Abstract
First-year composition students are diverse in academic and social intellectual knowledge, especially with respect to gaming and computer technology. While students may not be able to understand the concept of storytelling when writing narratives in an academic setting, they are able to understand and create stories in video games in a social setting. The issue of access plays a major role in the knowledge that students already have, and the knowledge that they will acquire.

As teachers we should be aware of these students’ access to technology and be able to create an engaging and innovating curriculum that encourages and accommodates their diverse knowledge. By offering the use of video games as a way to give students a better understanding of storytelling concepts, I hope to give teachers an alternative way to have students write narratives in the first-year composition course.

This essay explores the question, “How can stories in video games be used to teach narratives in the first year composition course?” Although similar research has been done in the areas of composition and multi-media, the use of video games in composition is fairly new. The idea of using stories in video games to teach narratives is offered as a new and innovative way to for students to utilize their own knowledge of video games to learn about storytelling.