Year 7 - English
Developing explanations in analytical writing about Akala's 'The Dark Lady'
Step into the unknown: fiction reading and creative writing
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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 develop their fiction reading and creative writing by reading extracts from famous fiction and then emulating key techniques in their own writing. They start by securing and extending their knowledge of key sentence grammar, before reading and emulating the extracts.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to develop your explanations in order to effectively put your ideas about Akala's 'The Dark Lady' across to the reader.
Key Notes
- Good analytical paragraphs begin with a clear topic sentence, supported by a range of evidence.
- Good analytical paragraphs mention what method the writer is using.
- Good analytical paragraphs are cohesive – discourse markers are used to link ideas together.
- Comment on the effects of specific language devices to develop your analysis in detail.
Vocabulary To Learn
- Inference: a guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have
- Connotation: a feeling or idea that is suggested by a word in addition to its basic meaning
- Topic sentence: a sentence that explains the main focus or idea of a paragraph
- Personification: where a non-human object or thing is given human characteristics
- Simile: a rhetorical device used to compare two things using the words 'like' or 'as'
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- That the reader will automatically be able to follow your train of thought.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
Good analytical paragraphs begin with a clear topic sentence, supported by a range of evidence. Good analytical paragraphs mention what method the writer is using.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'Inference'
a guess that you make or an opinion that you form based on the information that you have.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: That the reader will automatically be able to follow your train of thought. Correction: We all have different connotations from words; you need to clearly explain how you have reached your idea in order for the reader to be able to understand your argument.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Analysing and emulating Baum's use of unknown characters in 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Analysing character in an unseen extract from Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Analysing Dorothy's return from the unknown in Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Considering sensory language in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Considering sentence structures in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Considering strategies for refining and editing your descriptive writing Study Guide
- Contrasting the everyday and the unknown settings in Baum's 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Contrasting the familiar and the unknown in your descriptive writing Study Guide
- Developing your explanation of quotations from 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Drafting a piece of descriptive writing on 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' Study Guide
- Explaining and emulating how Bilan uses light in 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Explaining how Akala uses patterns of language for effect in 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Explaining how Burnett presents the garden setting in 'The Secret Garden' Study Guide
- Identifying and emulating Baum's use of pathetic fallacy in 'The Wizard of Oz' Study Guide
- Meeting a fantastical creature in Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Practising planning and writing a detailed description based on an image Study Guide
- Responding to an unseen extract from 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' Study Guide
- Responding to an unseen extract from Burnett's 'The Secret Garden' Study Guide
- Responding to key images in an unseen extract from Akala's 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Revising topic sentences and selecting precise evidence from 'The Dark Lady' Study Guide
- Using adjectives and semantic fields to plan and write descriptive paragraphs Study Guide
- Using adverbs, subordinate clauses and compound sentences in descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using ambitious language and colour imagery to improve your descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using dashes, colons, and commas for effect in descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using figurative language and structure to create an unsettling atmosphere Study Guide
- Using precise evidence from Burnett's 'The Secret Garden' to support an idea Study Guide
- Using sensory language and figurative language to create an atmospheric setting Study Guide
- Using simple, compound and complex sentences in descriptive writing Study Guide
- Using vocabulary choices, similes, and metaphors to plan descriptive writing Study Guide
- Writing clear analytical paragraphs about Bilan's 'Asha and the Spirit Bird' Study Guide
- Writing complete sentences and correcting sentence fragments Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 7 English guide library.