Explaining how a writer uses sentence structures for effect.

Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mr. Young and it's great to be teaching you today.

This lesson is all about how writers use sentence structures to achieve different effects.

So let's get started.

And today's lesson will have a very clear learning outcome, which is as follows: So by the end of today's lesson, everybody should be able to explain how different sentence types work together to create an overall effect.

And just as in a lesson, we have some really important words, our keywords, and they are as follows: So science fiction, fiction based on imagined scientific or technological advances or major social or environmental changes; main clause, a clause in a sentence that can form a complete sentence when standing alone;.

subordinate clause, a clause in a sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence, it compliments a main clause,; interrogative sentence, sentences that ask a question; exclamatory sentence, sentences that express sudden or strong emotions.

So please do take a moment just to pause this video if you'd like to take down notes or definitions of these keywords.

So we're gonna be using them a lot today.

Okay, so today's lesson, we'll have two very clear learning cycles.

Our first learning cycles title is "Journey to the Centre of the Earth." What a fantastic title.

And I guess you can probably work out why it's called that 'cause that is the story that we are going to be looking at.

It's a great, great story, a really classic piece of science fiction.

And I'm really looking forward to reading it with you today.

And then we're gonna move on to our second learning cycle, which is all about Verne's sentence construction.

So Verne is the guy who wrote "Journey to the Centre of the Earth." We're gonna look at all the fantastic things he does in his writing and how he structures his sentences to create maximum impact.

So let's get started.

Okay, so let's begin today's lesson by looking at a piece of student work before we start reading the extract itself.

So we've got a piece of writing here from Sam.

Sam wrote the following introduction: Sam said, "The explorer ventured into a dense jungle.

He faced treacherous terrain and various challenges.

The crumbling ruins held ancient secrets.

The stones whispered tales of forgotten glory and questions about history.

His anticipation grew and a triumphant shout echoed through the jungle." So really interesting piece of writing there, clearly within the adventure genre.

So my task for you is as follows: So what feedback would you give Sam for this piece of work? Are there any areas for improvement? So pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, fantastic work on such an enthusiastic start to today's lesson.

I heard some really interesting conversations, really looking at the way that Sam has structured this piece of work.

So if I was giving feedback to Sam, I would focus on the sentence types that Sam is using.

So Sam only uses simple and compound sentences and this makes their writing seem repetitive and simplistic.

Sam could vary their sentence types to make their writing more engaging.

So how would that look if Sam was given that feedback and acted on it? Well, it would look a little bit like this.

So the writing now becomes like this: "The explorer ventured into a dense jungle.

Facing various challenges, he edged nervously through the mysterious terrain.

What secrets did the crumbling ruins hold? The stones whispered tales of forgotten times, questions about history.

His anticipation grew, 'I've arrived,' his triumphant shout echoed loudly through the jungle below." So just by mixing up their sentence types, Sam has been able to create a much more engaging piece of writing.

And that's really what we're going to look at today in this lesson.

How we can vary our sentence structures to create maximum impact? So let's remind ourselves of all of the different sentence types.

So I'm gonna hand it straight over to you then with a discussion question.

So can you tell me what are the different sentence types? So pause the video, have a quick chat, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, some really nice conversations taking place there.

I had lots of examples of the different sentence types, but crucially, I also heard some groups talking about clauses, which is a really great thing to focus on.

So clauses are like the building blocks of sentences.

All sentences are made up of clauses.

So it is the number of these and their type that tell us what type of sentence it is.

So let's look at that with a couple of examples 'cause I always find that really, really tricky to understand at first.

So we've got three common sentence types on the board in front of you.

We've got simple, compound, and complex.

So let's have a look at what their definitions are based on the makeup of their clauses.

So a simple sentence is quite simple really as the name would suggest.

So a simple sentence is made of a single clause with a subject and a verb.

So one subject, one verb equals one clause.

However, when we get onto a compound sentence, it starts to get a little bit more tricky.

So we have two independent clauses and that means they both make sense on their own.

And those clauses are linked by a conjunction, so a word like and, or, but.

And finally, we move onto a complex sentence, which is a combination of a main clause and a subordinate clause.

And crucially, the subordinate clause will not make sense without the main clause in that sentence.

So those are our three main sentence types.

So my next question then is to think of some examples.

So over to you once again then, please.

So why might you use these different sentence types in a piece of writing? When might they be applicable? So once again, pause the video, have a chat, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback for this one.

Okay, once again, some fantastic conversations taking place.

