100+ Narrative Essay Topics and Ideas You Can Write About

Narrative essay topics are commonly used across all education levels. Fictional or realistic, they can take on the form of many genres, as long as there is a coherent story told in the first person.

Whether you’re in elementary school, high school, or college, narrative essay tasks will always keep popping up throughout your academic journey as they’re one of the best ways for students to practice their writing and storytelling skills.

If you still haven’t mastered the craft of writing a flawless narrative essay or don’t have enough time to dedicate to this task, essay writing help might come in handy.

However, if your teacher gave you the freedom to write about whatever you like, you’re probably struggling with finding the ideal topic for your paper. If that’s the case, you’re in the right place.

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How to Choose a Topic for a Narrative Essay

Choosing a topic for your narrative essay isn’t an easy task. A lot goes into finding the perfect topic, and you should think about several topics before making the decision. As the topic you go with can determine the quality of your essay and the grade you receive, you should carefully consider your options.

Although narrative essay topics don’t sound too remarkable or inspiring by themselves, it’s up to the writer to make a good story out of a generic title. The best way is to go with something relatable, such as a childhood memory or something you’re passionate and knowledgeable about.

Once you find a topic you’re happy with, pay attention to the style and word choice throughout your essay. Since how you tell the story is much more important than the story itself, an inspiring topic can help you achieve desired quality results much more easily.

After you complete your essay, don’t forget to run the text through an online plagiarism checker. It’ll catch any plagiarized content if you used some sources for inspiration and ensure you end up with a fully unique essay.

Narrative Essay Topic Ideas

A teacher giving you complete freedom to write about anything you like has both its pros and cons. While it allows all students to write something they’re passionate about, it also leaves many struggling with choosing a single topic from all the different options.

If that’s something you’re currently experiencing, don’t worry – here you’ll find everything you have been looking for. Choose from 100+ good narrative essay topics for your upcoming writing project and create the most inspiring piece of narrative writing yet.

Personal Narrative Essay Topics

Among the ultimate favorites among students are personal narrative topics. These topics are typically based on some personal experience. Even if you don’t feel comfortable writing a personal essay, your work can still be personal if you decide to include some points of view or experiences you drew upon.

Because most students can easily relate to personal essays, they offer some of the best results. Here are 15 topics if you decide to write a personal narrative essay:

1. The first concert I went to
2. A scary experience that put me in real danger
3. My first trip abroad
4. How I lost my best friend
5. What getting lost as a child taught me about people 
6. The best moment of my life
7. How I spent the whole day taking in the sites of the big city
8. The time I helped someone in need
9. An embarrassing story that helped me grow
10. Moving from one place to another as a child
11. The most challenging decision I ever had to make
12. Why discovering a big family secret changed me completely
13. My favorite story from my childhood
14. The family member I bonded with the most
15. The most inspirational class of my life

Narrative Essay Topics for High School Students

Most narrative topics created for high school students are closely connected to personal narrative essay ideas. The reason for this is that many students struggle with sharing their experiences, problems, and emotions during their high school education, as they often feel alone and misunderstood by the people they’re surrounded with.

Although one essay can’t make these issues go away, it’s certainly helpful to share them with someone, even in written form. Narrative essays for high schoolers are one of the best ways to motivate students to say something more about their private life and confide in their teachers.

Here are 15 examples of excellent narrative essay topics that all high school students will enjoy writing about:

1. What do students usually feel by being caught cheating on a test
2. How I felt after failing a class
3. A bad experience with an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend
4. My first experience with alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs and how I felt afterward
5. The most memorable experience in my digital life
6. A typical evening after school and a not so typical acquaintance
7. The craziest thing that happened at a party
8. Why I’m nervous about prom night
9. The time when math saved your life
10. My version of a perfect day if the school got canceled
11. The time I got into big trouble
12. The most shocking incident that happened at school
13. My emotions when I win and lose a sports match
14. The struggles of balancing schoolwork and social life
15. How bad weather affects my motivation to go to school

Narrative Argument Essay Topics

The good thing about narrative essays is that they can implement just about any story or situation. Therefore, it’s also possible to combine narrative storytelling with argumentative writing. As a result, you can simultaneously tell a story and share your point of view on a given topic. Intertwining your thoughts and executing such a complex task isn’t simple, but it’s certainly rewarding.

