Mrs Sutherland's English Classroom



Imaginative Writing UnitWhat you’ll be assessed on:Content - stick to your chosen purpose and fit your chosen audienceStyle – use the conventions of the genre effectively, use varied word choice, structure your work to help achieve its purposeTechnical accuracy – consistently accurate usage of paragraphing, punctuation, grammar and spellingTask 1 – In pairs discuss the different emotions the writer feels in these two letters? What causes the emotions to alter?Dear Jon,I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy -- will you let me be yours?GloriaDear Jon:I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?Yours,GloriaImportant Tip: Punctuation creates impact – to drive home to the reader the message and meaning the writer wants to convey. e.g. There was only one way they could pass National 5 English: study. Task 2 – In groups make a list of all the rules and guidelines that you think would help you to recognise a short story. It may help you to think about length, number of characters, number of setting and time covered.Be prepared to share your answers with the class. Task 3 – Read the short story ‘Absolute’ then discuss with your group any additional rules and guidelines for a short story and add them to your list.Be prepared to share your ideas with the class.Absolute (Short Story)“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Four-year-old Hannah was tugging at Michael’s hands, trying to pull them away from his ears. “Daddy are you all right?”He was not. He was crouching on the platform at Haymarket Station, his forehead against his knees and his arms wrapped around his head. Everything around him was clattering. The trains screeched in like someone scraping a canteen of knives against the rails. Everyone was on their phones, baying at listeners who would not hear them and would have to be texted later from blue tartan seats. Suitcase wheels trundled like coal trucks. Worst of all was the tannoy, too loud to ignore but too quiet to make any sense of. Would they ever get out of here?“Daddy, let’s go. I’m scared.”He must control himself. He unfurled, stretched, hearing the popcorn crackle of his knees as they straightened. “I’m scared too Hannah. Let’s go.”*****She seemed to have forgotten his panic already. In the coffee shop she sat carefully colouring in each letter O in that day’s Scotsman and drinking a glass of milk. He felt battered by the squinking of her pen against the newsprint, the scratch of the milk as it climbed the straw. In the kitchen, someone was torturing the washing up. It was a warm day and the café door was pegged open. Splinters of other lives forced their way towards him.“- don’t judge me because I’m not who you thought I was -”“- and then I’ll finally be able to tell her to go and -”Michael stood up with elaborate care, lifting all four feet of his stool and placing them down again eighteen inches further back. He lifted his bag, vertically, not allowing it to drag across the flag-stoned floor. “Let’s go Hannah. Daddy’s tired. We’ll go to Glasgow another day. Daddy needs to go home now.”*****The first place he tried was at least in Scotland. “Welcome to Pluscarden Abbey,” boomed a monk.Michael took a notebook from his pocket, wrote a few words and tore the page out. Each tiny rip against the metal rings of the spine went off like a bomb inside his head. He handed it over.“Yes, it is a silent retreat,” said the monk, “but only after supper on the first night. It’s important to share what has brought us all here. Then we can be quiet together without feeling alone.”Michael wrote another note, handed it over and walked away.*****He read about a Canadian nickel mine, two kilometres underground. He paid for a $200,000 life insurance bond. He let them search him for cameras, handed over his phone, agreed to wear only the boiler suit and rigger boots they gave him, all so they would plummet him into the blissful dark.At the bottom of the lift shaft he turned left as they told him, and strode out for as long as he could bear the earthquake of loose stones under his ridged soles. He dropped his sleeping bag on the tunnel floor and lay down on top of it. His breathing slowed. This would be the place. It would be quiet, and he would rest now.It would not, and he would not. The emergency lighting buzzed like a wasps’ nest. Every drip of water from the roof was a belly-flopping fat boy in a council swimming pool.He rolled up his sleeping bag and turned right, back to the lift shaft.*****At last, he heard about – for everything is noise and all of life is hearing – the anechoic chamber. He flew to Minnesota.“Welcome to the Orfield Laboratories Mr. Wright. I understand you have some very specific requirements?”“Yes, but very simple. I just need to be somewhere totally quiet for as long as possible.”“I’m sure we can help you with that,” said the scientist. “If a soft whisper is measured at twenty decibels, then our anechoic chamber is just one sixteenth of that. We’re proud to be listed as the Guinness World Records’ quietest place on earth. NASA astronauts do part of their training here, so they can learn to cope with the silence of space.”“Can you guarantee it? I know you’ve seen the reference from my doctor.”