You're taking what is quite a dry kind of grammatical concept and coming up with some really lovely applications of how you could use this in your writing.

So you could have said the following: Well, a simple sentence could quicken the pace in a story.

You know when you read kind of crime or thriller novels, you'll often find a tense scene.

The sentences will get shorter and shorter as you build up to a kind of dramatic conclusion.

Well done if you picked up on that one.

For a compound, we might say a relationship between two things can be shown with that sentence.

For example, cause and effect.

And finally, for a complex sentence, we could add secondary detail.

For example, if we are introducing a character, we may use some complex sentences to add a little bit more detail about that character.

So well done if you picked up on anything similar in your own discussions there.

Great job.

Okay, those are our relatively simple kind of common sentences.

However, we also have some other sentence types that are particularly good for creative writing.

And we'll see these a lot in Jules Verne's story today.

So those following sentence types are interrogative sentences, exclamatory sentences, declarative sentences, and imperative sentences.

So let's have a look at what they are.

So an interrogative sentence asks a question.

And remember the word interrogate means the kind of question harshly.

So we can see why that might be known as that.

Exclamatory is a sentence conveying strong emotion.

So whether that is positive or negative, so any sentence that shows emotion could be an exclamatory.

And again, we have a declarative sentence, which is a sentence conveying a fact or a piece of information.

And finally, an imperative is a sentence that gives a direct command.

So once again, my discussion question for you is as follows: Can you think of any examples of these sentence types? So pause the video, have a quick chat, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback and move on.

Okay, some lovely discussions taking place.

They're really nice examples of all of those sentence types.

And I would encourage you to keep your eyes peeled for those sentence types as we read today's extract.

So quick check for understanding them for me, please.

Can you identify the sentence types below? We have three sentences on the board.

Most sentences are, how had he found himself in this underwater kingdom? It's alive and get into the submarine now.

So pause the video, complete the task and tell me what type of sentences these are.

Okay, fantastic work on that.

Really nice effort to apply your knowledge of what might be a new concept for some of you.

So the correct answers are as follows: So A is, of course, an interrogative sentence and we can see it ends with a question mark so we get that indication it might be a question.

B is an exclamatory sentence.

It's alive, it is conveying some emotion.

I would say the emotion being conveyed there is kind of shock or surprise.

And finally, get into the submarine now.

Well, it is an imperative sentence 'cause is direct command.

Someone is directly being told to do something, which makes it an imperative sentence.

Great job if you're able to pick up on that on your own pieces of work.

Okay dokie then.

So we are gonna move on to our extract, which is from "Journey to the Centre of the Earth." But before we do that, we're gonna have a little talk about science fiction.

So we are going to read an extract from a famous science fiction novel.

So what is meant by the term science fiction and can you think of any examples? Once again, pause the video, have a quick chat with your peers or drop down some ideas if you're working on your own.

And then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Some lovely discussions taking place.

As always, well done today.

I'm really enjoying hearing all of those examples that you are saying.

Some people are saying, "Well, I saw this film, I think it might be science fiction.

I read this book, I think it might be science fiction." And you know you're absolutely right.

We see a lot of science fiction throughout our daily lives.

So what is science fiction? Well, science fiction is fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances or major social or environmental changes.

Frequently, they portray space or time travel and life on other planets.

And I heard lots of discussions of people talking about things like aliens and space travel.

So well done for picking up on that.

So we are going to look at a story called "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" by Jules Verne.

So I think you can probably work out, can't you, what this story is going to be about? It is a journey to the centre of the earth.

And in particular, it follows Professor Otto Leidenbrock, his nephew, the novel's narrator, Axel, and their guide, Hans Belker, as they embark on a daring expedition to the Earth's core.

So we can see straight away where those science fiction elements are.

It is impossible with our current technology to get to the Earth's core.

So that is the kind of imagined element of this story.

Okay, so let's read this extract then.

I'll say, personally, I love this story, I love this extract.

I think it is a fantastic example of science fiction and I strongly encourage you to try and read it if you can if it's in your school library or you can access it online.

But it is a fantastic story that I encourage you all to read.

So let's read the extract.

So at this point of the story, Axel has become separated from the others and is now lost deep under the earth's surface.

We have some vocabulary before we start.

So we have this word arid, which means dry and barren.

We have ceased, which means stopped.

So if you see something, you stop doing it.

And we also have the word perchance, which is possibly by chance.

So if something happens by perchance, it is something that happens by chance or might not happen.

