Read the given story and classify it as 'imagined', 'recalled', or 'retold'. If a story is imagined, the person who wrote the story is making it up, pretending they experienced it. If a story is recalled, the person who wrote the story really experienced it and is recalling it from memory. If a story is retold, it is a real memory like the 'recalled' stories, but written down much later after previously writing a 'recalled' story about the same events. So, recalled stories and retold stories will be fairly similar, in that they both were real experiences for the writer. Imagined stories have a more linear flow and contain more commonsense knowledge, whereas recalled stories are less connected and contain more specific concrete events. Additionally, higher levels of self reference are found in imagined stories. Between recalled and retold stories, retold stories flow significantly more linearly than recalled stories, and retold stories are significantly higher in scores for cognitive processes and positive tone.
Example: Concerts are my most favorite thing, and my boyfriend knew it. That's why, for our anniversary, he got me tickets to see my favorite artist. Not only that, but the tickets were for an outdoor show, which I love much more than being in a crowded stadium. Since he knew I was such a big fan of music, he got tickets for himself, and even a couple of my friends. He is so incredibly nice and considerate to me and what I like to do. I will always remember this event and I will always cherish him. On the day of the concert, I got ready, and he picked me up and we went out to a restaurant beforehand. He is so incredibly romantic. He knew exactly where to take me without asking. We ate, laughed, and had a wonderful dinner date before the big event. We arrived at the concert and the music was so incredibly beautiful. I loved every minute of it. My friends, boyfriend, and I all sat down next to each other. As the music was slowly dying down, I found us all getting lost just staring at the stars. It was such an incredibly unforgettable and beautiful night.
Example solution: imagined
Example explanation: This is a good example because it really was an imagined story. The attributes that should tip you off are that the story is light on concrete events (they describe things in broad terms such as going to a restaurant and being at the stadium, but nothing specific about who was exactly where and anything specifically notable someone said or did) and heavy on references to the writer themselves and their internal feelings (they frequently repeat how much they loved it, how romantic they felt, how they cherished the night, etc). It's also very linear and structured, pointing to this being an imagined story. Additionally, the events and feelings described seem a little romanticized or idealized beyond what is usually a realistic circumstance.

Problem: The past two months have seemed like a blur, but in the past two weeks, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Leading up to our graduation, every day was jam packed with things to do. We were cramming for exams, touching up final papers, analyzing data for research projects. And that was just for school. We also had to find time to apply for jobs, so many jobs. And of course we couldn’t neglect each other. We went out every weekend. We were finally all 21 and didn’t have to worry about fake ids, so we really took advantage of the full range of bar selections across the city. We felt like we were finally growing up and finally ready to enter the real world. Graduation day two weeks ago was the culmination of all of that. We partied like we never had before, and we finally didn’t have to stress about waking on time the next day battling a hangover to get to class. After that, though, the dorms closed. We all had to leave. I went back to my family’s house for a while, and the whole world seemed to stop. As adult as I felt the past few months, I was whisked back to childhood by my parents, controlling my every move once again. I still didn’t have a job, but felt like I was running out of places to apply. My friends from high school mostly weren’t around, either, so days passed so slowly. I have to admit, I enjoyed it at first, finally free of the deadlines, but without the friends and life I’d built in college, all the fun things I wished I could do with my free time just weren’t around to enjoy anymore. This past week has been so hard. I hardly bothered to leave my room much less the house. But you know what, just when I felt like I needed to resign to this being my life, days of reminiscing for college, I got a call! Last night, I got an interview for a job at my top choice of firms. I’m so excited, and it’s really brought my life back into focus. Shopping tomorrow, interview prepping on Wednesday, and if all goes well, my first real job next month!

Solution: imagined