“Certainly Mr. Wright. We fully appreciate how much it matters to you and your family that you should find somewhere quiet. Our chamber is massively insulated with layers of concrete and steel to block out exterior noise. Even the floor is a suspended mesh to stop any sound of footfalls.”“That sounds wonderful.” Michael tried to put warmth in his voice, but he had forgotten how after all these months of whispering. “I’d like to try forty-five minutes.”The scientist looked up from his clipboard. “Sir many people find perfect quiet upsetting. Being cut off can induce fear. Some nations use this as a form of torture.”“I understand.” His voice was a leaf in a tornado.“Being in an anechoic chamber for longer than fifteen minutes can cause claustrophobia, nausea, panic attacks and aural hallucinations.”“I understand.” His voice was a dragonfly’s wingbeat in a hurricane.“Mr. Wright, we had a violinist here last week. He wanted silence so he could run through a score in his head. He was crying after four minutes.”“I understand.” His voice was a mackerel fin against a North Sea storm.When the heavy door shut behind him, he was plunged into darkness – no lights humming this time. He strained. He heard nothing.Then after a minute or two, he became aware of the sound of his own breathing. He held his breath.His heart thumped, like a derrick in an oil field. Next, he started to hear the blood swooping in his veins, a racket of purpose. He frowned and heard his scalp shuffle over his skull.He’d have to be dead for absolute silence.Michael screamed.Task 4 – In pairs complete the table below to give examples of the different structure steps from the short story ‘Absolute’Step in the structureHow we see this in ‘Absolute’Exposition This is what is revealed or told at the start of the story. It sets the scene and establishes characters. Not too much, or you will bore your reader, not too little or you will confuse them.Initiating incident Something happens at the start of the story. This kicks off the action by creating a problem, or challenge, or new situation for the main characters.Development This is where the characters try to solve their problems. Any action has to fit the character – a gentle person will not try to solve their problems with a shotgun. The story tests the character: how is this person going to deal with this problem? You cannot sort out the problem too easily or you end up having no story. The character will probably make several unsuccessful attempts to solve the problem, and some of these may lead to turning points within the story. This is how your story develops. It is where we see the action of the story rising.Climax This is the point the story has been leading up to. Afterwards the story may change mood or direction. Resolution After the climax, there will be consequences that affect the fates of those involved. The story should feel properly brought to a close. Important tip: Try to make sure that your story focuses on a small number of characters, has few settings, a clear structure which builds up interest and a short time frame.Try to think about these 5 steps to structure an imaginative story when planning your own writing and also when we are studying texts for the exam as there can be questions about structure.General Writing SkillsShow, don’t tell – this is one of the most effective ways at interesting your reader and illustrating to the marker that you have a flare for writing.ExampleI opened the envelope. I took the letter out and read it. I put it down.Now look at these sentences. I tore open the envelope. I pulled the letter out and scanned it. I flung it to the floor.Task 1 – In pairs discuss how the writer feels about the letter in the second set of sentences. How do you know they feel this way? Do they state their emotion? How are the verbs more expressive in the second set of sentences?Task 2 – In your jotter re-write the first three sentences beginning ‘I opened the envelope…’ to show the following emotions.The narrator is afraid of what the letter says.The narrator is very attracted to the person who is writing to them.The narrator is surprised or shocked by something in the letter. Important tip:The difference between showing and telling often comes from choosing interesting vocabulary. By using the right words to put across how characters move, act, appear, or speak, we can make the reader imagine and understand what they are like, or how they are feeling. Task 3 – Now try writing these paragraphs (making sure that you show rather than tell)Show that a person is angry just by describing the way he/she buys three items at a supermarket.Show that a person is afraid just by describing the way he/she starts a car and rives off.Show that a person is worried just by describing the way he/she answers a ringing phone.Show that a person is exhausted just by describing the way he/she arrives home.Show that a person is shy just by describing the way he/she comes into a crowded room. Task 4 – Write a paragraph to describe, in as much detail as possible, a room. This room should be one that ‘belongs’ to a character. If your character is a child or teenager, you may want to describe his/her bedroom; if it is an adult you might want to describe his/her sitting room or office at work. However, the most revealing room for some characters could be their kitchen or garden shed. The way you describe the room, the objects you put in it, and how everything has been set out, should start to show the life and personality of the character. For example, lots of dirty coffee cups sitting on the floor suggest one kind of person, a nearly empty desk with a ticked ‘to do’ list on it suggests quite another.Do not use any characters, action or speech in this writing. Just describe the room.When you have written your paragraph, swap with a partner and see what you can work out about each other’s characters. 