So let's read the extract.

No words in any human language can depict my utter despair.

I was literally buried alive with no other expectation before me, but to die in the slow, horrible torture of hunger and thirst.

Mechanically I crawled about, feeling the dry and arid rock.

Never to my fancy had I ever felt anything so dry.

But I frantically asked myself, how had I lost the course of the flowing stream? There could be no doubt it had ceased to flow in the gallery in which I now was.

Now, I began to understand the cause of the strange silence which prevailed when I last tried if any appeal from my companions might perchance reach my ear.

It so happened that when I first took an imprudent step in the wrong direction, I did not perceive the absence of the all-important stream.

It was not now quite evident that when we halted, another tunnel must have received the waters of the little torrent, and that I had unconsciously entered a different gallery.

To what unknown depths have my companions gone? Where was I? How to get back? clue or landmark, there was absolutely none.

My feet left no signs on the granite and shingle.

My brain throbbed with agony as I tried to discover the solution to this terrible problem.

My situation, after all sophistry and reflection, had finally to be summed up in free, awful words.

Lost, lost, lost, lost at a depth, which my finite understanding appeared to be immeasurable.

These 30 leagues of the crust of the earth weighed upon my shoulders like the globe on the shoulders of Atlas.

I felt myself crushed by the awful weight.

It was indeed a position to drive the sanest man to madness.

So what a fantastic piece of writing there, really captures the despair of that narrator, doesn't it? I think that is such a good extract from that story.

So my task for you then is to show me how much you've understood that.

So I would like you to read the extract from "Journey to the Centre of the Earth" and complete the following questions and that can be found in the additional materials.

So you have six questions that I would like you to answer for me, please.

So number one, the narrator describes himself as feeling utter despair.

Why? Why do you think he was going to die of hunger and thirst? Has he been physically harmed? Why does his brain throb? How did the narrator get lost? Identify an example of an interrogative, exclamatory, and declarative sentence.

And the narrator uses lots of interrogative sentences.

What might this suggest about his mental state? So pause the video, complete the task.

Super excited to see how you get on with this and how you've understood this fantastic extract.

So do hit play when you would like to see some feedback for these questions.

Good luck.

Okay, great job on that task.

I've been super impressed by everybody's approach to this.

This is a really tricky task, but a really important one.

Being able to comprehend a text is a really important English skill.

So well done if you are able to answer all of those questions.

So let's go through some feedback.

What could you have said? So for question one, the narrator described himself as feeling utter despair.

Why is that? Well, Axel has become lost on his way to the earth's core.

That's enough to make anybody feel despair really.

And he has deviated from the stream that took him down and is becoming increasingly desperate.

So why did he think he was going to die of hunger and thirst? Well, he has no supplies and his immediate surroundings are described as arid.

And remember that means barren and dry.

So there is just no life here.

He can't find kind of food and water easily.

Number three, has he been physically harmed? Why does his brain throb? Well, Axel hasn't been physically harmed.

His brain throbbing could suggest that his desperation to seek a way out has led him to suffer some kind of mental anguish.

Anguish means intense pain.

So he's feeling this pain purely because he does not see any way out.

Four, how did the narrator get lost? Well, it appears that Axel was entered a slightly different stream to his companions, which has led him to a different place.

His companions do not seem to be anywhere near him.

Remember, this is quite a perilous situation 'cause they're so, so deep under the Earth's surface.

Five, identify an example of an interrogative, exclamatory, and declarative sentence.

So I did tell you to keep your eyes peeled for these, so hopefully you are able to identify these ones in the extract.

So a really good example of an interrogative is, where was I? He asked where was he.

And that is followed by a question mark, which is really good clue to tell us, so that is probably an interrogative sentence.

We also have a really good example of a declarative sentence, which is my feet left no signs on the granite and shingle because that communicates a piece of information to us.

And it's important to be aware that that isn't the only declarative sentence.

There are lots of others in that extract and well done if you picked up on a different ones.

And finally, we have lost, followed by an exclamation mark, which is a clear example of an exclamatory sentence.

Remember an exclamatory conveys intense emotion.

So we could say that the emotions being shown here by Axel are kind of fear, despair, desperation, anything like that.

So well done if you picked up on those.

And six, the narrator uses lots of interrogative sentences.

What might this suggest about his mental state? Well, we could have said that the interrogative sentences highlight the narrator's panic.

He's unsure of whether he will escape this situation and his interrogative sentences highlight how he's trying and failing to find a means of escape.

