There are many writing formats, and the only way to find out which one is right for you is to try them all!

Narrative
Narrative writing recounts a personal experience based on the writer's experience. All details work together in an integrated way to create a complete story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Persuasive
Persuasive writing gives reasons and arguments to the reader to accept a position stated by the writer on a particular issue.

Expository
Expository writing presents facts by explaining clearly and effectively the information the reader needs to know.

Audience
You should write according to who the reader of your document is going to be. For example, if third graders are reading your story, then you should not use an advanced vocabulary or large words. If your teacher is reading it, then you should use as big a vocabulary as you posses, and you should write on a more mature topic, instead of pink fuzzy bunnies.

Purpose
You should also write according to the purpose of your paper. For instance, if you are writing a school paper, it should be properly checked for spelling, grammar, etc. However, if you are writing just for fun, you don't have to abide by any rules, or write it neatly, you can decide how it goes!

Occasion
Writing for an occasion is important too. You should write appropriate documents according to what occasion you are writting for. Say you were writing for Halloween, you could write a short story about witches, goblins, that sort of thing. But if you were writing a poem for somebody's birthday, it should be pleasent and happy. So it would be inappropriate to write a sonnet about heart-ache on Valentine's day unless you were comforting someone.

Language Arts/Writing

Standard 1: The student writes
to communicate ideas and
information effectively (LA.B.2.3).

Objective 3: Selects and uses
appropriate formats for writing,
including narrative, persuasive,
and expository formats, according
to the intended audience, purpose
and occasion.

Amusement Park Activity

The Little Mermaid-

1. Watch the movie "The Little Mermaid." Was this movie written in narrative, expository, or persuasive format?

2. Write a letter to Ariel telling her how you feel about a mermaid marrying a human prince. Think about your position on the matter. Should this letter be narrative, expository, or persuasive format?

Under the Sea... Imagine that
you are a mermaid/merman.
You have just learned about
the world above where people
walk on legs. Write a diary
entry about how you feel
about it and how you found out
about the world above.

Vocabulary

Comparison - A comparison points
out the similarities of at least two people
, places, things, ideas.

Contrast - A contrast points out the
differences of at least two people,
places, things, ideas.

Cause- and- effect - In cause and effect
writing the outcome or effect is found by
a series of reasons or causes.

Summary - A summary is a brief
overview of the major points and
key ideas from a source used
for various assignments: a
research paper, an essay,
an article, or a paragraph.

Links

Webster.com - Webster.com
has a lot of
neat stuff about writing, but when I
typed in this
particular information in the search
engine, this
is what it came up with. This site
has all you need
to know about narrative writing,
it even includes
some examples of famous
narrative
writing, such as that done
by Mark Twain.

Virtual.parkland - This site gives
definitions of all of the writing words
in the dictionary and also gives
resources to visit.