345440350520Laura was medium height with brown eyes and blonde hair. She was very pretty and had lovely clothes. She was very kind and had lots of friends, but she was also really clever and did well in all of her subjects.00Laura was medium height with brown eyes and blonde hair. She was very pretty and had lovely clothes. She was very kind and had lots of friends, but she was also really clever and did well in all of her subjects.Creating CharactersThis is the kind of character description pupils tend to write. Not very interesting is it? After all, a person’s height, hair and eye colour don’t really reveal much about who they are, and anyway, the writer is just telling us about them, rather than describing them.There are several different ways in which a writer can bring a character to life:95693138341What they do00What they do4146698138341What they say00What they say2147570254635Their appearance00Their appearance414591552070What they think/believe00What they think/believe9569352380What others say about them00What others say about themWhy is it so important to make your character interesting?Why is it not necessary to give every aspect of a character’s personality or appearance?A good character description focuses on one or two more interesting or quirky elements of a character. A quirk could be:center0the way they speaksomething they always saythe way they walksomething they always wearthe way they laugha habit they have00the way they speaksomething they always saythe way they walksomething they always wearthe way they laugha habit they haveEveryone has their own quirks. What are they?1180465284480You blink a lot! You walk really fast. You wear glasses. You’re funny. You always wear high heels. 00You blink a lot! You walk really fast. You wear glasses. You’re funny. You always wear high heels. For example, one teacher bravely asked their class what they thought the teacher’s quirks were. The class said: 180975330200Everyone said Miss Sinclair was a funny teacher, but whether they meant funny ha-ha, or funny strange was open to debate. The fact that she blinked a lot, her eyes constantly fluttering behind her thick glasses like a pair of butterflies trapped in jam jars, definitely supported the funny strange point of view. So did the speed with which she walked, clip-clopping along in her insanely high heels like the odds-on favourite at Aintree.00Everyone said Miss Sinclair was a funny teacher, but whether they meant funny ha-ha, or funny strange was open to debate. The fact that she blinked a lot, her eyes constantly fluttering behind her thick glasses like a pair of butterflies trapped in jam jars, definitely supported the funny strange point of view. So did the speed with which she walked, clip-clopping along in her insanely high heels like the odds-on favourite at Aintree.The teacher then used those quirks to create a character description.What quirks do you have that might make up an interesting character description?Task 5Pair up with someone in the class you know well or are comfortable with. Ask them what your quirks are and write them down. (If you’re not comfortable doing this then think of a celebrity or character from a film/TV show and write down their quirks instead.)Use that list to write a description of yourself as if you were a character in a story. (Write it in the third person (he/she) to help with this.)The best characters are realistic. So when you create the character in your story, steal a quirk from someone you know. Give them the same walk as your dad, or your teacher’s strange laugh, or your own habit of waving your hands as you talk!Task 6Create a realistic character that could feature in an imaginative short story. Think about the following (male or female, age, appearance, home/family situation, main personality traits, unusual quirks/habits/hobbies, character’s background, motivation in life, how friends would describe them, things that make them happy, things that make them angry, any other information)Write a paragraph to describe this character and then discuss your character with a partner. Step in the structureHow I will do thisExposition This is what is revealed or told at the start of the story. It sets the scene and establishes characters. Not too much, or you will bore your reader, not too little or you will confuse them.Initiating incident Something happens at the start of the story. This kicks off the action by creating a problem, or challenge, or new situation for the main characters.Development This is where the characters