

An occasional slip into the past tense can ruin the whole impression. You may use present tense to describe events in the past so your readers will feel as though they witness them happen.Start a new paragraph every time you introduce a new location, event, or a direct speech by another person.Consider adding few idioms or a bit of slang to make your story more vivid. Ideally, you should not tell your readers what happened but show it, painting a picture with words. Use the language you would normally use in speech. Tell your reader what you were actually feeling, not what you think others would feel. Avoid too much “hiding” in a group (“we”) or shifting to the second person (“you”). If you do not have any quotes, you do not need this page either. If you use any quotations, list your sources on the “Works Cited” page according to general MLA rules.Weave the author’s credentials into the fabric of your narrative in a casual way, as it was done in the example above. In a personal essay, it looks out of place.

Do not include the author’s name and year of publication in parentheses.For example, “When I saw them jumping up and down, I couldn’t help recalling this phrase from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be.’” However, you may use a famous quote to illustrate your feelings. A narrative essay is supposed to tell about your personal experience, so it can be fine without any words but your own. Consider whether you need to cite anything at all.Include a page number in the upper right corner.Use the tab key to indent your paragraphs.Set your margins on all sides to 1 inch.Use Times New Roman font, 12 pt, and double-spacing.Just write your name, the name of your teacher, date, and type of assignment at the beginning of your first page, above the title. Do not include a title page unless it is required.Here are useful tips on how to write this kind of papers. Personal narratives in high school and college are often assigned in MLA format. Hints for Writing an MLA Format Narrative Essay
