Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a technique whereby the writer drops tiny clues or hints about what is going to
happen later in the story. Good foreshadowing may be hard to notice on the first read, but when the
reader looks through the story again, he will realise how everything ties together so perfectly. It is
bad writing if a writer introduces a sudden twist at the end of the story without hinting at it at all
throughout the story.
Below are some events on the left column. Think about how you could foreshadow these events and
write down your ideas in the right column.
Event Foreshadowing
A fire in a factory
A boy tearing his pants by accident on stage
A bus crashing down into a ravine
An old man subduing a robber
A boy drops his cap into a tiger enclosure
Getting caught in a heavy downpour
A teacher contracts a critical illness and had to
be hospitalised
A soldier goes berserk during duty and fires at a
crowd
Suggested answers:
Event Foreshadowing
A fire in a factory A worker frantically stubs out his cigarette
when the supervisor enters the power room.
A boy tearing his pants by accident on stage When he tried to breath in and out to calm
himself down before stepping onto the stage,
he felt his fabric of his pants tightening around
his stomach. He regretted eating that huge
plate of fried rice during lunch just now.
A bus crashing down into a ravine The driver rubbed his tired eyes and chugged
down a can of iced coffee. Today was supposed
to be his rest day but his colleague called in sick
so he had to be the replacement.
An old man subduing a robber Every morning, the writer will spot the old man
practicing taiji at the garden. He seemed
extremely graceful and experienced with every
move.
A boy drops his cap into a tiger enclosure The cocky boy had been a real nuisance the
entire morning. He scampered around like a
fearless imp and taunted at the ferocious
beasts from behind the railing.
Getting caught in a heavy downpour The winds were howling and the sky was like a
magician, switching from a white suit to a black
one in the blink of an eye.
A teacher contracts a critical illness and had to Her usually rosy cheeks were ashen grey. She
be hospitalised must have lost a lot of sleep marking our exam
scripts, I thought to myself.
A soldier goes berserk during duty and fires at a He shuddered as he recalled the traumatic days
crowd in Afghanistan. Every day was a living
nightmare. Artillery strikes have become so
common that the bomb shelter had become his
second home.
