ANA: WHAT IT IS FOR, ELEMENTS AND EXAMPLES - DUDAS - 2025

An anecdote is a set of anecdotes that happened to a person or that occurred during the development of a particular activity or situation. The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE) defines it as a collection of anecdotes.

The anecdote can be defined as a short story or a narrative that describes a specific incident of an interesting nature, some particular biographical feature, or a simple passage from private life.

An anecdote is a collection of anecdotes. Source: Pixabay

It is important to distinguish an anecdote from a story. The first refers to a short story that tells of an interesting, entertaining or curious incident that has happened to a person or to oneself. The second is a literary genre that consists of the narration of a short fictional story.

It is also worth highlighting the difference between anecdote and joke. Although the anecdote often tells a funny event or includes humorous touches, it is not a joke. This is a short story, narrated or drawn, that includes a funny or crazy situation, a joke or a double meaning, that is intended to make you laugh.

It is also necessary to distinguish the term anecdotal from an educational technique known as anecdotal recording. This is an educational tool in which data on student behavior, interactions with peers and all qualitative information are recorded.

The anecdotal record allows the transmission and storage of information, in addition to facilitating the teacher to plan activities and interventions adapted to the individual needs of the student.

What is the anecdote for?

The anecdote is a tool that allows you to store information and record experiences or experiences, with the purpose of reviewing them later or transmitting it to other people. For this reason, it is characteristic that they have a historical specificity.

However, it does not imply the presence of a moral, nor does it include metaphors, since they are not intended to leave a sobering message.

A collection of anecdotes can express a reality in a general way, describe the characteristics of a person or show how a certain situation unfolded. Generally, the purpose of the anecdote in addition to entertaining, is to provoke an emotion, which could be sadness, happiness, surprise, disgust, among others.

Elements of the anecdote

The anecdote usually narrates an interesting or curious event. Source: Pixabay

Anecdotes can be graphic, oral or written, so the anecdote is usually done in the most diverse ways. The important thing is to collect the anecdotes.

One way to do it is by writing or illustrating the stories on a physical or digital medium. They could also be counted verbally by recording the voice to reproduce it later at the desired moment.

Characteristics of the anecdotes

The anecdotes must have the following elements to be considered as such:

Start with time expressions, which are generally not entirely accurate, but emphasizing that the story has a time frame. For example: "the other day", "recently", "once".

Use action or movement verbs, as it focuses on narrating successive events. Although it can include descriptions, it always requires words that denote something that was carried out or done, beyond a state or condition. For example: carry, give, walk, dodge.

Make reference to the space or context in which the events take place. For example: "to the other side", "towards this area", "near…".

Have a narrative point of view in the first (I, we) or third person (he or she, they) singular or plural.

Be credible, that is, the events must be feasible, not fantastic. You can exaggerate but never make up. That is a key difference from short stories and other narrative styles.

Having a funny, funny, anecdotal, tragic or surprising touch, that is, in addition to entertaining, must generate an emotion.

Relating with histrionics, that is, having grace and attitude so that you can empathize with the listener or reader. For this, gestures or expressions of the characters can be included, in order to enrich the story.

Structure of an anecdote

Being a short story, the anecdote is usually structured in at least three parts:

1) The approach or presentation in which the initial situation is indicated together with who, where and when it occurred.

2) The knot that refers to the succession of events, what happened chronologically, which can have a climax or point of maximum emotion.

3) The outcome that the closing of the story implies, which usually indicates the consequences of what happened or the solution of that event.

Examples

Anecdotes can combine stories of different styles or maintain a certain uniformity. As for the anecdotes, they can be as varied as the events and experiences that a person can live.

Historical anecdotes are often presented in compilations. They would be those made up of short stories, which have passed from generation to generation or that have characterized a particular time.

Those of a humorous nature are anecdotes that tend to combine sarcasm, mockery, exaggeration, in order to provoke laughter or happiness. Sometimes they can be presented in illustrated anecdotes, since humor has always lent itself to that graphic element.

Personal, everyday, mixed anecdotes can also make up an anecdote, the essential thing is that they are feasible and short stories that have an attractive touch that hooks the receiver.

References

1. Anecdote. (2019, December 02). Wikipedia, The Encyclopedia. Recovered from wikipedia.org
2. Xunta de Galicia. (sf). Tell and write anecdotes. Recovered from edu.xunta.gal
3. Wikipedia contributors. (2019, November 17). Anecdote. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from wikipedia.org
4. Information and content portal. Professional writing team. (2017, August). Anecdotes classes. Professionals Network. Recovered from tutareaescolar.com
5. Rodríguez Puerta, A. (sf) Anecdotal record. Recovered from lifeder.com
6. What is an anecdote? (sf) Recovered from escolar.net