Question 1
A student plans a short story by first deciding what happens in the climax and resolution, then working backwards to plan the exposition. What is the main advantage of this planning approach?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!
IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify the planning method
The question describes deciding the ending before planning the beginning, which is the recommended order for planning a story.
Step 2: Apply the reasoning given
Knowing the ending first means the writer understands what the story means, so every choice in the opening can be made with a purpose in mind.
Step 3: Interpret the benefit
Without this, writers often produce stories that drift because early details do not connect to anything, since the ending was never decided.
Step 4: Select the answer
The advantage is that early details can be deliberately chosen to build toward a meaningful ending, matching the choice “It ensures every early detail can be chosen to build toward a meaningful, already-known ending”.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate length claim
Nothing about planning the ending first fixes the story to a specific paragraph count, so this option is irrelevant.
Step 2: Eliminate skipping climax
The method requires knowing the climax clearly, not thinking about it less, so this option contradicts the method.
Step 3: Eliminate skipping rising action
The story skeleton still requires a sentence for rising action, so this stage is not skipped.
Step 4: Confirm correct option
Only the choice “It ensures every early detail can be chosen to build toward a meaningful, already-known ending” correctly explains why planning the ending first helps the whole story cohere.
Question 2
A story skeleton is described as something that should fit on an index card, with one sentence per arc stage. What does this teaching point mainly guard against?No clue? Show me the answer
Correct answerCorrect!IncorrectStep-by-step walkthrough
Choose a solution method
Method #1Direct reasoningStep 1: Identify the tip's warning
The tip states that if you can't summarise your climax in one sentence, you don't know your story well enough yet.
Step 2: Apply to the planning stage
This implies the risk being guarded against is over-planning details while leaving the actual central event of the story vague.
Step 3: Interpret the purpose of brevity
Keeping the skeleton short forces the writer to commit to what actually happens rather than losing focus in minor description.
Step 4: Select the matching option
The choice “Spending so long planning small details that the actual climax stays undecided” names this exact risk: over-planning small details while the climax remains undecided.
Method #2Process of eliminationStep 1: Eliminate story length claim
An index-card skeleton is about planning brevity, not about how long the finished story must be.
Step 2: Eliminate character count claim
Nothing in the tip discusses limiting the number of characters used in any stage.
Step 3: Eliminate hook mismatch claim
Choosing a hook technique is a separate later planning step, not what the index-card tip addresses.
Step 4: Confirm the answer
The tip is specifically about ensuring the climax is decided, so the choice “Spending so long planning small details that the actual climax stays undecided” is correct.
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