1. Introduction: State why your topic is important, and define what it is if you think your readers will not know; eg. 'Nanotechnology is the technology of building things on a molecular level. It may, in future, allow us to make new materials with special properties such as super-strength or superconductivity.'
2. Start: Say when, why and how your topic started.
3. Development: Show when, how and why your topic developed.
4. Present Situation: Describe the present situation of your topic.
5. Future (Optional): If possible, describe how your topic might develop in the near future.

You may find the following grammar information useful:

Sites

• The Virtual Language Centre
• HKPU Grammar Helpline
  

Tenses

• In the Introduction and the present situation paragraphs, you could use the present simple tense; eg. 'Computer viruses are a threat to your computer and millions of other computers in the world.', or the present perfect tense;eg. 'The Internet has developed rapidly and has had a great impact on the field of education.' You can also use a present continuous tense; eg. 'Laser surgery for eyes is becoming cheaper and more common.'
• In the Start paragraph and the development paragraphs, use the past tense; eg. 'Although Microsoft launched Windows 95 in 1995, it's development began many years earlier.'
  To compare two points in the past, use the past perfect to describe the first one and the simple past tense to describe the second; eg. 'Although scientists had discussed cloning before, the public only really discovered cloning with the birth of the cloned sheep 'Dolly' in 1996.'
  To describe one continuing process in the past which is interrupted by something else, use the past continuous and past simple tenses; eg. 'While Edison was working for a railway company he invented a telegraphic repeating instrument.'
• In the optional paragraph on future developments, use modal verbs to show how the chance you think something has of happenening; eg. 'Computer viruses may be defeated by anti-virus programs, or they could develop faster and become a greater problem.'

Referencing

• Click here to go to the CILL Internet page on referencing. You need to reference your narrative writing assignment properly, or you will loose marks or fail because of plagiarism.