the way a text is organised - what comes where and why

the mental strain a reader is put under because of their suspicion that something bad is about to happen

feeling anxious or excited about what may happen

Organising our gothic writing to build tension

English

In 'A Monster Within', pupils explore extracts from Gothic fiction. In 'Gothic Poetry', pupils apply this learning to the poetry of Edgar Allan Poe.

In 'The Twisted Tree', pupils are introduced to the Gothic genre. In 'A Monster Within', pupils explore Gothic motifs in a range of more challenging texts.

In this unit, pupils explore the Gothic. They start by learning what the Gothic is, before reading extracts from 'Frankenstein' and 'Jane Eyre', practising descriptive writing and reading 'The Tell-Tale Heart'. They finally learn how to write opinion articles and then write their own.

A monster within: reading and writing Gothic fiction

Subjects which particular individuals may be sensitive to, eg, adoption, migration, bereavement or death, divorce, poverty, deprivation.

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

the feeling of anger the reader gets when you leave them with a cliff-hanger

the feeling of dread a reader gets because something bad is going to happen

the mental strain the reader is put under as they wait to see what happens next

the feeling of concern the reader gets when you describe something horrifying

Which of these can be used as a synonym for tension?

Which of the following methods can delay action to create tension?

Which of the following methods can be used to create tension at the end of a piece of writing? 

they tell us undertaking the action in a sentence

they should always be followed by a comma

they tell us the way in which something is done

Which of the following statements is true about fronted adverbials?

Its colour was deep mahogany, and the sunlight illuminated its imperfections.

With my heart in my mouth, I pushed the heavy door open and entered the room.

I gazed up at her, in as much awe as horror. 

Like a bull in a china shop, I grabbed the coffee from the barista.

Foolishly and optimistically, I had believed that he had changed. 

Which of the following does not use a fronted adverbial?

a feeling of confusion that the reader gets when things are unclear

the feeling that something bad or unpleasant might happen

a feeling of relief the reader gets at the end of the text

a feeling of anticipation as the reader waits to discover something

changing the focus of your writing to build tension

reflecting ideas from the beginning of a text again at the end

using the same metaphor throughout a piece of writing

Which of the following describes 'mirroring'?

Which of the following words is an example of an adverb?

The door slammed as the realisation dawned on me: it had been him all along...

I struggled on, without hope and without answers.

And that was how I became world champion.

Which of the following is an example of a cliff-hanger?

Which of the following similes would be most appropriate in this Gothic description: "Her windows, like __________ stared out into the abyss, reflecting only the pallor of the moon"?

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Adult supervision recommended

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Organising our gothic writing to build tension

Lesson outcome

Content guidance

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.