Great Narrative Essay Topic Ideas

A narrative essay is an essay that is written from the perspective of the writer. It’s often a story of the writer’s experience. It can also be an imagined experience, or one told in the voice of someone else. In those cases, the writing is still from the first person perspective. In a narrative essay, the goal is to share something that the writer has gone through, such as overcoming obstacles in a way that the audience becomes engaged with their writing.

Within the category of narrative essays is the personal literacy narrative essay. What is a literacy narrative essay? This is an essay about a writer’s relationship and experience with the written word.

Clearly a narrative essay is personal to you, so it should be something you are comfortable sharing. You also want your topic to be interesting and relatable to your audience. Ideally, they will be able to envision themselves experiencing whatever it was that you experienced.

At times, it can be challenging to find that ideal topic. Because of this, we’ve put together this list of narrative essay topic examples.

1. Write a paper from the perspective of a historical figure like Frederick Douglass

Is there someone from your history books that you really relate to? If so, you could write a narrative from that person’s perspective. For example, you could describe President Lincoln’s evening from his perspective before he delivered the Gettysburg address.

2. Your first day of college
3. The best day you ever spent
4. The scariest experience you had
5. The bravest thing you’ve ever done
6. Your first time away from home
7. The biggest surprise
8. What it’s like to move to a new state
9. Living in the country after being raised in the city
10. Learning to use public transportation
11. How you clean your apartment
12. Your first date
13. My first day at work
14. One of your worst childhood memories
15. The day when I was wrong
16. A hard time making decisions
17. What pushes children to try drugs for the first time?
18. Learning the hard way
19. The lie that destroyed a life
20. When I realized I wasn't a kid anymore
21. A memorable journey
22. Your first experience driving a car

This would be a great way to demonstrate your skills at sensory writing. Your narrative essay could explore your nervousness at driving for the first time, the sounds and smells, and the sights you saw on your first drive.

23. What it’s like to live in a different country
24. A conversation you’d like to have with a celebrity
25. The best friend
26. The Perfect Encounter
27. Have you ever lied to the best friend?
28. Your biggest conflict with another person
29. If you want to go far, go with a friend
30. Helping a friend through a break-up
31. Have you changed your major since beginning college, if so why?
32. Are you a fanatic about your GPA?
33. What influenced you to choose your major

One of the most important decisions you make is selecting the major that will someday lead to your life’s work. Many people are influenced to go into the fields they do by their experiences and the people they meet. This can make for a very interesting essay, if you’d like to explore this topic.

34. Why you vote the way you do
35. Your first time voting
36. Participating in a protest or march
37. What it’s like to spend a day volunteering
38. Have you ever volunteered to help clean up your community?
39. How you changed your political beliefs
40. What motivates you to do volunteer work
41. Do you recycle?
42. What are your personal feelings on global warming
43. Your boss
44. An experience that changed your core beliefs
45. A night that made your dreams come true
46. Following a dream
47. My dream wedding day
48. Winning a race, or losing one
49. Turning points in your life
50. Your first flight ever
51. European road trip
52. Learning to fit in
53. The day I decided to change my life
54. Surviving a tornado
55. Learning to make something from scratch

Have you ever built something with your own hands? That’s a really rewarding experience. Of course, sometimes the most interesting part of all of this are the stumbles and failures you encounter during your efforts.

56. Your first night in your own place
57. Your first major disagreement with your parents
58. My dad’s influence on me
59. Getting kicked out of your home
60. Learning to get along with your siblings as adults
61. Do you always find time to be with your family
62. Family dinners
63. Dealing with divorced parents
64. A family member going through a hard time
65. My mom’s childhood
66. Befriending your step siblings
67. Family pet
68. Have you ever been lost in your town?
69. Winning a championship game
70. Losing a championship game
71. The time you hit a homerun
72. Scoring a goal for the other team
73. Getting along with  your teammates
74. Staying motivated after you failed
75. Overcoming a rough childhood
76. Living with a disability
77. Getting out of the "friend zone"
78. Imaginary friend
79. Female and male friends: any difference?
80. A friend who made me change
81. Letter to the childhood friend
82. Jealousy in friendship
83. A person you are afraid to lose
84. A ridiculous misunderstanding with another person
85. How long can you be in love with someone?
86. Love vs friendship
87. Discuss loyal and trustworthy friends in your life  
88. Have you ever eavesdropped?
89. If you could change one thing about you
90. Explain what you do well and how you do it
91. When you really disappointed someone you cared about

Unfortunately, letting someone down is a universal experience. The good news is that it’s possible to grow from that experience, and develop a stronger sense of empathy. If this topic resonates with you, consider it for your next assignment.

