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Year 10 - English

Exploring model responses to an essay about Viv and belonging in 'Leave Taking'

Leave Taking: a sense of belonging

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils start their exploration of Winsome Pinnock's play, 'Leave Taking'. They first learn about the play's context of 1980s Britain and the Windrush generation before then reading and exploring the full play. They finally explore themes and characters before working on essay writing.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to understand what makes an excellent analytical paragraph about 'Leave Taking', and develop your own excellent analytical paragraphs.

Key Notes

  • Topic sentences should link to the question.
  • References to the text should link to your topic sentence, come from across the play, and be rich in methods.
  • Writer's methods should be explored without always relying on single word analysis.
  • Context should be woven into analysis, not bolted on to the end of a paragraph.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • belonging: The feeling that you are accepted in a group, community or society.
  • Eurocentric: When there is a focus on European culture or history, ignoring or excluding cultures and history from the wider world.
  • dramatic methods: The tools a playwright uses to create drama. Examples are setting, stage directions, dialogue and language choices.
  • weave: In relation to context, when you embed it into paragraphs rather than including it as a series of isolated facts.
  • colonialism: When a country establishes control over another country, exploiting it for economic gain.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Context can't be included in a topic sentence or analysis. It must be confined to its own sentences.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

Topic sentences should link to the question. References to the text should link to your topic sentence, come from across the play, and be rich in methods.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'belonging'

The feeling that you are accepted in a group, community or society.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Context can't be included in a topic sentence or analysis. It must be confined to its own sentences. Correction: Context can be woven into any moment in a paragraph; you must decide where it will be most purposeful.

More Lessons In This Unit

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