Pretest

Question 1

Read the excerpt from Lee Child’s "A Simple Way to Create Suspense". Like the old cartoon of the big fish eating a smaller fish eating a very small fish, you’ll find out the big answer after a string of smaller drip-drip-drip answers. The big answer is parceled out slowly and parsimoniously. Which statement by Karin Slaughter shows a similar central idea?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

D: There has to be this peeling away of the onion, where you get to the core of the character as the story unfolds.

Question 2

How does author Lee Child develop his central idea in his "A Simple Way to Create Suspense"?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: He writes about suspense by creating suspense for his readers.

Question 3

Question 3

Revolt · Accepted Answer

D: [Dropdown 1] gradually

Question 4

Camille is taking notes on "A Simple Way to Create Suspense." Like the old cartoon of the big fish eating a smaller fish eating a very small fish, you’ll find out the big answer after a string of smaller drip-drip-drip answers. The big answer is parceled out slowly and parsimoniously. I remember doing that in "Killing Floor,” my first novel featuring Jack Reacher, a drifter and ex-military policeman. Something weird is happening in a small Georgia town. O.K., great, but what? Well, it seems to be something to do with money. Fine, but what exactly? Well, it seems to be about getting hold of perfect blank paper for counterfeiting purposes. Wonderful, but where the heck are they getting it? Which will be most helpful as Camille re-reads her notes to find the central idea of this paragraph?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

B: Big answer should come slowly

Question 5

Which line from "A Simple Way to Create Suspense" best supports the central idea that writers should not give their readers answers too quickly?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

A: The reader learns to chase, and the momentum becomes unstoppable.

Question 6

Review the paragraph from the article "A Simple Way to Create Suspense." Readers are human, and humans seem programmed to wait for answers to questions they witness being asked. I learned that fact in my first job. I worked in television production from 1977 until 1995, and the business changed radically during that time, mainly because of one particular invention. It was something that almost no one had in 1980, and that almost everyone had in 1990, and it changed the game forever. We had to cope with it. We had to invent a solution to the serious problem it posed. In this paragraph, the author uses an

Revolt · Accepted Answer

D: anecdote.

Question 7

Read the excerpt from "A Simple Way to Create Suspense". For instance, heading toward a movie review program, I remember we asked: Who was the studio’s first choice for the Harry Callahan role in "Dirty Harry”? We knew most viewers would be intrigued. (What, Clint Eastwood wasn’t the first choice?) But—and this was the lesson—the success of the tactic didn’t depend on intrigue. Even viewers with no interest at all stuck around to find out. Humans are hard-wired. They need to know. Even viewers who knew the answer for sure stuck around, in order to be gratified. The gap was bridged, and the danger averted. (It was Frank Sinatra. You waited, right?) Which best describes this excerpt?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: The author uses a personal anecdote to show that audiences are willing to wait for an answer.

Question 8

Gary has made this note in his reading notebook. Student Work Slowly giving readers answers moves story along. This note refers to which central idea found in A Simple Way to Create Suspense?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

D: The basic narrative fuel is always the slow unveiling of the final answer.

Question 9

Review the paragraph from "A Simple Way to Create Suspense" the by Lee Child. Trusting such a simple system feels cheap and meretricious while you’re doing it. But it works. It’s all you need. Of course, attractive and sympathetic characters are nice to have; and elaborate and sinister entanglements are satisfying; and impossible-to-escape pits of despair are great. But they’re all luxuries. The basic narrative fuel is always the slow unveiling of the final answer. What is the central idea of this paragraph?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: To create suspense, writers must reveal details gradually so readers want more.

Question 10

Which note best summarizes the central idea of "A Simple Way to Create Suspense"?

Revolt · Accepted Answer

C: Make readers hungry for answers

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