So great work if you identified anything similar in your own work.

Okay, we have made it to learning cycle two, well done on all of your hard work so far.

However, I'm afraid we are only gonna work even harder in learning cycle two, so get ready.

So learning cycle two is called Verne's sentence construction.

So remember Verne, Jules Verne is the person who wrote "Journey to the Centre of the Earth." So in this learning cycle, we are gonna look really in detail how Verne's use of particular sentence types contributes to the overall effect in that fantastic extract that we read in learning cycle one.

So let's get straight to it then.

Okay, so we are now going to look in more detail at how Verne has structured his sentences to achieve particular effects.

And we are going to be guided by a question as we do that.

The question is, how does Verne use sentence structures to describe Axel's fear? Remember there is lots of fear in that extract 'cause Axel is lost deep underground and he has lost all of his companions and his potential route to safety.

And also, the sentence structures we're talking about are things like simple, complex, compound, interrogative, declarative, et cetera, all of those things you looked at so fantastically in learning cycle one.

So discuss, I've kind of given you a bit of a clue here, but why might Axle be afraid at this part of the extract? Pause the video, have a quick chat and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, some lovely discussions as always to kick us off in learning cycle two.

So absolutely, he is afraid because he is lost under the earth's surface.

So him and his companions are travelling to the earth's core.

However, he appears to have been lost in some kind of different stream that's taken him somewhere and he is unable to find a way out.

In particular, he has no supplies, no food, no water, which is only gonna hasten his demise.

So that is a very fearful position for Axel to be in.

So well done if you picked up on any of that in your own discussions.

So now let's look at the extract again.

So we're not gonna read it again because we've already read it in learning cycle one.

However, we are gonna analyse it now.

So at the beginning of the extract, let's have a look at some questions.

So our first question is, why might he be specifically afraid at this part of the extract? So have a little look at what is on the board in front of you.

Pause the video, have a chat, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, some lovely discussions taking place there.

So the absolute specific elements of why he's so fearful here are because he is fearing that he's going to die of hunger and thirst.

So he has no food, he has no water, he has no sustenance.

So that is a kind of really present fear here for Axel.

And there's also this idea that he says he's buried alive, literally buried alive.

So it kind of shows that he's got this desperation that he isn't gonna make it out of this situation.

So we kind of know why he's fearful.

But my next question then, and this is a much more challenging question is, how does Verne vary his sentences to highlight Axel's fear? So we know he is afraid, we know why he's afraid.

However, how does Verne use different sentence structures to communicate that fear so effectively to us as a reader? So much more challenging question this one.

But pause the video, have a quick discussion and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, some lovely discussions taking place there.

I said this was a challenging question, however, I was not disappointed by the quality of your answers to this.

So the things that really stick out to me are as follows: So firstly, I will be talking about Verne's use of subordinate clauses and you can see them on the board in front of you there in green.

So Verne uses subordinate clauses to add extra detail.

So feeling the dry and rock, frantically asking myself, it did not perchance to reach my ear.

All of these things emphasise Axel's fear with complimentary information that shows the severity of his situation.

So I think this is a really good choice and a really good example of Verne using subordinate clauses to contribute to that overall feeling of fear that Axel has.

And again, we've also got this idea of the main clauses giving direct and impactful statements about the dire nature of Axel's predicament, which also raise the tension.

So we have things like mechanically he crawled about, no words in any human language can depict his utter despair.

So we learned all about his kind of perilous situation in these main clauses.

So I would say we learned how it is directly affecting him and this kind of contributes to this feeling of his overall fear.

So great job if you picked up on those really technical points, but really, really important ones to be able to analyse.

Okay, let's move on.

Okay, so we've got the second part of the extract now.

So again, my exact same question to you please, so why might axle be afraid at this part of the extract? So once again, pause the video, have a quick chat.

And if you're working independently, then jot down some ideas on your note paper and then push play when you would like to continue.

Okay, great discussions as always.

So the fear kind of shifts slightly in this bit, doesn't it? I think so anyway.

And I feel like his fear here comes from the fact that he is totally lost.

He's conscious that he is kind of followed a different stream.

However, he doesn't know where it's gone or where it leads or where it leads back to.

So his fear is all about being lost and being unable to find his way back to his companions.

Great job if you picked up on that.

Okay, once again, let's add that difficulty, let's add that challenge with this question.

So how does Verne vary his sentences to highlight Axel's fear? So we know he's afraid, we know why, but what is happening with the sentence structures here that really contribute to that? So once again, pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, some fantastic discussions taking place there.

