FCAT Grade 4 
Writing 

Narrative Story
     A narrative story tells a story based on a real or imaginary event or recounts a personal or fictional experience. It should include specific detail to liven up the story. It requires a beginning, a middle, and an end of some kind that wraps up the story. Dialogue is a good idea, and the narrative should be less structured than the essays. The idea is to tell a coherent story in chronological order that is interesting, provides good detail and description, clearly expresses the writer's voice, is imaginative, and does not contain extraneous side stories. It is not an essay, and therefore paragraphing is not as important.

Expository Essay
     An expository essay instructs, gives information, or explains something as, as for instance, "Why one particular year was your best school year." It also can clarify a process such as making school rules or defining a concept like "beauty." The support in the middle of this essay should provide specific examples or relate an incident to further clarify or explain the topic without straying from the topic. The author is explaining, not arguing or taking a side.

Tips on writing the expository or narrative essay.