These ten questions cover viewpoint, sequence, dialogue, tension and endings. They are original and ordered from easier to harder.
Write your own answer on paper first, then open the worked answer. Many answers have more than one good version, so compare the reasoning, not just the wording.
Questions
Q1. Name the viewpoint of each.
- (a) “I counted the coins twice.”
- (b) “Rani counted the coins twice and hoped nobody noticed.”
- (c) “Rani counted the coins twice, while across the road the shopkeeper decided to call the police.”
Show answer
(a) First person. (b) Third person limited, through Rani, because her hope is shown. (c) Omniscient, because the narrator enters the shopkeeper’s mind as well.
Q2. Fix the slip in this third person limited passage about Kai: “Kai waited by the gate. His mother was pretending to be calm, but inside she was frightened.”
Show answer
The second sentence enters the mother’s mind. Fix: His mother kept smoothing her scarf, and Kai thought she looked calmer than she felt. The fear is now Kai’s guess, based on behaviour.
Q3. A story is about a student who has a secret the reader should guess only at the end. Would first person or an omniscient narrator suit it better? Why?
Show answer
First person (or third limited) is easier to control, because the narrator only reveals what the character chooses to show. An omniscient narrator would have to explain the secret early, or hide it in a way that feels like cheating.
Q4. A story runs: wakes up, breakfast, bus ride, class, finds a lost wallet at lunch, decides what to do, goes home. Which events should be summarised and which stretched?
Show answer
Summarise wakes up, breakfast, bus ride and class in a sentence or two. Stretch finding the wallet and deciding, since the story exists for that moment. Going home needs only a short closing line.
Q5. Rewrite this in four short beats: “Suddenly the dog barked and I was terrified.”
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One version: A chain rattled behind the fence. The bark came next, so loud that it seemed to hit my chest. My hand was already gripping the gatepost. I did not remember deciding to stop walking. Each beat is a separate sound, sense or action.
Q6. A story about a boy entering a cold swimming pool includes a flashback to his birthday party, which has nothing to do with water. Should it stay?
Show answer
No. It is unrelated and breaks the tension of the present scene. A flashback should explain something the present raises. If the birthday showed why he fears water, a two-line version could stay.
Q7. Rewrite to reveal: “I am embarrassed that Dad is late again,” said Mina.
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Example: Mina watched the other parents drive off. “It’s fine,” she said. “I like waiting. Is there any water left in your bottle?” The deflection and small request show embarrassment without naming it.
Q8. Read: “You cut your hair.” “It was getting long.” “It was fine.” What does the exchange reveal?
Show answer
The speakers talk about hair but the tension suggests a hidden disagreement or hurt. The repeated short replies show that neither is saying what they mean. The reader infers a strained relationship from the gaps.
Q9. A girl must deliver a cake to a party before six o’clock. Which added event builds tension: (a) the cake box is crushed in the bag; (b) a famous singer walks past; (c) she finds a hidden map on the pavement?
Show answer
(a). It touches the goal and raises the pressure. (b) and (c) are unrelated incidents that shift the reader’s attention away from the cake.
Q10. A story opens with a girl rehearsing a speech alone in her room and ends with her delivering it. Choose the stronger ending and explain: (a) She speaks, the room is quiet, then someone begins to clap and she sees it was all a dream. (b) She speaks, her voice catches on the third line, she looks at the empty chair where she practised, and keeps going.
Show answer
(b). It echoes the opening (the empty chair), answers the question of whether she can do it and ends on an action. (a) uses an unprepared twist that cancels what happened.
If you got these wrong
| Error type | Go to |
|---|---|
| Viewpoint slipped, or a narrator knew too much (Q1, Q2, Q3) | Create a clear narrative viewpoint |
| Key moment rushed or flashback unclear (Q4, Q5, Q6) | Control the sequence of an event |
| Characters explained their feelings (Q7, Q8) | Use dialogue to reveal rather than explain |
| Extra events instead of pressure (Q9) | Build tension without unnecessary incidents |
| Ending rushed or unrelated (Q10) | End a narrative without an unrelated twist |
Log each miss in your mistake log, rewrite the answer from scratch a few days later and compare the two versions in the writing revision compare view. The summary selection and paraphrase studio can help you check which details in a plan really serve the story.
Return to the narrative design module for the full study route. If you want a teacher to read your stories with you, see online one-to-one English First Language tuition.