try to solve their problems. Any action has to fit the character – a gentle person will not try to solve their problems with a shotgun. The story tests the character: how is this person going to deal with this problem? You cannot sort out the problem too easily or you end up having no story. The character will probably make several unsuccessful attempts to solve the problem, and some of these may lead to turning points within the story. This is how your story develops. It is where we see the action of the story rising.Climax This is the point the story has been leading up to. Afterwards the story may change mood or direction. Resolution After the climax, there will be consequences that affect the fates of those involved. The story should feel properly brought to a close. Personal Reflective WritingWhat you will be assessed on:Content, style and technical accuracyExpress and explore your feelings, experiences and reactions with insight and sensitivityYou will need to show yourself to be thoughtful, mature and wiseTask 1 In groups discuss why the reasons why you think people do well at personal reflective writing. Choosing what to write about:It should not be too hard to choose a topic. You know yourself better than anybody else. You are unique, interesting and well worth writing about.Is there an experience you have that matters to you very much, one that you would like to write about? Remember you must be able to get reflection out of it. Task 2 - Write a paragraph to answer the questions below.What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?What is the happiest thing that has ever happened to you?What is the saddest thing that has ever happened to you?What is the most frightening thing that has ever happened to you?What is the most confusing thing that has ever happened to you?Which event or time in your life has made you grow up or mature?Which event or time in your life most changed your family?Which event or time in your life was the biggest challenge for you?Which event or time in your life was when you experienced great loss?Which event or time in your life was when you experienced great success?Which event or time in your life was when you experienced failure?Which event or time in your life was when you had to take responsibility?Which event or time in your life made you feel most isolated?Which event or time in your life showed you the best of people/someone?Which event or time in your life showed you the worst of people/someone?Which person has influenced you?Which person has helped you?Which person has hurt you?Which person have you been in most conflict with?Which person have you had the most complicated relationship with?Which one of these could you develop into a full essay? Choose your topic now and write it below…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Thoughts and FeelingsThis will make your writing come to life. Only you can tell the reader about them.Look at the example below and focus on the thoughts and feelings used. Example 1 “It isn’t just about making scones for tea,” said Miss Adams, straight-backed, cold and rather old for her years, as she introduced the cookery syllabus to the Wednesday class. Beverly Brown, kind, round and pumpkin-faced, deflated instantly like a burst balloon. The lovely Dee Hanratty whispered “Good” behind her hand, “I hate sultanas.” I suddenly got nervous, wondering just how difficult my first cookery lessons were going to be. Did Miss Adams mean we were going to be boing whole lambs and making soufflés then? “We will be doing everything from cooking rice to costing entire meals,” she warned, her voice getting higher with every word. The word rice put the fear of God into me. I’d never eaten the stuff, let alone cooked it.The first lesson, a week later, couldn’t have been easier. My Victoria sandwich rose like a dream and had, according to Miss Adams, a perfect “crumb” and a fine flavour. Even Beverly, who was obviously born both to bake and eat the results, was impressed. I lowered my sugar-topped success into a Peak Frean’s biscuit tin and squeezed it into my duffel bag for the journey home.I couldn’t wait to show my father, who for all his disinterest couldn’t fail to congratulate me. He was later as people always are on occasions like this. I kept looking at the clock, desperate for him to come home. To see and smell my cake. To eat it. The cake had been sitting on the kitchen table, Joan sitting next to it smoking Embassy after Embassy, occasionally glancing in the direction of my cake. “Look at that!” said my father, obviously as proud as punch despite everything. “Isn’t that a beauty?”