Narrative essays are common tasks for students. These assignments test the student’s ability to tell a real or fictional story. One of the aspects your instructor will assess in your narrative piece is your ability to write a free-flowing narration. In simple terms, the sequence of events matters.
Moreover, you should make your narration interesting. You can do it by choosing an exciting happening to narrate. It could be something that embarrassed you, a trip you’ll never forget, or your fast time experiencing something. You can also write stories about other people. Therefore, you can ask an essay writer cheap to help you with ideas for the creative narration or even ask to write something for you.
A narration has characters who interact with each other. As these individuals talk to each other, you should present it in the essay in the form of dialogue tags. The tags include words that come after what someone mentions, including “he answered,” “he said,” and “she inquired,” among others.
However, you should know that a conversation doesn’t have to be between two people. Some characters in the narration may also ask and answer questions themselves. Such a conversation is called a monologue or internal dialogue.
Why Is Dialogue Important in an Essay?
Some people feel like dialogue is unnecessary in a narration. Such an assumption isn’t true, as dialogue isn’t just a decoration in an essay. How important is the dialogue in a narrative essay? Here’re the details you should know.
It’s a Characterization Tool in an Essay
Whether you buy an essay or write it yourself, your reader wants to know the traits of the characters you’ve used. One of the roles dialogue plays is to reveal the character’s personality. It helps tell how a certain character speaks. For instance, self-opinionated characters don’t fear saying what they feel about an issue.
If a character says statements like, “Could you please pass me the salt?” or “Could I please have a moment with you?” Such conversations reveal such a character is polite. Another who uses terms like “Pass the salt!” or “I want to talk to you!” is arrogant.
Also, telling an individual’s traits is possible by assessing what others say about them. For example, someone says, “Jane has always been that polite since she was born.” In this case, you already know that the character’s personality is polite based on what this character says.
Furthermore, it’s easy to tell the class difference between the characters by assessing the words they use in their direct conversations. For instance, learned characters use professional terms in their conversations. In simple terms, dialogue is a great tool for character development.
Reveals the Conflicts in the Story
Most narrations have conflicts. However, just describing these conflicts may not be enough. In a creative writing narration, you’re expected to show, not just say. The best way to make a conflict more intense is to use dialogue.
The first type of conflict is one between a character and another. Take an example of a conversation like, “I thought you’d change. You’re still drinking as usual,” John said. “I’m trying to,” Jake responded.
In the dialogue above, you can tell there is a conflict between John and Jake because Jake refuses to quit alcohol. You can also tell that Jake is experiencing internal conflict as he tries to quit alcohol. Conflicts are revealed through different elements in dialogue, including:
- Threats
- Hesitations
- Disagreements
- Mistrusts
Create Suspense in a Story
You want people to keep reading your narrative piece. Through good dialogue, your character’s voice can give readers a glimpse of what’s likely to happen in your story. The hints end up creating more tension in your narration.
Take an example of a quote like this, “If I come back and still find you here, you’ll not believe what will happen to you.” In this case, the reader knows something bad might happen to the person these words are spoken to. You have to read to know just what will happen.
Effective Dialogue Builds the Story’s Plot
The events in your narrative essay should flow seamlessly. That way, it becomes easy to understand the sequence of events within the narration. For example, an internal conversation in the protagonist’s mind might tell the reader something that happened in the past. Such events shape the plot of the story.
Dialogue’s Functions in a Story
The importance of dialogue doesn’t end those mentioned above. Good dialogue also breaks the monotony of the narration. The narrator’s voice becomes boring to the reader after some time. With the dialogue, the reader has something different to deal with; a conversation between two or more characters in the story.
Formatting Dialogue in an Essay
You shouldn’t be writing dialogue haphazardly in your narrative essay. The first rule is to ensure you use punctuation marks properly. For instance, double quotation marks are used to show the exact words said by a character. Her teacher said, “Don’t give up. Things will get better.” The “Said” is the dialogue tag in this conversation.
How you write the dialogue also depends on the specific formatting style the instructor directs you to use. In MLA, you write the dialogue in a new paragraph while separating the speech and the dialogue tag with a comma. It doesn’t matter how long it is.
During the coronation, the King Said,
“I’ll serve all of you diligently. Our nation must prosper.”
In APA, the dialogue is used together with the dialogue tags. Check the example below:
Laura asked, “Are you still feeling unwell?”
Quotes and Style in Dialogue Writing
In cases where characters quote other people in their speeches, the quotes are enclosed with single quotation marks. She asked, “Did you hear when the motivational speaker said ‘winners never quit’? That really inspired me”.
Pro Tips for Writing Convincing Dialogue
Effective dialogue injects life into a narrative essay. But how do you ensure you incorporate believable and great dialogue into your writing without hiring an essay writing service?
Your Characters Should Speak Like Real People
Imagine a situation where a basketball coach speaks like a doctor. You wouldn’t expect a reader to believe that. That’s why you should ensure you write the conversation just like how such characters speak in real life.
Use Dialogue Sparingly
Some students find writing dialogue fun. In the process, they end up overusing the technique. The problem with this is that you make it difficult for readers to follow the events in your story. Make your dialogue interesting.
When writing dialogue, mix it with narrations. For instance, you can describe the speaker’s outlook and then add what the person said. Besides, you need to understand how to balance dialogue and other narrations.
Mix Characters in Technical Conversations
In some cases, you may write dialogue that involves the use of technical terms. For instance, it could be a particular scene where an engineer explains complicated building designs. In such cases, you can also have another character who doesn’t understand engineering terms asking questions. That helps in the clarification of the technical language in the same paragraph.
The Dialogue Must Be Useful
Some writers use dialogue in a story haphazardly just to make it part of it. If you do this, your narrative piece may come out as boring. The dialogue in your story must serve a purpose. For instance, use the dialogue between two or more characters to give the reader more information on a character, like the character’s emotions, build the plot, or break the descriptive narration monotony.
Closing Remarks
Good dialogue makes your narrative essay more interesting and helps you to reveal details in your story, including a character’s emotions. However, you should use it sparingly. Moreover, you should adhere to the recommended dialogue formatting styles and punctuate appropriately with the dialogue tag in the right place. That way, you’ll have an excellent narrative paper.
