Anecdote - Meaning, Definition, Types, How to Write and Examples

An anecdote is a short narrative about an incident you know of that happened in one’s own life or others’ lives. The purposes and types of anecdotes are numerous. In this article, you will be introduced to what an anecdote is, why and how to write an anecdote and the types of anecdotes. Furthermore, you can check out the examples provided in the article and analyse how they are written.

Table of Contents

• What Is an Anecdote? – Meaning and Definition
• Purposes of an Anecdote
• How to Write an Anecdote? – Points to Remember
• Types of Anecdotes with Examples
  • Inspirational Anecdote
  • Characterising Anecdote
  • Cautionary Anecdote
  • Reminiscent Anecdote
  • Humourous Anecdote
• An Activity for You
• Frequently Asked Questions on Anecdotes

What Is an Anecdote? – Meaning and Definition

An anecdote is a brief account of a real-life incident, often narrated to create an impact on the readers or listeners. The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines an anecdote as “a short, interesting, or amusing story about a real person or event” and “a personal account of an event”. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) provides a slightly detailed definition. According to the OED, an anecdote is “a short account of an amusing, interesting, or telling incident or experience; sometimes with implications of superficiality or unreliability”.

Purposes of an Anecdote

From the time you were kids until now, you would have surely come across anecdotes. Your grandparents, parents and other relatives would have told you brief accounts about something that occurred in their lives and what came of it. It is mostly perceived as a light-hearted way to get children to understand the importance of doing or not doing something. When someone tells you about what happened in a similar situation, it appeals to you and impacts the way you think and behave. It is, in all ways, better than just instructing you not to do something or how you ought to do something.

Anecdotes are used in writing too. It can be a part of both fictional and nonfictional works. The general purpose of an anecdote is to make people think. However, it can be used for various other purposes as well. It can be included in a piece of writing or speech to evoke a sense of humour. In short stories and novels, you can make use of an anecdote to describe the qualities and attributes that define the characters. This will give the readers/listeners a clear picture of what they could expect from the characters. It can also be used to inspire them to do something, undertake a fresh perspective of looking at things or even develop a habit.

How to Write an Anecdote? – What to Do and What Not to Do

• Before you write an anecdote, try to understand why you think you need to include an anecdote and how exactly it would help your writing/speech.
• What type of an anecdote is it going to be? Ponder on this for a while and decide which one would suit your writing or speech best.
• Should it have a particular structure? Yes, it can be structured like any other narrative – with a beginning, middle and end.
• Do not focus on too many themes in an anecdote. Anecdotes must be succinct, so focus on a specific theme that would encapsulate the idea you are trying to convey.
• Use simple language and not too many superfluous words. Anecdotes are meant to be easily perceivable.
• Make sure not to pay attention to too many characters. Let it be focussed on a specific character; that will create a greater impact on the audience.
• Anecdotes are typically meant to give a message or present a moral. So, have a clear objective in mind when you write or narrate an anecdote.
• You can have anecdotes that have the characteristics of more than one type of anecdote. It can be humorous yet inspirational; it can be inspirational and reminiscent. Just ensure that you do not lose sight of what you want to present through the anecdote.

Types of Anecdotes with Examples

Anecdotes can be classified into five types based on the kind of impact they bring to the target audience. The five types of anecdotes are,

• Inspirational anecdote
• Cautionary anecdote
• Characterising anecdote
• Reminiscent anecdote
• Humourous anecdote

Inspirational anecdote

As the name implies, the intention of an inspirational anecdote is to inspire the readers or listeners. It includes anecdotes that explain a person’s struggle, the kind of obstacles they had to deal with and how it altered their lives for the better.

Here is an example of an inspirational anecdote.

A student of Grade 6 drew a sketch of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India, after reading his book ‘Wings of Fire’. His family encouraged him to mail it to the President. Though he was hesitant, he later mailed it. To his surprise, he received a letter from the President himself. It read, “Dear Naman Narain, Thank you for your nice drawing. With best wishes from, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam”. It was not at all necessary for Dr. Abdul Kalam to even look at it, but he did and responded to it as well. This is one of the qualities for which the whole country still remembers and honours him.

