Year 10 - English
Emulating Saramago's use of structure in 'Blindness'
Fiction: read around the world
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils read extracts from four novels from around the world, and use them to develop their narrative writing. In particular, pupils explore writers' use of structure. At the end of the unit, pupils consider their own use of paragraphs for effect and write an engaging narrative.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use interesting structural features to create an engaging narrative opening.
Key Notes
- You can utilise elements from a traditional story arc to help you create an interesting narrative opening.
- A mundane setting offers an opportunity for an interesting shift in tone.
- Shifting from a wider setting to a close focus on a specific thing or person demonstrates control of focus.
- Saramago crafts a shift in tone with the conjunction 'but', a list and the manipulation of sentence length.
- You can build suspense in a narrative by making the reader wait longer for a climax.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Mundane: ordinary and therefore not interesting
- Climax: the most important or exciting part of a story
- Tension: a feeling of nervousness
- Innovate: to introduce changes and new ideas
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- The traditional story arc can only be applied to full narratives.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
You can utilise elements from a traditional story arc to help you create an interesting narrative opening. A mundane setting offers an opportunity for an interesting shift in tone.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Mundane'
ordinary and therefore not interesting.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: The traditional story arc can only be applied to full narratives. Correction: You can find elements of the traditional story arc in writing of any length.
More Lessons In This Unit
- 'After Dark': exploring Murakami's extended metaphor Study Guide
- 'After Dark': selecting evidence to support language analysis Study Guide
- 'Suite Française': evaluating ideas about a writer's craft Study Guide
- 'Suite Française': forming opinions on fiction Study Guide
- 'The Cellist of Sarajevo': expressing a personal and critical response to a text Study Guide
- Analysing images of hope and destruction in Galloway's 'The Cellist of Sarajevo' Study Guide
- Analysing Saramago's use of structural devices in 'Blindness' Study Guide
- Crafting an engaging narrative Study Guide
- Developing reading skills by responding to Murakami's 'After Dark' Study Guide
- Emulating Murakami's craft to write a descriptive opening Study Guide
- Exploring and emulating Galloway's use of symbols in 'The Cellist of Sarajevo' Study Guide
- Exploring structure in Murakami's 'After Dark' Study Guide
- Exploring the use of time in Galloway's 'The Cellist of Sarajevo' Study Guide
- Structuring paragraphs effectively in creative writing Study Guide
- Using inversion and asyndeton to craft interesting sentence structures Study Guide
- Using onomatopoeia and alliteration to craft interesting sound imagery Study Guide
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