Narrative Technique Junior Cycle English

Junior Cycle English · Literary Terms

Narrative technique is about how a story is told, not just what happens in it. Two writers could give you the very same events and still produce two completely different stories, because the choices behind the telling shape what you feel and what you notice. When you start spotting those choices, your answers stop being summaries and start being real analysis. That is the jump that lifts a grade.

The core terms

Narrator

The narrator is the voice telling the story. It is not the same as the author. The author is the real person who wrote the book; the narrator is the voice they created to tell it. Sometimes that voice is a character inside the events. Sometimes it stands outside them and simply reports.

For example, a story might be told by a nervous younger brother who does not fully understand what the adults around him are doing. We only know what he knows, and that gap is part of the effect.

In an answer, name the narrator and say what kind of voice it is: trusting, bitter, calm, unsure. Then link that voice to how it makes you read the events.

Point of view

Point of view is the position the story is told from. First person uses “I” and puts you inside one character’s head. You see only what that person sees and feels. Third person uses “he” and “she” and stands a little further back, often able to move between characters or see more than any single one of them.

For example, a first-person account of a fight feels personal and one-sided. A third-person account of the same fight can show you both sides and tell you things neither character knows.

In an answer, state the point of view, then say what it lets you see and, just as importantly, what it hides from you.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a hint dropped early in a story about something that comes later. It might be a small detail, a passing remark, or a strange mood that only makes sense once you reach the end.

For example, an early mention of a broken lock might seem like nothing, until a break-in happens later and you realise the warning was there all along.

In an answer, point to the hint, then show how it pays off. Explain that it builds expectation and pulls the reader forward.

Flashback

A flashback is a jump back in time to an earlier event. The story pauses the present and shows you something from the past, then usually returns.

For example, a character standing at a graveside might suddenly remember a childhood afternoon with the person who has died. That memory is a flashback.

In an answer, identify the flashback and say why the writer placed it there: usually to explain why a character behaves the way they do now.

Why the telling matters

These choices are not decoration. They change the whole experience of the story.

A first-person narrator pulls you close. You feel what that character feels because you are locked inside their head. But that closeness has a cost: the narrator is limited. You only know what they know, and they might be wrong, biased, or simply unaware of what is happening elsewhere. That limit can create tension, sympathy, or surprise.

Foreshadowing builds tension. Once a hint has been planted, part of you is waiting, even if you do not realise it. The payoff feels earned rather than random.

Flashback fills in a character’s past. It explains the present without stopping to lecture you. A single memory can show you why someone is frightened, guarded, or quick to anger.

The mistakes that cost marks

Two errors come up again and again, and both are easy to fix once you know them.

The first is retelling the plot instead of discussing how it is told. If your answer just lists what happens, you are summarising, not analysing. The examiner already knows the story. What they want is your reading of the choices behind it.

The second is confusing the narrator with the author. The author made the book; the narrator is a voice inside it. When a first-person narrator is cruel or mistaken, that does not mean the writer is. Keep them separate and your analysis stays sharp.

Using This in the Exam

You do not need every term in every answer. You need the one or two that actually fit the passage in front of you, used with confidence.

How to use it: Name the technique, point to the moment in the text where you see it, then explain the effect on the reader. For example: “The story is told in the first person, so we only ever see events through Anna’s eyes; this keeps us as confused as she is, and that confusion is exactly the point.” That sentence names the technique, locates it, and explains the effect. Do that, and you are analysing the telling, not just repeating the plot.

In short

Narrative technique is the set of choices a writer makes about how to tell a story: who narrates, from what point of view, and how time is handled through tools like foreshadowing and flashback. Learn the terms, but do not stop there. The mark is in the effect. Always ask what a choice does to the reader, and always discuss how the story is told, not just what happens. Get into that habit now, and every answer you write gets stronger.