Structuring a TAT story
Every TAT story needs three components — past, present and future. A clear structure makes your hero's actions, and the OLQs behind them, visible to the psychologist.
When a candidate writes a story in the TAT, she has to structure it according to the given instructions. A story should have three components — what led to the situation (past), what is going on (present), and what the outcome will be (future).
Past — a brief background
What the picture usually shows is the present, which is a consequence of something that happened before. So the candidate has to give a brief background to the problem.
Present — actions by the hero
After the background, show actions by the hero to tackle the problem presented in the picture. The bulk of the story should contain actions. The TAT is fundamentally a test of imagination and goal-seeking behaviour, and that comes through in what the hero does.
Future — a clear outcome
After performing the actions, the story must have an outcome that shows the hero has achieved her goal. The candidate should structure all stories in this way.