Título em inglês

Abstract

In this paper I argue that narratives can be good instruments for assessing linguistic and communicative competence of children, as they are good indicators of syntacticsemantic complexity, they provide valuable information about discursive ability, particularly in construction of reference (nominal and temporal), topical continuity, and complex phrases. As this is the first type of text acquired by children, it should be approached as an important means for developing meta-textual awareness.