You guys are getting very, very good at this, very, very advanced spotting of what some of those things are.

So I would be super impressed if you got this.

So Verne uses lots of interrogative sentences here.

So remember an interrogative sentence asks a question.

So we've got to what unknown depths of my companions gone? Where was I? How to get back? So why does he use this? Well, by including these, Verne highlights the sheer helplessness of Axel's situation.

We understand the scale of his predicament as we realise there are no answers to these questions.

These questions go unanswered, which suggests there is no answer.

He is lost.

It is very unlikely that he's going to be able to escape.

So the sentence structures really contribute to that.

Okay, let's move on to our third and final part of this fantastic extract.

So this begins lost, lost, lost.

So again, my question, my third time I'm gonna ask this is, what exactly is Axel afraid of here? What might be contributing to make him so fearful? So pauses the video, have a quick discussion, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, great job.

Everyone said it is an absolutely simple one, isn't it? Is that he is lost.

He's not just lost.

He's lost, lost, lost as he says.

So that is what is contributing or being wholly responsible here for Axel's fear is the fact that he's lost, he's being crushed by the earth's surface, he's very unlikely to escape.

So let's do this one more time then, please.

So how does Verne vary his sentences to highlight Axel's fear? So third and final time I'd like you to do this, make this your best one yet, then please pause the video, have a quick discussion, and then push play when you'd like to continue.

Okay, you're absolutely right.

Everybody said it again because it is so obvious, it begins and ends this part of the extract.

It is the use of exclamatory sentences, those sentences to convey strong emotion.

So at this point of the extract, Verne uses lots of exclamatory sentences and these are effective at highlighting Axel's intense emotions at this part of the extract.

And those feelings are hopelessness, desperation, and terror.

Really good examples of Verne using these to contribute to the overall atmosphere in this piece of writing.

Okay, check for understanding for me then please.

So over to you, it was indeed a position to drive the sanest man to madness.

What sentence type has been used here? Pause the video, have a quick go, and then push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Yep, you're absolutely right.

It is an exclamatory.

We've got intense emotion there and we've also got that exclamation mark, which is always a really good clue of an exclamatory sentence.

Super job if you're able to pick up on that.

Okay, my task for you.

Then we've arrived at our final practise task.

So my task is for you to bring that all together.

You've worked incredibly hard in this lesson, but we need some payoff at the end.

We need to be able to apply that knowledge to something really, really high level, which is exactly what you're gonna do now.

So using the sentence starters below, answer the following question about Verne's use of sentence structures.

How does Vern use sentence structures to describe Axel's fear? And your sentence start are as follows: Verne alters his sentence structures to.

For example, Verne's use of subordinate clause is helpful at.

The use of interrogative sentences is effective act.

And Axel's intense emotion during the scene is conveyed.

Super excited to see how you got on with this.

All the best.

Good luck and push play when you'd like to see some feedback.

Okay, wow, fantastic effort on that task.

I'm seeing people work incredibly hard on this.

This is something that is very, very complex.

It is very, very difficult to analyse the effect of sentence structures.

So the fact that you are approaching this with such excellence is really, really good to see.

So what I would like you to do then please is to self-assess your work.

So have you been able to do the following? So have you been able to analyse the effect of different sentence types? Have you been able to analyse how different sentence structures contribute to Axel's fear? Have you been able to analyse how interrogative sentences highlights Axel's fear and hopelessness? And have you been able to analyse the intense emotions conveyed by Verne's use of exclamatory sentence? If you've done all of those, then fantastic, that is an excellent piece of work.

If you've forgotten one of those, then just jot that down because that could be a really, really nice target for next time around.

But well done on this task.

Okay, we have made it to the end of the lesson.

Well done on all of your hard work throughout today's lesson.

It is not an easy thing to study, to learn, to analyse, but you have done a great job in all that you've achieved.

So let's remind ourselves exactly of all those fantastic things that we've learned today.

So writers vary the position of subordinate clauses in a sentence to alter pace, tension, and emphasis.

Writers vary the types of sentence used, interrogative, exclamatory, declarative and imperative to convey emotion.

When analysing sentences, give precise examples from the text.

When analysing sentences, break down the effect of different sentence structures in detail.

Once again, well done on all that you've achieved today, which has been an awful lot.

It's been a great pleasure to teach you, and I really look forward to teaching you on another lesson in this sequence.

Thank you very much and goodbye.