“Hmm,” said Joan abruptly, swishing her head to the left and blowing out a last cloud of smoke. She then tightened her lips into a straight line and stubbed out her cigarette in the Royal Worcester ashtray like she was trying to squash a cockroach. Task 3The different characters in this example show different emotions, some positive and some negative. Copy and complete the table below to explore these emotions.EmotionFelt byEvidenceDisappointment Beverly Brown“deflated instantly like a burst balloon”People often write well about difficult memories and sad or tragic events as the thoughts and feelings seem to stand out clearer in their minds. Details and DescriptionAs your memories are important you probably recall all minute details you recalled at the time. Many of these details may not be important in themselves but are important to your writing at they will help to bring it to life. Look at the example below.Example 2The meal cannot move on quick enough. I sit there urging everyone to eat up so that we can get to the ice cream. Why would anyone take their time over a ham salad when there is ice cream to follow? There’s the wafer, of course, a thick, smooth fan if we’re lucky, two thin regular wafers if not. I eat them not because they taste good – they are about as flavoursome as a postcard – but because of the way they stick to your bottom lip. There is a moment, shortly after the waitress puts down the battered coupe of ice cream, when life is pretty much perfect. I am not sure it is possible to be happier than I am at this moment. I eat all three flavours separately, trying not to let them merge on the spoon. The vanilla and chocolate are ok together, but the strawberry and chocolate don’t marry well. As the cold, milky balls of ice cream disappear I scrape up every last drop, the edge of the spoon tinkling on the dented silver dish. I try not to scrape too loudly. When every last pool of melted ice has gone I use my finger to catch the drips of vanilla ice and the pearls of condensation that have run down the outside of the dish. The cold ice cream in the hot sun is too much for my mother and she turns discreetly away to use her inhaler. Task 4 List your five sensesReread the exampleNote down the details and description that fit each senseDialogueYou should try to use dialogue in your story. Below is an example of how dialogue is often written. What is wrong with it?544385515049500073660“How could you?” I asked unhappily.“I don’t know,” she replied angrily.“You said to me that you would not do that!” I said tearfully.“I am sorry,” she replied. “Do you forgive me?” she asked.00“How could you?” I asked unhappily.“I don’t know,” she replied angrily.“You said to me that you would not do that!” I said tearfully.“I am sorry,” she replied. “Do you forgive me?” she asked.Look at this second, improved version:012065“How could you?” I asked, my mind reeling.“I don’t know,” she replied. I was amazed to hear anger in her voice. What right did she have to be angry?Tears sprang into my eyes. “You told me you wouldn’t do that!”“I – I’m sorry.” I just stared at her for what seemed like a long time. “Do you forgive me?” she asked at last, finally looking me in the eye.00“How could you?” I asked, my mind reeling.“I don’t know,” she replied. I was amazed to hear anger in her voice. What right did she have to be angry?Tears sprang into my eyes. “You told me you wouldn’t do that!”“I – I’m sorry.” I just stared at her for what seemed like a long time. “Do you forgive me?” she asked at last, finally looking me in the eye.53695603683000What is better about this second example?Task 5Team up with a partner. In one of your jotters, one of you should write down a line of conversation (there is no need to add actions).Keep passing the jotter back and forth, writing lines of the conversation until you have between 5-10 lines.Add description about the characters’ actions and feelings to make it into a good example of dialogue.Being personally reflectiveYou should reflect in a personal sense and also more widely.Reflecting in a personal sense:Examine yourself - you might question or criticise yourself or realise you handled a situation well, think that certain experiences have made you the person you are todayLooking back – have your feelings changed. Do you see that a bad experience may have benefitted you? Does it make more sense when time has passed?Reflect on others – How have others been affected? Have your opinions about other people changed/do you understand their motives more?Task 6Think about what you have chosen to write about. Make notes about your personal reflections.What lessons have you learnt? How has this shaped you?Being widely reflectiveThink about how your experiences have taught you something about life, about society about people in general.Think about how your feelings match those of others, especially about controversial topics and things that people have strong opinions about.Task 7Think about what you have chosen to write about. Make notes about your wider reflections.What lessons have your experiences taught you about life, society or people in general?Example 3 – This is a real example of a pupil’s work which was submitted to the SQA as part of their folioIt was raining. I turned through the dark, deserted streets alone. My feet were soaking and my jeans were saturated as far as my knees so that my legs were numb with cold. Rain trickled down my neck making me shiver and I shoved bare hands further into the deep pockets of my black canvas jacket. Suddenly, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, a group of youths down a narrow side street. I froze. Had they seen me? Slowly, I crept closer and slid silently behind a bin. No. They hadn’t seen me. I was certain of that. I cautiously poked my head out the tiniest little bit from my