92. When someone you cared about disappointed you
93. Attending a major sporting event
94. My career plan
95. Applying to colleges on your own
96. College textbook costs
97. Did some teachers become your role models?​
98. Tell about a teacher you would like to be friends with
99. Applying for and winning scholarships
100. Going to a beach for the first time
101. Why do you like being alone?
102. Who inspires you and why
103. Why do I keep (or don’t keep) a diary or journal?
104. Waiting in line story
105. City or suburb?
106. Eastside vs Westside city
107. Nature and the city
108. Streets in your hometown
109. A city is a living organism
110. How citizens are different from countryside people
111. The role of teams and clubs in my life
112. The weirdest experience with a stranger
113. Becoming a citizen

If you’ve immigrated from another country, chances are you’ve got an interesting story to tell. In your narrative essay, you can talk about what drove you to leave your home country, and the efforts you had to make to secure your citizenship in your chosen country.

114. Learning to play the piano
115. Are computer games a hobby?
116. Your first day of kindergarten
117. Spending the night outside for the first time
118. Making it around campus on your first day
119. Surviving your dorm room
120. Dealing with a difficult professor
121. Dealing with a difficult roommate
122. A guide to dorm room cooking
123. Works of Papier Mache’
124. Finances 101 for the college student
125. Finding a job on campus
126. Your first job interview
127. Funny job story
128. An inspirational teacher

For many people, a favorite teacher is one person who had a major impact on their lives. Teachers help us to discover our talents, uncover interests, even assist us during difficult times of our lives. If you’ve had this experience, try writing a narrative essay detailing the things your teacher did to become such a meaningful part of your development.

129. How you developed/lost your faith
130. When you faced discrimination of some kind
131. Tell about a personal morality challenge
132. An experience with law enforcement
133. Being the victim of the crime
134. Devices that play the biggest role in your life
135. Were you ever stopped by the police?
136. Were you ever in an accident?
137. Getting your first car
138. The farthest you ever drove to
139. The role of television in your life
140. What reality-show I would like to participate in
141. A dangerous experience
142. A time when someone judged you first and then realized that he or she was wrong about you
143. Your experience with a new technology

Not every narrative essay has to be based on a deep, life changing experience. They can be fun, or simply explore an interesting experience that you had. If you are taking a tech related course, you could write a narrative about your experience with a new video game, IOT device, mobile phone, or app.

144. The first time you baked bread
145. A mistake that shaped your life
146. Living with an illness or disability
147. An embarrassing moment
148. The best you’ve ever felt
149. How to juggle
150. How to do a cartwheel
151. Building your own video game
152. How to change your oil
153. How to change a tire
154. Buying a new car
155. What did you buy with your first paycheck?
156. Trying your favorite dish for the first time
157. How to make a birthday cake
158. A walk through of your favorite video game
159. How to do the floss
160. Operating an iphone

How to Write a Literacy Narrative Essay - Topic Suggestions

If you’re stuck on  how to write a literacy narrative essay, start with some of these great topic ideas.

161. Geology and Himalayas
162. What makes you proud of yourself?
163. An act that could make your ancestors to be proud of you
164. Fun holiday traditions
165. A time when you were grateful to be an only child
166. Adopting can never be compared with having biological children
167. Your best time in an amusement park
168. What music can change your mood?
169. A time that the power went out​
170. An experience that you think has only ever happened to you!
171. An experience of solving a dilemma
172. A time when you saw a person in a different light
173. A random act of kindness​
174. Is kindness a weakness?
175. A timeline of your experiences as a reader

If you’re passionate about writing, chances are the books you’ve read have had a major influence on your development over the years. It can be fascinating to learn about the literature experiences of emerging writers.

176. A conversation with a favorite historical writer
177. A book that changed your life
178. The book that keeps teaching me
179. Essays that shaped your personal belief
180. A writing genre that you’ve recently discovered
181. The most interesting book you’ve ever read
182. Your favorite authors
183. A poem that you want read at your funeral
184. A book you once hated that you now love
185. The books you recommend to people most
186. Desert island books
187. Your favorite young adult authors
188. Your favorite poets
189. Your favorite non fiction authors
190. How literature influenced your political beliefs
191. Finding your literary voice
192. Alternative literature that has influenced your writing
193. The role of spoken word in your life
194. How your taste in literature evolved
195. The teacher who most influenced your literary path
196. The first writing you were ever confident enough to publish
197. Your favorite satirist
198. Your favorite essayist
199. Your experience interning at a literary magazine
200. Meeting your favorite author

Narrative Essay Advice

The most important thing to remember when writing a narrative is that you’re sharing an experience that nobody else has had. This means you have to be very descriptive in your writing. Describe the scenery, your feelings, and use sensory words. Ideally, people will be able to visualize as they read your personal story.

Are You Ready to Share Your Story?

Writing a narrative essay is difficult, but it’s rewarding at the same time. Take one of the topics listed here, and write something that is sure to be as meaningful to your readers as it is to you.