Year 10 - English
Crafting an effective ending
Fiction: ending stories
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Study Guides
This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils look at four different story ending types and practise emulating them. They look at resolution in 'Moriaty', cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers', anti-climax in 'Hera' and plot twist in 'Atonement', before then crafting their own effective ending.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to select and write an effective ending for a fictional story.
Key Notes
- We might find a resolution reassuring because it teaches us that society can return to order and justice will be done.
- A cliffhanger ending may create tension because it could imply that there will never be a satisfying ending to problems.
- We may find that an anti-climax subverts our expectations of what a 'happy ending' or 'winning' looks like.
- A plot twist might be unsettling as it could imply that we can't predict outcomes or people's behaviour.
Vocabulary To Learn
- reassure: say or do something to remove the doubts or fears of (someone)
- unsettled: nervous or worried; unable to relax
- subvert: to criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values
- tension: a feeling of nervousness that makes you unable to relax
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- It doesn't matter how you end a story - people will have the same emotional reaction.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
We might find a resolution reassuring because it teaches us that society can return to order and justice will be done. A cliffhanger ending may create tension because it could imply that there will never be a satisfying ending to problems.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'reassure'
say or do something to remove the doubts or fears of (someone).
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: It doesn't matter how you end a story - people will have the same emotional reaction. Correction: The way that you end a story drastically impacts the lasting emotional impression and how a reader interprets the story.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Considering and emulating Tolkien's use of a cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers' Study Guide
- Emulating Anthony Horowitz's use of resolution in 'Moriarty' Study Guide
- Emulating Ian McEwan's use of a plot twist in 'Atonement' Study Guide
- Emulating Saint's use of an anti-climax in 'Hera' Study Guide
- Identifying and analysing Anthony Horowitz's use of resolution in 'Moriarty' Study Guide
- Identifying and analysing Ian McEwan's use of a plot twist in 'Atonement' Study Guide
- Identifying and analysing Saint's use of an anti-climax in 'Hera' Study Guide
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