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Narrative Arc Analysis Worksheet

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Narrative Arc Analysis Worksheet

Read the story, then use evidence from it to explore how a narrative arc works. You may quote a few words or describe a moment in your own words.

The Signal at Kōwhai Point

At the end of winter, Maia helped her uncle run a small lighthouse museum on the coast. Most visitors came to see the old lamps, but Maia loved the view from the tower. One afternoon, a storm warning crackled over the radio. Her uncle went to secure the boats, leaving Maia alone in the museum. A flash of light blinked from the headland across the bay: three quick flashes, then darkness. Maia knew the lighthouse had been switched off for years. She tried the radio, but only static answered. Rain began to hammer the windows. Maia found an old torch and hurried along the cliff path. The wind shoved at her shoulders. Near the headland, she spotted a small fishing boat drifting towards the rocks. Its lantern flashed three times again. Someone was signalling for help. The path ended at a steep, slippery slope. Maia could wait for her uncle, but the boat was getting closer to the rocks. She tied the museum’s bright orange safety rope around a fence post and lowered herself to a ledge. From there, she aimed the torch towards the bay in long, steady sweeps—the emergency signal she had practised with her uncle. The boat turned towards the light. Just as Maia climbed back up, the fence post shifted. She grabbed the rope with both hands as the post tipped towards the edge. Her boots scraped against the wet ground. Then a strong hand caught her coat: her uncle had reached the path. Together they pulled the post upright and kept signalling until the boat passed safely into the harbour. Back at the museum, Maia wrapped her hands around a mug of hot tea. In the morning, her uncle fixed a proper signal lamp at the headland. Maia looked out at the calm sea and smiled. The old lighthouse might be dark, but its warning light had not been forgotten.

Map the story arc

Use the five stages: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.

1.Which detail belongs to the exposition? Choose the strongest answer.

Maia and her uncle run a lighthouse museum on the coast.
The fence post shifts towards the edge.
The fishing boat reaches the harbour.
Maia drinks hot tea the next morning.

2.Name two events in the rising action that make the danger or tension grow. Explain briefly how each one raises the stakes.

3.What is the climax—the moment of greatest tension or turning point? Support your answer with one story detail.

4.Put these moments in story order by writing 1–4 beside them: the boat reaches the harbour; Maia sees three flashes; the fence post shifts; Maia and her uncle keep signalling.

5.Which sentence best describes the resolution?

The boat is safe, Maia is back at the museum, and a proper signal lamp is installed.
Maia discovers that the lighthouse was never switched off.
The storm destroys the museum and the boat is lost.
Maia decides to leave the coast without telling her uncle.

6.Find one example of “show, don’t tell” in the story. Quote or describe it, then explain what it suggests Maia is feeling.

7.How does the storm help build tension? Give two details from the story and explain their effect on the reader.

8.Explain how the repeated flashes of light connect the beginning and end of the story. What changes about their meaning?

9.Imagine Maia waits for her uncle instead of going to the headland. Write an alternative ending of 5–7 sentences. Keep it believable, show Maia’s feelings through actions or details, and resolve the boat’s problem.

10.Add one possible scene to the rising action that would increase tension before Maia reaches the headland. Describe what happens and explain why it would make readers more worried.