Year 10 - English
Identifying and analysing Ian McEwan's use of a plot twist in 'Atonement'
Fiction: ending stories
Study Hub
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 identify and analyse McEwan's use of a plot twist in 'Atonement'.
Key Notes
- Writers may choose to use a plot twist to subvert the readers' expectations around life and people's behaviour.
- In 'Atonement', McEwan's use of a plot twist may subvert our expectations of love and forgiveness.
- To create an emotional plot twist, McEwan arguably uses idioms, juxtaposition, and plosive sounds.
Vocabulary To Learn
- atonement: the action of making amends for a wrong or injury
- plot twist: a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction
- subvert: to criticise or undermine the usual way of doing something or common values
- bleak: not hopeful or encouraging
- idiom: a phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Plot twists typically reveal something hidden about a character.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Writers may choose to use a plot twist to subvert the readers' expectations around life and people's behaviour. In 'Atonement', McEwan's use of a plot twist may subvert our expectations of love and forgiveness.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'atonement'
the action of making amends for a wrong or injury.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Plot twists typically reveal something hidden about a character. Correction: While plot twists may reveal something hidden about a character, plot twists can be used to subvert our expectations of life and resolution.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Considering and emulating Tolkien's use of a cliffhanger in 'The Two Towers' Study Guide
- Crafting an effective ending 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 Saint's use of an anti-climax in 'Hera' Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 10 English guide library.