Practice Questions: Plot Structure

Plot Structure - JAMB/UTME Practice Questions

Q1: In a traditional five-part plot structure, the point of highest tension where the protagonist faces the main conflict directly is called the -
(a) Resolution
(b) Climax
(c) Exposition
(d) Denouement

Q2: The opening section of a narrative that introduces characters, setting, and background information is known as the -
(a) Exposition
(b) Rising action
(c) Inciting incident
(d) Falling action

Q3: In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo's killing of Ikemefuna represents which stage of the plot structure?
(a) Exposition
(b) Falling action
(c) Rising action
(d) Resolution

Q4: The sequence of events that decrease tension after the climax and lead toward the conclusion is called the -
(a) Rising action
(b) Anticlimax
(c) Exposition
(d) Falling action

Q5: A plot device that hints at events to come later in the narrative is called -
(a) Foreshadowing
(b) Flashback
(c) Suspense
(d) Irony

Q6: In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the witches' prophecy at the beginning serves primarily as -
(a) The resolution
(b) The climax
(c) The inciting incident
(d) The denouement

Q7: A narrative technique that interrupts the chronological sequence to show past events is called -
(a) Foreshadowing
(b) Flashforward
(c) Flashback
(d) Stream of consciousness

Q8: The final outcome of a story where all loose ends are tied up is known as the -
(a) Climax
(b) Crisis
(c) Falling action
(d) Resolution

Q9: In Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, Sidi's decision to marry Baroka occurs during the -
(a) Exposition
(b) Climax
(c) Rising action
(d) Inciting incident

Q10: A plot that begins near or at the end of the story and then moves backward is called -
(a) Linear plot
(b) Episodic plot
(c) In medias res
(d) Circular plot

Q11: The event or decision that introduces the main conflict in a story is known as the -
(a) Exposition
(b) Complication
(c) Inciting incident
(d) Turning point

Q12: A plot structure with multiple interconnected storylines running simultaneously is called a -
(a) Linear plot
(b) Parallel plot
(c) Circular plot
(d) Episodic plot

Q13: In John Munonye's The Only Son, Nnanna's decision to attend the seminary represents a point of -
(a) Exposition
(b) Resolution
(c) Conflict intensification
(d) Denouement

Q14: When a story ends where it began, creating a complete circle, this structure is called -
(a) Linear plot
(b) Parallel plot
(c) Episodic plot
(d) Circular plot

Q15: The series of complications and obstacles that build tension toward the climax constitutes the -
(a) Falling action
(b) Rising action
(c) Exposition
(d) Resolution

Q16: A plot consisting of loosely connected scenes or chapters, each relatively self-contained, is called -
(a) Unified plot
(b) Episodic plot
(c) Parallel plot
(d) Linear plot

Q17: In Amos Tutuola's The Palm-Wine Drinkard, the protagonist's journey to the Land of the Dead serves as the story's -
(a) Inciting incident
(b) Central quest
(c) Denouement
(d) Exposition

Q18: The moment when the outcome of the conflict becomes inevitable, though not yet revealed, is called the -
(a) Turning point
(b) Denouement
(c) Inciting incident
(d) Exposition

Q19: A subplot that runs alongside the main plot but involves secondary characters is known as a -
(a) Parallel storyline
(b) Minor plot
(c) Episodic sequence
(d) Linear narrative

Q20: In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the prince's confirmation of his uncle's guilt through the play-within-a-play occurs during the -
(a) Exposition
(b) Inciting incident
(c) Rising action
(d) Falling action

Q21: A narrative that follows events in chronological order from beginning to end employs a -
(a) Circular structure
(b) Linear plot
(c) Episodic structure
(d) Parallel structure

Q22: The element that creates reader anticipation about what will happen next in the plot is called -
(a) Conflict
(b) Suspense
(c) Theme
(d) Setting

Q23: In Flora Nwapa's Efuru, the protagonist's repeated marital failures contribute primarily to the plot's -
(a) Exposition
(b) Pattern of conflict
(c) Resolution
(d) Inciting incident

Q24: The struggle between opposing forces that drives the plot forward is known as -
(a) Theme
(b) Suspense
(c) Conflict
(d) Characterization

Q25: When a minor character's story mirrors or contrasts with the protagonist's story, this creates a -
(a) Linear sequence
(b) Foil relationship
(c) Parallel structure
(d) Circular narrative

Answer Key Summary

1. (b)
2. (a)
3. (c)
4. (d)
5. (a)
6. (c)
7. (c)
8. (d)
9. (b)
10. (c)
11. (c)
12. (b)
13. (c)
14. (d)
15. (b)
16. (b)
17. (b)
18. (a)
19. (b)
20. (c)
21. (b)
22. (b)
23. (b)
24. (c)
25. (c)