Question 1
A novel opens with a character standing at a graveside, then jumps back six months to show the events leading up to the death. What is this technique called, and what is its most likely effect?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!
IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Locate the structural feature
The story starts at the graveside, then time moves backwards six months. This backward jump in the telling order, away from the real starting point, is the defining feature of a flashback.
Step 2: Match the technique to its name
Since the writer withholds the earlier events and reveals them after showing a later moment, this is a flashback used to create curiosity about causes.
Step 3: Consider reader effect
Readers already know someone dies, so they read on wanting to know why and how, creating suspense about the events leading to that known outcome.
Step 4: Confirm the answer
The correct description combines the technique (flashback) with the effect (reading on to discover the cause of the death).
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Rule out foreshadowing
Foreshadowing hints at future events before they happen, but here the graveside scene is shown first and the past is revealed afterwards, which is the reverse.
Step 2: Rule out parallel plot
A parallel plot alternates between two separate storylines happening at similar times, but this example only has one storyline told out of order.
Step 3: Rule out cyclical pattern
A cyclical pattern involves events repeating, but nothing here repeats; instead a single sequence of events is told out of chronological order.
Step 4: Confirm the flashback answer
Only the flashback option correctly names the technique and its effect of driving curiosity about how the death happened.
Question 2
In a story, chapters alternate between two friends living in different cities, each dealing with the same natural disaster in their own way. What effect does this alternating structure most likely create for the reader?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Name the structure
Chapters switching between two characters in different places dealing with the same event describes a parallel plot structure.
Step 2: Think about what switching does
When a text keeps moving between two viewpoints of the same event, it naturally invites the reader to notice similarities and differences between the two experiences.
Step 3: Consider the deeper effect
This comparison can highlight a bigger idea, such as how people respond differently to the same crisis depending on their circumstances.
Step 4: Choose the accurate effect
The option describing an invitation to compare experiences matches exactly what parallel plots are designed to achieve.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Rule out hiding the ending
Alternating structure does not necessarily hide endings; both characters' stories can still be resolved even while switching between them.
Step 2: Rule out slowing pace to boredom
Switching between exciting parallel storylines is usually used to build tension and interest, not to slow the story until readers disengage.
Step 3: Rule out removing time passing
Parallel plots still show time passing in each storyline; the technique does not compress events into a single instant.
Step 4: Confirm the comparison effect
Only the option about inviting comparison correctly reflects the purpose of a parallel plot structure switching between two characters.
12 more questions in this topic
Pick this up in your Library: it holds the whole topic, notes, cheatsheet and questions. Your answers here are kept on this device.