A word for the way a story works.
Ten useful terms from the reading chair.
Ten questions, with the answers explained. Try them in your head, then open each answer when you're ready.
Play this quiz →QUESTION 1 / 10
Which word fits: a clue that hints at something happening later?
- Foreshadowing
- Cliffhanger
- Satire
- Anthology
Show answer & explanation+
Foreshadowing
A small warning early in a story can be foreshadowing for a later event.
QUESTION 2 / 10
Which word fits: a scene that returns to an earlier time?
- Flashback
- Narrator
- Memoir
- Epilogue
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Flashback
A flashback pauses the present action to show something from the past.
QUESTION 3 / 10
Which word fits: an unresolved ending designed to make you want more?
- Prologue
- Climax
- Anthology
- Cliffhanger
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Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger leaves a crucial outcome hanging until the next installment.
QUESTION 4 / 10
Which word fits: a closing section after the main story?
- Foreshadowing
- Narrator
- Satire
- Epilogue
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Epilogue
An epilogue may show what happens to the characters years later.
QUESTION 5 / 10
Which word fits: an introductory section before the main story?
- Prologue
- Memoir
- Climax
- Flashback
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Prologue
A prologue can establish an event or perspective before chapter one.
QUESTION 6 / 10
Which word fits: humor used to expose faults or criticize something?
- Foreshadowing
- Anthology
- Cliffhanger
- Satire
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Satire
Satire uses wit, exaggeration, or irony to make a critical point.
QUESTION 7 / 10
Which word fits: a personal account of selected experiences?
- Flashback
- Memoir
- Narrator
- Epilogue
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Memoir
A memoir reflects on a part or theme of the writer's own life.
QUESTION 8 / 10
Which word fits: a collection of separate works gathered in one volume?
- Prologue
- Climax
- Cliffhanger
- Anthology
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Anthology
An anthology may bring together poems or stories by several writers.
QUESTION 9 / 10
Which word fits: the voice telling a story?
- Satire
- Foreshadowing
- Narrator
- Epilogue
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Narrator
The narrator tells the story and may or may not be one of its characters.
QUESTION 10 / 10
Which word fits: the story's point of greatest tension or decisive action?
- Memoir
- Flashback
- Climax
- Prologue
Show answer & explanation+
Climax
The climax is where the central conflict reaches its crucial moment.