# What are the ten test questions Sargent (1916, Ch. LXIII) gives for reviewing a finished script, what does each ask for, and what does passing or failing mean?

- id: art_01M5MX5A4ZDPF6FFHG23G93AC4
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- updated: 2026-10-23T17:32:55.832Z
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1916 practice (Ch. LXIII para 11). Sargent reproduces a ten-question test, which he says was earlier offered in the Moving Picture World: new or novel; practicable; will it pass the censorships; struggle; suspense; motivation; characters well chosen; settings correct; plot adhered to; climax correct. Each is followed by a one- or two-sentence rule. His verdict rule: a story that passes 'should sell' (not always), one that does not stand the test has little chance. The ten questions mix market tests (cost, censorship, novelty), plot-craft tests (struggle, suspense, motive, adherence), and fit-and-values tests (characters, settings, righteous ending). Grouping and the 'needs outside knowledge' split are synthesis. Earlier Sargent candidates cover the craft behind Q2 and Q4-Q7 (see related).

1916 practice (Ch. LXIII para 11). Sargent reproduces a ten-question test, which he says was earlier offered in the Moving Picture World: new or novel; practicable; will it pass the censorships; struggle; suspense; motivation; characters well chosen; settings correct; plot adhered to; climax correct. Each is followed by a one- or two-sentence rule. His verdict rule: a story that passes 'should sell' (not always), one that does not stand the test has little chance. The ten questions mix market tests (cost, censorship, novelty), plot-craft tests (struggle, suspense, motive, adherence), and fit-and-values tests (characters, settings, righteous ending). Grouping and the 'needs outside knowledge' split are synthesis. Earlier Sargent candidates cover the craft behind Q2 and Q4-Q7 (see related).

Curator qualifications: Self-criticism rules, the twelve stock rejection glosses and the ten-question test are verified as Sargent's text; his own run on Example A is reported as his reading. The 'no audience trial' scope claim holds: 'spectator' appears only as an interest criterion.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://archive.org/stream/techniqueofphoto00sarg/techniqueofphoto00sarg_djvu.txt",
      "note": "sar.flat (a3cff7eb) ch. LXIII offsets per candidate"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] 1916 practice (Ch. LXIII para 11). Sargent reproduces a ten-question test, which he says was earlier offered in the Moving Picture World: new or novel; practicable; will it pass the censorships; struggle; suspense; motivation; characters well chosen; settings correct; plot adhered to; climax correct. Each is followed by a one- or two-sentence rule. His verdict rule: a story that passes 'should sell' (not always), one that does not stand the test has little chance. The ten questions mix market tests (cost, censorship, novelty), plot-craft tests (struggle, suspense, motive, adherence), and fit-and-values tests (characters, settings, righteous ending). Grouping and the 'needs outside knowledge' split are synthesis. Earlier Sargent candidates cover the craft behind Q2 and Q4-Q7 (see related). · locator: sar.flat (a3cff7eb) ch. LXIII offsets per candidate · source: https://archive.org/stream/techniqueofphoto00sarg/techniqueofphoto00sarg_djvu.txt

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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