Differences Between a Narrative Essay and a Descriptive Essay with Examples

Have you ever wondered what is the basic difference between narrative essay writing and descriptive writing?

In our academic writing career, students are asked to write essays profoundly by teachers every semester and a good essay is always a key to success. To write a good essay, you need to have the knowledge of every essay type so you can come up with the expectation of the essay and the teacher both. But of course, some essays look from the outside and through prompts, so we make mistakes in our judgment.

Well, in the case of both descriptive and narrative essay writing, we make the same writing mistake because both essays look alike. If you want to excel in the semesters and be a good essay writer, you need to know the difference between every essay writing and utilize your knowledge for your success. So, the major point I want to make here is that first get the knowledge and then, move to the next step.

Now, what will you do if your teacher asks you about the difference between narrative and descriptive essays?

If you are not clear about this question then, you do not need to worry because you have landed on the same article that can tell you everything about these two essay types.

So, let’s get ready to know about these two types and mark a success in your assignments and writing.

What is a Narrative Essay?

If you want to write about your personal experience, then a narrative essay is the right choice for you.

In the narrative essay, you write about personal reflection or the personal experience which has a significant impact on your life. It can be anything related to your life, such as a day, any event, incident, dream, accident, unforgettable day, or the first job. Anything that can have a huge impact on your life can come under this essay type and you have the freedom to talk about your life as much as possible.

But, be careful because explaining your experience is not the only thing, but you have to explain it with the help of vivid imagery, descriptive language, and sensory elements with literary devices too.

Don’t forget you are telling readers something interesting about your life and they should be at a stage to imagine it with you. You can even get a sample of the narrative essay from online paper writing service websites and you can ask for assistance in this essay type as well. With online help and knowledge, you can have a better idea about the narrative essay type.

For Example,

You can write a narrative essay on the topics like:

•         The first time you cooked a meal
•         Talk about the time of war
•         Your gender experiences
•         The time when you became the target of the Racism
•         A story of losing your father/ friend
•         A teacher who changed your life
•         The one skill you learned

What is a Descriptive Essay?

Now, it's your turn for descriptive writing. What does this essay offer to you?

You do not have to go around the topic and be creative like the narrative essay type but here, you have to simply explain an event, place, person, emotion, and object.

You have to describe the topic fully and it does not matter if you have to utilize the sensory details or you want to make use of imagery. When I had to write my essay, I made the mistake of describing the place without using creative language and my essay turned out so blunt and ineffective. So, it's better to not repeat mistakes like mine and utilize sensory details to convince readers to immerse in the ambiance.

For example,

You can write a descriptive essay on the topics like:

•         Memorable concert of your life
•         Write about your past
•         The day you lost your friend
•         The memorable trip you took
•         The emotion that changes your life
•         Your favorite object

The difference in terms of the Essay’s Elements

Now that you know the basic difference between both essay types, it's time for you to trace the difference in different elements of the essay.

So, are you ready to know some major differences?

An essay writing service can give a decent choice if you want to take some help.

Definition

A narrative essay is about the personal experiences of the individuals while a descriptive essay is an account of the event, emotion, or place.

Style

You can design the narrative essay like a short story but the descriptive essay is like a simple, informative essay that has no relevance to your personal life.

Narration style

Now, when it comes to the point of view of narration, in a narrative essay, you have to use first-person narration but in a descriptive essay, you have to be objective in presenting the topic, so you use 3rd person narration.

Characters and Plot

You must have understood from the above discussion that narrative essays are like short stories so they have a proper plot and number of characters. These characters revolve around the plot and help in its progression.

In contrast, your descriptive essay does not have any plot or character.

Order

Narrative essays are like stories, so they should be written in chronological order and every element relates to the other elements of the essay. While in the descriptive essay, you have to follow the common essay format which is:

1.   Introduction
2.   3 body paragraphs
3.   Conclusion

Even if you can add more paragraphs to this pattern, it’s up to you.

Action

Narrative writing is always full of action because it is a story, so you can add dramatic elements too. But, in descriptive writing, you have to stick to the topic and no extra action is needed.

Now, you have enough knowledge about common differences between both essay types and you can easily tell your teacher and friends about it. You can even write the essay effectively too. So best of luck students. 

If you run into any problems when writing, you can ask a professional essay writer to write my essay.