1. Use the following sequence of events from a story to answer the question.

Question

Scene 1: Darnell and Josh each have shovels and are digging furiously near a river bank.
Scene 2: Darnell finds a metal box and pulls it out of the ground while Josh looks on.
Scene 3: Two days earlier, Darnell and Josh read an ancient letter they found in their grandmother’s attic.
Scene 4: Darnell and Josh open the box and examine its contents.

Which scene is a flashback?
A) Scene 4
B) Scene 2
C) Scene 3
D) Scene 1

2. Use the following sequence of events from a story to answer the question.

A. After she finishes breakfast, Marla rummages through her bedroom closet looking for her work shoes.
B. Marla can’t find her work shoes, so she pulls on a pair of slippers.
C. Marla runs to the bus stop in her slippers and gets on the bus to work.
D. While Marla is eating breakfast, her little sister finds Marla’s work shoes in the bedroom closet and walks away in them.

What change would make the plot linear?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
A) Move A to the end.
B) Move B to the beginning.
C) Move D to the beginning.
D) Move C to the end.

3. Most stories use a narrative arc to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.

Drag each story component to put them in the correct order. At the top, put the component that is usually first in a story. At the bottom, put the component that is usually last.
A) resolution
B) rising action
C) climax
D) exposition
E) falling action

Answer 1

1. The scene that is a flashback is: C) Scene 3 (This scene describes an event that happened before the current timeline, indicating it's a flashback.)

2. The change that would make the plot linear is: C) Move D to the beginning. (Moving D to the beginning clarifies the situation and allows the events to follow a more chronological order.)

3. The correct order of the story components is:

4. D) exposition

5. B) rising action

6. C) climax

7. E) falling action

8. A) resolution