For those interested in sharing their opinion or side of a story while writing their narrative essay, narrative argument essay topics are a perfect choice. Here are our top 10 topic ideas:

1. The biggest conflict I participated in and did it worth it
2. My experience with bullying
3. The time I was in a car accident
4. The time I felt extremely humiliated
5. My most valuable life experiences so far
6. Is it right to eavesdrop?
7. The choice I regret making
8. Learning about the right and the wrong
9. Doing a good thing even if it’s against the rules
10. How serious can taking and shifting the blame be?

Interesting Narrative Essay Topics

If you made it up to this point and still haven’t found a topic that caught your eye, it’s probably because you still haven’t stumbled upon a narrative topic that’s interesting enough. If you’re looking for an exciting topic for a narrative essay you’ll enjoy researching and writing about, make sure to check out the following 15 topic suggestions:

1. The most impactful person in my life
2. A day I wish to go back to
3. My first encounter with the authorities
4. The toughest decision I ever had to make
5. Returning home after being abroad for an extended period
6. The first time I won a prize
7. My first experience in the emergency room
8. How I saved someone’s life
9. The first time traveling by myself
10. The experiences from my first job
11. The struggles of the first day at a new school
12. Cooking my first meal by myself
13. Things I like to do when I’m home alone
14. The time I got my first flat tire
15. The most memorable incident on a holiday

Cultural Narrative Essay Topics

As many places around the world are considered multicultural, people of all ages have many questions related to culture. Some people tend to forget about their cultural traditions, while others take great pride in maintaining them.

Whatever the case may be for you, one thing is certain – cultural narrative essay ideas are favorite among many students.

Whether they’d like to use this opportunity to recollect their most memorable cultural experiences or tackle some of the questions about culture that have been bothering them, here’s our pick of the top 10 cultural narrative essay suggestions:

1. The unique traditions of my family
2. My cultural identity and why it’s important
3. A tradition that never stops surprising me
4. How can a culture define a person?
5. My most meaningful holiday
6. Working during a holiday
7. Spending a holiday by myself
8. Attending a foreign cultural event
9. Celebrating holidays with friends instead of family
10. How cultures and traditions change through time

40 Best Narrative Essay Topics

Finally, you’ll certainly find a great topic among these 40 best narrative essay topic ideas. The suggestions used in this part of the post cover various topics, so they’re best for students who don’t have a predetermined category and are free to write about whatever topic they choose.

Even if you don’t find a topic that suits you here, going through and reading these titles will surely inspire you and help you come up with the ideal title for your upcoming writing project. Check them out:

1. How being treated unfairly helped me build resilience
2. Confronting my fears after years of letting them control me 
3. The first time seeing snow in person
4. The time I was called to the dean’s office
5. My favorite day at the beach
6. How I met my best friend
7. The time I helped a stranger
8. How I lost something valuable
9. The tragic event that changed my life forever
10. A life lesson I’ll never forget
11. My experience facing racial prejudice
12. Experiencing a natural disaster and its consequences
13. My first time riding a bicycle
14. My first time sitting behind the steering wheel
15. The worst punishment I received
16. The story behind getting my pet
17. My favorite vacation I’ve been on
18. A trip I’ll always remember and cherish
19. My most random way of making a friend
20. The best birthday party I’ve had
21. The best day of my life so far
22. The time I misjudged someone
23. Receiving the help I didn’t know I needed
24. My story of helping someone in need
25. My first plane ride
26. Entering a new relationship
27. Ending a relationship
28. My worst injury
29. The present I’ll never throw away
30. My most enjoyable family holiday
31. My experience going to a summer camp for the first time
32. The most serious argument between my best friend and me
33. The moment I felt depression overwhelm me
34. How I cope with my anxiety
35. Life lessons I learned from getting in an accident
36. The time I got very sick
37. The time I ignored something bad happening
38. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time
39. The scariest Halloween of my life
40. Maintaining a long-distance friendship

Conclusion

Narrative essay topics are flexible and can take many forms, which is why they’re so loved by teachers and students equally. If you’re struggling with finding the ideal topic for your essay, these 100+ ideas will surely help you out.

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