Using a motif in your writing

English

Expressing convictions

Analysing an opinion article about protecting the greenbelt

Aristotle's triad

Hillary Clinton's passionate speech about women's rights

The use of a motif in Hillary Clinton's speech

Evaluating how two non-fiction writers express their opinions

‘The Chimney Sweeper’: a protest against child labour

Planning a fairy tale about a social issue

‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?’: a song of conviction

Creating content for a formal presentation

Planning content for a presentation

Preparing to deliver a presentation

Delivering a formal presentation

In 'Writing with passion', students use protest poetry and speeches as inspiration for their own protest writing. In 'Single Poet Study: Maya Angelou', students look in depth at the writing of a poet who is synonymous with writing as protest; in particular at the ways in which she used her poetry to voice support for the Civil Rights Movement. 

In 'Myths and Legends Re-Told', students consider how writers have modernised ancient stories in order to make them more reflective of modern values. In 'Writing with passion', students look at the ways in which they can use their own writing, inspired by key poets and speech writers, to take a political or moral stand.

In this unit, pupils learn about the different ways that writers have expressed their points of view across history. They look at some key techniques that writers use, such as motif and triad, before reading a speech, article, poem and song. They finally write and deliver their own presentation.

Taking a stand

Match the words on the left with the synonyms on the right

a recurring pattern of sounds to unity a text

a recurring image or idea throughout a text

an elaborate comparison between two things

Which of the following is the best definition of a motif?

taking words in thier usual or most basic sense

using a figure of speech that says someting is another thing

when human characteristics are given to non human things

examining similarities and differences between two or more things

Match the techniques on the left with their definitions on the right.

Which sentence below is an example of a metaphor?

If I say that the car quarrelled with me, what literary device am I using?

If you wanted to use the motif of darkness, which of the following would you not use?

giving human characteristics to a non human object

Which of the following is the best definition of personification?

a comparison between two things using "like" or "as"

a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear close by

a figure of speech where one thing is said to be another thing

the repetition of sounds at the beginning of words

Which of the following is the best definition of a metaphor?

If we use a word literally, how do we use it?

analysing figurative language to infer its hidden meaning

identifying similarities and differences between two or more things

When we make comparisons, what are we doing?

Which famous playwright wrote the play 'Romeo and Juliet'?

In the following speech, Romeo says, "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?/It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." What is the motif that Shakespeare is using?

Using a motif in your writing

Lesson outcome