Narrative, Comparison, and Definition Papers

A)  Narrative essay:  uses personal experiences and is often organized chronologically. 

      Transitions for narrative paragraphs:  after a little while, at once, at the same time, by now, finally, first, first of all, immediately, in the next moment/month, later, later on, meanwhile, next, the next day, now, several weeks (passed), soon afterward, suddenly, the morning after, the following month, then.

B)  Comparison essay:  can use a variety of organization methods, including the block method (one topic in paragraph and then next topic in different paragraph) and point-by-point (discuss both topics in one paragraph, and then 2^nd idea of both topics in next paragraph). 

      Comparison paragraph transitions:  again, also, equally, furthermore, just as, just like, like, likewise, moreover, similar to, similarly, so, too. 

      Contrast paragraph transitions:  although, and yet, but, despite, different from, even though, except for, however, in contrast with, in spite of, instead of, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, still, though, unlike, whereas, while.

C)  Definition Paper: defines a word or idea.

When writing a definition paper, choose a topic that is within your experience and is not too narrow or too broad.  If it is outside of your experiences, you will have little to say and will have to rely on clichéd definitions. Furthermore, if the topic is too narrow, you will have a short paper with little content, and if the topic is too broad, you could write a book on it.

You should also probably choose a topic that is not an abstract notion such as patriotism, beauty, justice, and love, but if you can put a creative spin on the definition, do it!

Many students choose to rely on a dictionary for inspiration. Remember, though, that although a dictionary might clarify the meaning of a given word, it might also provide you with a clichéd meaning that does little to advance the creativity of your paper. After all, the point of writing your paper is to show YOUR ideas, not Noah Webster’s.

One way of defining something is to say what it is not. For some words, you could also provide history, examples, analysis, contrasting, and cause and effect.