 5, once Amir seals the seam and the boat goes on to win. In that order, the sequence builds from a problem to higher stakes to the turning point. The release of tension then arrives at the end, where the reader expects it.
Narrative Techniques and Reflection
Narrative Techniques
Narrative techniques are the tools that writers use to develop experiences, events, and characters. Four of the most important techniques are dialogue, pacing, description, and reflection, and a skilled writer chooses each one for a specific purpose.
Dialogue and pacing
Dialogue should always do a job in the story: it can reveal what a character is like, move the events forward, or advance a conflict by pushing a disagreement further instead of settling it.
Pacing is how quickly a story moves. A writer slows down at the most important moment by adding moment-by-moment details about what a character sees, hears, and feels, and speeds up through unimportant stretches of time by summarizing them. Slowing down at the right moment builds tension.
Description and reflection
Description should develop a character or an event. A writer chooses details that reveal something important and places them where the reader needs them, because a detail that develops nothing pulls the reader away from the story.
Reflection shows the narrator's thoughts about what an event means. A writer weaves reflection into the middle of the narrative, right after the moment that prompts it, instead of saving every thought for the ending. A strong reflection sounds like the narrator's own insight, not like a lesson aimed at the reader.
Example:
Step 1: Identify the conflict. Kayla wants a simple, familiar project, and Dev thinks the idea is unoriginal. A line that advances the conflict must push that disagreement further, rather than settling it or changing the subject.
Step 2: Write a line that raises the stakes. A line such as "Fine, then we will turn in nothing, and Ms. Ruiz can decide whose fault that is," Kayla said, sharpens the argument. A line such as "Okay, Dev, pick the project," would settle the disagreement, and a comment about lunch would simply change the subject.
Example:
Step 1: Find the moment that matters most. Sentence 1 summarizes an ordinary week, which is effective pacing for unimportant time. Sentence 2 contains the most tense moment of the story, but it races through that moment in a single sentence.
Step 2: Slow that moment down. The writer could stretch sentence 2 into several sentences of moment-by-moment detail: the box tumbling through the air, the dull thud on the grass, and the narrator holding her breath while the teacher lifts the lid. Slowing down at this point makes the reader wait, and waiting builds tension.
Example:
Step 1: Find the moment that prompts the thought. A reflection should come right after the event that makes the narrator think. Grandpa hurrying outside in his bathrobe and slippers in sentence 4 is the detail that shows the narrator how eager he is.
Step 2: Weave the reflection into the narrative. The reflection belongs right after sentence 4, before the two of them water the sprout. Placed there, the thought grows naturally out of the action, and the story keeps moving instead of stopping for a summary at the end.
8th Grade Writing - Narrative Writing Lesson