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5 Reasons Narrative Writing is Just as Important as Essay Writing

  • Writer: Megan Mariano
    Megan Mariano
  • Apr 1
  • 4 min read


A lot of ELA teachers feel that essay writing is more important than narrative writing; the reason being that in adult-hood, most people don't actually write creatively. They claim that essay writing is more prevalent and in high school, so we should be focusing mostly on that type of writing.


While I don't disagree with that, we have to keep in mind that we are teaching middle school CHILDREN, and that they are NOT adults. It's important to expose them to all types of writing.


Here are five reasons why narrative writing is just as important as essay writing in middle school:

  1. Enhances Creativity & Expression 

  2. Builds Stronger Writing Skills 

  3. Develops Critical Thinking

  4. Improves Engagement & Motivation

  5. Teaches Perspective & Empathy


Enhances Creativity & Expression

Narrative writing allows students to use their imagination, develop original ideas, and express emotions in a way that essay writing often doesn’t.


This is from my fantasy writing unit.
This is from my fantasy writing unit.

In middle school, imagination starts to disappear and imagination is such a huge human skill. When students create stories, they step into new worlds, invent characters, and design events. This process strengthens their ability to think outside the box and develop creative problem-solving skills.

Doing narrative writing, especially something like fantasy writing, helps middle schoolers tap into that younger side of themselves. They truly do love it.


Narrative writing provides a safe space for students to express their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. By putting their feelings into words, they learn to process emotions in a constructive way. This is especially true for personal narrative writing.


Writing stories requires students to structure conflicts, build suspense, and resolve problems within their narratives. This mirrors real-life challenges, helping them develop logical thinking and resilience. Having students write mystery stories is a fantastic way to incorporate this.



Builds Stronger Writing Skills

Crafting a story strengthens essential writing skills like organization, sentence structure, and word choice, which also benefit essay writing.


Writing stories teaches students how to structure their writing with a clear beginning, middle, and end. They learn to create logical sequences of events, use transitions effectively, and build compelling plots; skills that apply to all types of writing. Not only that, this helps them with their reading comprehension as well.



Narrative writing encourages students to use vivid descriptions, sensory details, and figurative language. This improves their ability to craft engaging and expressive writing in any format, from essays to reports.


It also pushes students to choose precise and powerful words to bring their stories to life. This expands their vocabulary and helps them communicate their ideas with greater clarity and impact. And again, helps with reading comprehension; strong vocabulary just means overall better knowledge overall.


Develops Critical Thinking

Creating characters, plotlines, and conflicts requires problem-solving and deep thinking, just like forming strong arguments in an essay.


Good storytelling requires cause-and-effect relationships. Students must ensure events flow logically, characters’ actions make sense, and conflicts resolve in a believable way. This helps them develop reasoning skills and attention to detail.


For my realistic fiction writing unit, I like to have my students focus on a social issue.
For my realistic fiction writing unit, I like to have my students focus on a social issue.

Writers constantly make choices: what details to include, how to build suspense, and what message to convey. This decision-making process helps students become more thoughtful and intentional in their writing and reasoning.

Students must analyze what makes a story engaging: how dialogue, pacing, and themes work together. This skill transfers to reading comprehension, essay writing, and real-world critical analysis.


Improves Engagement & Motivation 

Many students find storytelling more enjoyable than structured essays, which helps them develop a love for writing and gain confidence.


Unlike structured academic writing, narrative writing lets students explore their imagination. They can invent characters, settings, and plots, making the writing process exciting rather than rigid.

Creating a story from scratch gives students a sense of accomplishment. Seeing their ideas come to life builds confidence, motivating them to keep writing and improving.


When students share their stories, they get positive feedback and encouragement from peers. This social aspect makes writing more interactive and rewarding, increasing their motivation to write more.


My students use this when sharing their writing. Click the picture to get it!
My students use this when sharing their writing. Click the picture to get it!

Teaches Perspective & Empathy

Writing from different points of view helps students understand others' experiences, an essential skill for both literature analysis and persuasive essays.

When students write from different character viewpoints, they must consider how someone else thinks, feels, and reacts. This helps them see situations from multiple perspectives, strengthening their ability to understand others.

In my narrative writing in response to reading unit, students have to write a story from the POV of another character.
In my narrative writing in response to reading unit, students have to write a story from the POV of another character.

To create believable characters, students must explore emotions such as joy, fear, anger, and sadness. By expressing these emotions through storytelling, they become more aware of their own feelings and those of others.


Writing about characters facing challenges, whether it’s a personal struggle, a conflict, or a life-changing event, encourages students to put themselves in someone else’s shoes. This fosters compassion and understanding for people in real life.

Narrative writing allows students to explore characters from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. This broadens their worldview and helps them appreciate diversity in thought and lifestyle.


When writing about disagreements or struggles between characters, students analyze different sides of an issue and think critically about how to resolve it. This skill translates into real-life social interactions and problem-solving.


More Blog Posts about Narrative:



Bottom Line:

We cannot ignore narrative writing or assume students have been doing them for years so they're not important. It is just as critical as essay writing. Balance them; we have to try to reach as many students as possible!


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