Definition:
An account of a sequence of events, usually in chronological order. One of the basic rhetorical exercises known as the progymnasmata. See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "knowing"Example:
- "One Saturday last June, just two days after my high school graduation, a night of celebration turned into a costly and embarrassing lesson on the dangers of drinking and driving. Out with a girlfriend for a wild night on the town, we made stops at such popular hangouts as Studebaker's, Baggy Drawers, and Night Lights, and at each of these spots I drank a margarita or two. (Yes, I had a fake ID.) I was giggly by 11:00, tipsy by midnight, and flat out soused by the time we shut the bars down at three. Of course, as I hollered farewells to my friends and poured myself into the car, I was dead certain that I was sober enough to drive home safely. With one eye shut to keep the road from blurring, I weaved down Monroe Avenue. One minute there was not a soul on the road in front of me, and the next--crash! I had plowed into a big green Buick. When the police arrived--instantly, it seemed--they gave me a breath test even before asking to see my license. Naturally I registered drunk. After filling out pages of forms and checking to see that no one was injured, the police took me to jail, where I was photographed, fingerprinted, and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). I had to pay a $2,000 fine and attend driving school for three months. It was there, viewing gory films of accident victims with their bodies crunched under tires and heads wrapped inside bumpers, that I resolved not to drive while intoxicated ever again."
(student paragraph, "DUI")
Pronunciation: NAR-a-tiv
Also Known As: narration
