What Are Narrative Texts?

Narrative texts tell stories. They have a beginning, a middle and an end, and are organized as a series of connected events.

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Narrative texts can be split into 2 broad categories: fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction stories	Non-fiction stories
• Not real • Imagined by the author • May be inspired by real events or people	• Based in facts • Researched or observed by the author • Recount real events
Examples of fiction text types	Examples of non-fiction text types
• Nursery rhymes • Fairy tales • Poems • Myths • Legends • Short stories • Chapter books & novels • Comics	• Biographies • Autobiographies • Memoirs

Comparison between fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is not real; it is imagined by the author but may be inspired by real people or events. Non-fiction is based in facts; it is researched or observed by the author and it recounts real events.

What Are the Features of Narrative Texts?

Here are some of the key features of narrative texts.

Plot
• The events that take place in the story
• Has a beginning, a middle and an end

Characters
• People, animals or creatures in the story

Setting
• Where and when the story takes place

Narrator’s point of view
• Who is telling the story
→ 1st person uses I
→ 3rd person uses he/she/they

Summary of the features of narrative texts. There’s a plot, with a beginning, a middle and an end. There are characters, the ones illustrated are Little Red Riding Hood, a king and the Big Bad Wolf. There’s the setting that tells us where and when the story is taking place. There’s the narrator point of view that can be done in the 1st person or in the 3rd person.

Common Elements Found in Narrative Texts

Here are some examples of common elements often found in narrative texts:

Themes
• Central topic or message in the story
• Lessons or morals that can be taken from the story
Examples: friendship, courage, identity

Conflict
• Problems or challenges the characters face
• Key element to the plot
Examples: character vs. character, man vs. nature, character vs. society

Resolution
• Solutions to the conflict
• At the end of the story

Tone
• Mood of the story (funny, serious, scary…)

Style
• Author’s choice of words
• Author’s sentence structures
• Use of figurative language
• Author’s choice of themes

Representations of common elements found in narrative texts. Themes are the illustrated speech bubbles coming out of a book, one with the picture of a family, one with people trying to make a human pyramid for teamwork and one with a scale for right and wrong. Conflict is illustrated by a person surrounded by red exclamation marks. Resolution is illustrated by a person surrounded by ideas in the form of light bulbs. Tone is illustrated by faces showing expressions of happiness, sadness and anger. Style is i

Narrative Texts at a Glance

Summary of the features and common elements found in narrative texts. Narrative texts can be fiction: texts that tell stories that are not real, or non-fiction: texts that tell stories based in facts. Summary of the features of narrative texts: there’s a plot, with a beginning, a middle and an end. There are characters, the ones illustrated are Little Red Riding Hood, a king and the Big Bad Wolf. There’s the setting that tells us where and when the story takes place. There’s the narrator’s point of view tha

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