Subjects · Leaving Cert English
Leaving Cert English: Narrative Technique
How often Narrative Technique comes up on the English papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.
HL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker
OL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker
Quick ones on Narrative Technique.
- First person
- Third person
- Second person
- Resolution
- Exposition
- Climax
- An open ending
- An epilogue
- A twist ending
Show the answers
(a) Third person
(b) Climax
(c) An open ending
Higher Level
Asked on 10 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Composing 1, Composing 6 |
| 2025 | Composing 3, Composing 7 |
| 2024 | Composing 1, Composing 6 |
| 2023 | Composing 1, Composing 5 |
| 2022 | Composing 3, Composing 7 |
| 2021 | Composing 3, Composing 5 |
| 2019 | Composing 2, Composing 4 |
| 2018 | Composing 2, Composing 5 |
| 2017 | Composing 4 |
| 2016 | Composing 2, Composing 6 |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
More Narrative Technique questions
Narrative Technique, 2 marks
Anxious uncertainty about what will happen next is…
- Denouement
- Exposition
- Suspense
Show the answer
Suspense
Build it with short sentences, delayed information and cliffhangers in your short story.
Narrative Technique, 2 marks
The central struggle between opposing forces in a story is its…
- Motif
- Conflict
- Setting
Show the answer
Conflict
It can be external (character against character, society or nature) or internal (a struggle within a character).
Narrative Technique, 2 marks
A third-person narrator who only shares one character's thoughts is…
- Third-person limited
- Omniscient
- Second person
Show the answer
Third-person limited
We stay close to one character while the narration uses 'he' or 'she'; we only know what that character knows.
Ordinary Level
Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker
Every paper, year by year
| Year | Where it came up |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Composing 2, Composing 5 |
| 2025 | Composing 1, Composing 5 |
| 2024 | Composing 2, Composing 4 |
| 2023 | Composing 2, Composing 7 |
| 2022 | Composing 2, Composing 4 |
| 2021 | Composing 1, Composing 5 |
| 2019 | Composing 1, Composing 5 |
| 2018 | Composing 2, Composing 5 |
| 2017 | Composing 1, Composing 4 |
| 2016 | Composing 2, Composing 6 |
Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.
More Narrative Technique questions
Narrative Technique, 2 marks
A story told using 'I' is written in the…
- Third person
- Second person
- First person
Show the answer
First person
First person uses I and me, so we only know what that character knows. Third person uses he, she and they.
Narrative Technique, 3 marks
'Show, don't tell' in a story means…
- Tell the reader the ending first, then go back
- Describe what happens so the reader works out the feeling
- Use drawings or pictures alongside the words you write
Show the answer
Describe what happens so the reader works out the feeling
Instead of She was nervous, write Her hands shook as she opened the letter. Detail convinces the reader more than a label does.
Narrative Technique, 2 marks
In a story, a new paragraph should begin when…
- A different character starts to speak
- Every five lines exactly
- Never, once the story has started
Show the answer
A different character starts to speak
New speaker, new paragraph. It keeps dialogue clear so the reader always knows who is talking.