hiding place and peered through the darkness.Smoke from their cigarettes was suspended in the air around them like a morning mist. I could see only their vague outlines in the dim orange light. There must have been at least twenty, twenty-five even. I couldn’t tell for sure. One of them, bottle in hand, bent down and picked something up off the ground. He launched the small object, which I assumed was a stone, at the upstairs window of one of the flats which happened to look out onto the dull street. The stone flew undeterred through the icy night air and hit the window with a sharp click. Thankfully it bounced off it and landed safely back on the ground. Next, the entire mob began to pelt stones at the window and eventually, after withstanding an incredible attack, it shattered, scattering hundreds of sharp shard of glass all over the glistening pavement. An angry muffled cry could be heard from within the flat and the youths jeered and ran away before anyone had the chance to confront them, or, worse still, identify them.I too left. I set back off on my long walk, pretending to be totally oblivious to what had only just happened, temporarily erasing the event from my memory till I was safely back home. Never mess with the crowd.I couldn’t sleep that night. I understood. I finally understood everything. I understood why I had just walked away. I understood why the youths had behaved as they did. I understood it all. I suddenly remembered that overwhelming feeling, that wonderful sense of belonging when you discover you are no longer an individual but just one miniscule part of what makes up that intricate, complex, powerful body – the crowd. All your principles and convictions suddenly shrink to insignificance and you lose a sense of who you are. Your whole personality evaporates into nothing. That is how I felt that day at Dungavel Detention Centre.The protest against the imprisonment of Asylum Seekers at Dungavel had not even begun and already I had an immense feeling of elation. The atmosphere was tense, almost electric. The sound of the dry drums resounded throughout the barren valley. Everyone was screaming and all over the barbed-wire-topped ex-prison fence were pinned thousands of banners and leaflets creating a beautiful, colourful collage around the Centre. I gripped my mum’s hand as tightly as I could. We all gathered round a platform on which the orators made their speeches and the crowd chanted and cheered and clapped and I felt so united with everyone else that I began to cry. Tears streamed down my face – I had never experienced such a powerful sense of belonging in my entire life and at that moment I was ready to do anything. The crowd controlled me and I know, without any doubt, that I would have followed it whatever it chose to do, whenever it chose to go. I chanted when the crowd chanted; I cheered when the crowd cheered; I clapped when the crowd clapped.I understood then why a crowd sometimes behaves in a way in which anyone who is not part of it is unable to understand. Crowds are dangerous. They change people. They consume unique individuals and subtly control them. They process the individuals into a homogeneous mass. Although I knew that the youths’ behaviour was not justified just because they were part of a crowd, I understood that they had been unable to escape the clutches of the power of the crowd. I understood why I had been such a coward, why I had chosen to deny what I’d seen and run away. I had been scared because, next to the crowd, I was nothing. To challenge the crowd is potentially lethal.We often see crowds behaving badly in protests, at football matches, even in our everyday lives on the streets and we reassure ourselves that, no matter what, we will never behave as badly as the crowd. We will never become so involved that we will lose complete control over own selves. Can we really be so sure?Task 8Now you have read this example you are going to analyse it in detail.Every time you find the writer sharing thoughts underline/highlight it in blueEvery time you find the writer sharing feelings circle it in redEvery time you find the writer using detail or description put a box around it in greenEvery time you see the writer using dialogue underline/highlight in yellowEvery time you find the writer being reflective underline it in black for personal reflections and orange for wider reflectionsWrite a couple of sentences to explain what made it a good piece of writing.Suggest two things the writer could have done that would have made the work even better. Task 9Plan your piece of personal writingWhat event or experience are you going to write about?What happened (beginning, middle and end)Your thoughtsYour feelingsWhat detail and description could you use? (think about setting and other people involved)What dialogue occurred?What storytelling techniques could you use and at what points in your writing? (examples: dialogue, imagery, flashback, minor sentence, repetition, show don’t tell, starting at a moment of action, short sentence or paragraph, jump cut to a different scene or action, use of incident or anecdote)Personal reflectionsWider reflections ................
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