Narrative is regularly considered a type of writing—often an “easy” one, appropriate for early grades but giving way to argument and analysis in later grades. This groundbreaking book challenges all that. It invites readers to imagine narrative as something more—as the primary way we understand our world and ourselves. Newkirk explains. When we are engaged readers, we are following a story constructed by the author, regardless of  the type of writing.  To sustain a reading—in a novel, an opinion essay, or a research article— we need a “plot” that helps us comprehend  specific information,  or  experience the significance of an argument.   As Robert Frost reminds us, all good memorable writing is “dramatic.” is a needed corrective to the narrow and compartmentalized approaches often imposed on schools—approaches which are at odds with the way writing really works outside school walls.