Cautionary anecdote

Anecdotes, like fables, are those that provide the audience with a moral or a lesson. They can be included in speeches or even be part of everyday conversation. When you are talking to someone or see someone doing something wrong, you can tell them a cautionary anecdote. That will do the trick – it will help them understand what is right for them to do in that particular situation.

An example of a cautionary anecdote is as follows.

My mother always told me to study my daily lessons. I used to do it too. However, sometimes, that became a reason for my over-confidence. During my tenth-standard public examinations, every exam had a gap of one or two days. My science exam, however, was after four days. My mom kept telling me to study and not to leave it all for the last minute. I took it lightly, thinking I knew it all and just had to revise it. I spent three days idly, and on the day before the exam, I could not complete my revision. I decided to wake up early but did not, and finally had to go for the exam without having revised the whole syllabus. I felt completely unprepared; I wrote whatever I knew. I scored 88 for the same subject I used to score 100 on all the assessments. You know what, I wish I had listened to my mother. Do you know why? 483 was the score for the state’s first rank, and I scored 470.

Scoring high marks is not the most important thing, but listening to your parents is. You would not understand at the moment, but their experience makes sense in the end.

Characterising anecdote

Characterising anecdotes are commonly found in literary works. They can help portray a character and understand the various facets of the character. Don’t you always feel that it would help if you knew a little more about the character than just the physical appearance? Well, that is what a characterising anecdote would do.

Let us take a look at a characterising anecdote to understand better.

The short story about the childhood of Maleficent and how she lost her wings in the movie ‘Maleficent’ can be considered an example of a characterising anecdote. It clearly gives the audience an idea of what kind of people Maleficent and King Stefan are.

Reminiscent anecdote

A reminiscent anecdote is meant to provide a sense of nostalgia. These anecdotes also focus on practices or aspects that no longer exist. It would set a melancholic mood for the reader or listener who has not got to experience it.

An example of a reminiscent anecdote is given below. Go through it.

When I was a teacher, I used to make students feel comfortable to come up and talk to me if they wanted to. Not all teachers did that. The students in our school were from various financial and social backgrounds. There were students whose parents were economically sound but did not have any time to spend with their kids. They thought they provided their children with everything they needed, but they didn’t. These were the children who were always seen to be getting into trouble. There was an incident where such a student was always caught doing something naughty or fighting with his classmates. Nobody knew why. One day, when such an incident occurred, all the teachers and the coordinator assumed that he must be behind it. I didn’t think so. I wanted to talk to him before any action was taken against him. I found out that it was not him who did it. He also asked me what the point was. He said that even if he tried to be good, he would always be blamed for things he had not done. He then asked me why he should try to do good things when no one would even try to understand. I spoke to the coordinator and told her all about it. I conveyed to her that everyone deserves a second chance.

Even today, that kid stays in touch with me. He has changed for the better and is doing great in his studies as well. See, that’s the kind of change you could bring in a person if you are just ready to lend an ear and listen.

Humourous anecdote

A humourous anecdote is meant to lighten the mood. It acts as a stress reliever and helps boost the aura of the entire audience. It need not necessarily have a lesson or a takeaway.

Here is an example of a humourous anecdote.

My cousins, my brother and I grew up together. We always spent our evenings playing outside. There were two tanks outside our house to store water, one of which was open and did not have much water, while the other was filled with water and was closed. My brother, the youngest of us, was fascinated by dinosaurs, frogs and rats. He loved watching the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. Anyway, one of those evenings, when we were out playing, my brother found a frog and a rat in the open tank. He was excited and asked us to come and see it. We saw the frog jumping from side to side and the rat running around, both trying to come to the surface. As we were looking at the frog and the rat, my brother somehow tripped and fell into the tank. He started crying. I kept trying to help him out, but the three of us also could not stop laughing, seeing the rat and frog running and jumping across him. My aunt finally came looking for us and pulled my brother out. All of us were scolded for our behaviour. It has, however, become something that we remember and laugh about every now and then.

An Activity for You

Recall the different anecdotes you have read or heard since you were a child. Now, try to write an anecdote based on an experience in your life.