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Junior Cycle English: Creative writing: stories

How often Creative writing: stories comes up on the English papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 8 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024.

OL Asked on 3 of the last 8 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026.

Creative writing: stories, Higher Level(8 marks)

Quick ones on Creative writing: stories.

(a)Starting a story in the middle of the action is known by which Latin phrase?
  1. Deus ex machina
  2. In medias res
  3. Ad nauseam
(b)Which of these opening lines best hooks the reader?
  1. 'This is a story about my summer.'
  2. 'One day I woke up, got dressed and had breakfast.'
  3. 'The letter arrived three days after the funeral.'
(c)Why should a short exam story focus on one main event?
  1. So it can be developed fully
  2. So it can end with 'it was a dream'
  3. Because examiners dislike dialogue
Show the answers

(a) In medias res

(b) 'The letter arrived three days after the funeral.'

(c) So it can be developed fully

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Creative writing: stories.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 8 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2024.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Not asked
2025Not asked
2024Q6
2023Q3, Q8, Q10
2022Not asked
2019Not asked
2018Q6
2017Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 3 of the last 8 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q2
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Not asked
2022Q7, Q14
2019Q15
2018Not asked
2017Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Creative writing: stories questions

Creative writing: stories, 3 marks

Which is the strongest opening line for a story?

  1. Once upon a time there was a girl.
  2. This story is about a boy called Ben.
  3. The phone rang at 3 a.m., and I knew.
Show the answer

The phone rang at 3 a.m., and I knew.

Starting in the middle of the action, with a hint of mystery, hooks the reader. Openings that simply announce the story lose interest.

Creative writing: stories, 3 marks

Ending a story with 'and then I woke up, it was all a dream' is usually...

  1. Required in the exam
  2. Weak, as it cancels the story
  3. The strongest ending a story can have
Show the answer

Weak, as it cancels the story

The dream ending cheats the reader: nothing that happened mattered. A satisfying ending grows out of the story's events.

Creative writing: stories, 3 marks

Retelling a story from another character's point of view means...

  1. Telling it through their eyes
  2. Changing what happens at the very end
  3. Moving it to a new setting
Show the answer

Telling it through their eyes

Point of view is whose eyes we see through. Retelling from another character shows their feelings, reasons and what they notice.

Other English topics

All of Junior Cycle English