Learner's Area

Discuss the differences between Descriptive Writing and Narrative Writing . All Details

By H.B. December 30, 2022

Discuss the nature , distinguishing qualities and essential components of a descriptive & narrative writing task. [10]

OR,

Discuss the differences between Descriptive Writing and Narrative Writing .[10]

Ans : The descriptive and narrative writing can be considered closely related to each other . The main difference between them is that the descriptive writing always tries to describe an object or some experience which either can be presented in chronological way or can be presented back and forth or both ; whereas , the narrative writing or essay is a particular kind of descriptive writing when the objective is to narrativise a particular chronological situation . This is the actual nature of both descriptive and narrative writing tasks . However , some of their distinguishing qualities and components are expounded below through some points :

Descriptive Writing Task :

Descriptive Writing , in brief , emphasizes or focuses on the specific details of people, places, events, situations, thoughts, and feelings . Talking about its qualities , descriptive writing or essay usually illustrates five senses - sight , sound , smell , touch and taste . In descriptive writing , we can use similes or metaphors to make something seem more familiar or more creative . Descriptive writing describes effective and straightforward descriptions . Generally , descriptive writing is grounded on three pillars - 1. Introduction , 2. Main body and 3. Conclusion . It mainly includes four components -

A clear-cut presentation on the subject,
Significant details that are related to the senses ,
Relevant , lively and interesting words ,
Figurative language such as metaphors, similes etc when required.

Besides this , Punctuations are very common in descriptive writing to describe something precisely .

Narrative Writing Task :

As has mentioned above , Narrative Writing is a chronological narrativization of a particular situation . In fact , a story is also a task of narrative writing . So , a narrative writing or essay can be fictional or nonfictional . The examples of narrative writing are fairy tales , novels , short stories , autobiographies , histories and many more . Some qualities of this type of writing are pointed below .

Narrative Writing serves a clear purpose and it's importance ;
Generally , it is or should be written in first person ;
Like Descriptive Writing , it too includes a sensory description ;
Clear and focused ideas and content are woven in narrative writing ;
Sentence fluency too is important ;
Fictional or nonfictional events are set , etc .

Not only this , Narrative Writing incorporates a lot of elements . Some are mentioned below:

Character
Setting
Plot
Conflict
Theme
Resolution, etc.

Thus , a narrative essay or writing is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay or writing is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept .