Lesson video

Hello, everyone, it's lovely to see you today.

My name's Dr.

Clayton, I'm meant to guide you through a learning journey today.

Today's lesson is called Emulating Ian McEwan's use for plot twist in "Atonement." So we're gonna spend a little bit of time thinking about how McEwan's constructed his plot twist and think about how we can take those ideas and turn them into steps that we can use in our own writing.

Then you're gonna plan and write your own story ending with a plot twist.

So if you're ready, grab your pen, laptop, whatever you use for this lesson, and let's get started.

So by the end of the lesson, you'll be able to use figurative language, juxtaposition, and repetition to emulate McEwan's use of an emotional plot twist.

So we have five words today we're gonna be using as our keywords, they're identified in bold throughout the learning material.

And I've tried to put them in action so you can see them being used in context.

So our first is keyword plot twist, which means a radical change the direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction.

We're gonna be thinking about how McEwan creates his plot twist and how we can then emulate it in our own writing.

Our second keyword is juxtaposition, which means two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Our third keyword is figurative language, which means using words or ideas to suggest meaning and create mental images, it's not literal.

Our fourth keyword is plosive sounds, which are sounds articulated with an abrupt release of air, such as p, b, t.

We're gonna be thinking how McEwan uses juxtaposition, figurative language, and plosive sounds in his plot twist.

Now, we can then use those techniques in our own plot twist ending.

Our fifth keyword is euphony, which means words that form a pleasant sound through soft vowel sounds and consonants such as m and l.

We're gonna be thinking about how you might use euphonic sounds in your own writing to create a change in tone.

So I'll just give you a moment to write down those keywords and the definitions.

So pause the video and write them down now.

Fantastic, let's get started with the lesson.

So we have three learning cycles in our lesson today.

For our first learning cycle, we're gonna think more broadly about what plot twists are and how they might make us feel.

Then we're gonna think about the plot to the story and how we might end with a plot twist.

For our second learning cycle, we're going to think about how McEwan crafts his plot twist in "Atonement" and how we can turn that into steps that we can emulate in our own writing.

For our third learning cycle, you are then going to write the ending of a story that includes an emotional plot twist.

So let's start thinking more broadly about a plot twist and how they might make a reader feel.

So a plot twist is a radical change to direction or expected outcome of the plot in a work of fiction.

So what I'd like you to think about is how do you think a plot twist would make a reader feel? Imagine a reading a story, and the ending is drastically different to how you expected.

How would you feel? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back.

I've seen some great ideas there.

Let's talk through some of the things you might have said.

I think a general consensus that we'd feel shocked.

A plot twist is a radical change in direction of outcome.

So it's designed for us to not see it coming.

Therefore, if it's done effectively, it will leave us feeling shocked.

Now depending on whether the plot twist creates a happy or unhappy outcome, you also might feel disappointed, heartbroken, frustrated, or intrigued.

I think a plot twist is one of the most emotionally charged ways to end of story because it really plays that we can never truly predict how people act or what's going to happen.

And sometimes we find that very unsettling or sometimes we can find it intriguing and exciting.

Either way, it creates a strong emotional response.

So before we start thinking about creating our own plot twist, let's have a look at some examples.

Now these two examples are taken from two of my favourite stories.

So in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" we're led to believe that a lottery is taking place in town.

We typically associate a lottery with a prize or winning money.

However, the plot twist at the end is actually lottery decide who will be killed.

So with this buildup, we see this very close knit community of families, and at the end we see that actually because of tradition, they can turn each other in a very violent way.

When it was originally published, broke widespread backlash because of how shocking it was to people.

Then we have Daphne Du Maurier's.

"Rebecca" now led to believe that Maxim de Winter idolise deceased wife.

However, the plot is the twist actually despised, and he killed her.

Rebecca is the ghost haunting the characters throughout the novel.

We're built up to think she was this wonderful person, the love of Maxim's life.

However, none of that turns out to be true.

Again, it's emotionally shocking to us, but for different reasons because it shows that we can never truly know what goes on behind closed doors within a relationship.

So I'd like you to imagine you've read these stories.

I'd like to think about how they'd make you feel.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now I think the general consensus is that we'd be shocked.

Both stories play in this idea that we can never truly know what's going on behind closed doors, either in a community or in a relationship.

And both really play in this idea that we can never truly know what people are capable of, either top old tradition or to keep a secret.

So now let's think about the context of the story that we are going to write an ending for.

So let's imagine we're writing this story.

So civilization shut off from nature due to how nature's mutated become toxic, and dangerous to humans.

A train's been devoted to transport people between cities.

The trains supposedly reinforced to repel any attacks or effects.

However, on this current journey, an explorer opens the door to allow himself to leave.

In doing so, he lets the air onto the train.

So what I'd like you to think about is what do you think a reader might expect to happen at the end of the story? What do we assume is gonna happen? Pause, video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now, as Izzy says, "Given the build of how dangerous nature supposedly is, we'd expect the train to become infected and a battle between the passengers and nature.

So this is what an expected outcome for the story would be.

So now for a quick check for understanding, what I'd like you to tell me is whether the following statement is true or false.

So is it true or false? That plot twist, always take a happy ending and turn it into an unhappy one.

Pause the video, make your selection now.

Now the correct answer is false.

Now I'd like to tell me why it's false.

So pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

They might have said that while some P plot twists do subvert, happy ending.

They don't necessarily have to, they just have to be something unexpected for the reader.

So very well done.

If you've got this right.

Amazing and what so far wrong for the first task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is think about the story outline.

So civilization shut off from nature due to nature mutating and becoming harmful and toxic to humans.

A train's been developed, transport people between cities, the trainer supposedly reinforced to repel any effects or attacks.

However, on this current journey, an explore opens a door to allow himself to leave.

In doing so, he lets air onto the train.

Then I'd like to answer the following questions, to gather some ideas of how you could end the story with a plot twist.

So the expected ending might be that the passenger of the train would placed in great danger.

What plot twist could you use instead? And what effect do you think a plot twist would have on the reader? So pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back over.

It's fantastic work there.

What I'd like you to do now is think about Sofia's ideas and think about how you'd react to her plot twist.

So question one, the expected ending might be that the passengers of the train be placed in great danger.

What plot twist could you use instead? And Sofia said, I think maybe my plot twist would be that nature was never harmful.

The government told people it was because they wanted to protect nature and its resources.

So question two, what effect do you think a plot twist have on the reader? And Sofia said, "I think they'd find it unexpected and maybe make them consider our relationship with the planet and what links we might have to go to in order to protect it." So pause the video, think about your opinions on Sofia's plot twist.

Welcome back everyone.

Now gonna take our ideas for our plot twist ending, and think about how we can craft an effective emotional plot twist.

Using the methods of EMQ and in "Atonement." Amaze and work so far if wrong.

From the second learning cycle, we're going to think about how McEwan and crafts an emotional plot, twist "Atonement", and how we can create a toolkit from that for our own plot twist ending.

So to write an emotional plot twist, we're going to emulate how MCwan craft is plot twist in "Atonement." So in "Atonement," McEwan leads the reader to believe that the lovers, Robbie and Celia, prove that love conquers all and they live happily ever after.

However, in the epilogue, McEwan reveals that actually the final part of the novel where they're living in London was a fabrication.

They both actually died in the war.

So what I'd like to think about is how would this plot twist make you feel? Imagine you've read the novel and become emotionally invested in Robbie and Cecilia's relationship.

You've seen the go through the heartbreaker of false imprisonment, war and being kept apart.

How would you feel if you realised the majority of what you read wasn't in fact real? Pause the video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Well, welcome back everyone.

Now I think the general concern is that we feel very unhappy.

A lot of people say that Atonement is their favourite book they'll never read again because it's too hard to read again.

Knowing that it wasn't real and their love wasn't able to conquer all the obstacles in front of them.

It mixes realise that actually we aren't guaranteed a happy ending just because we might deserve one.

Life doesn't always work out that way.

Now in order to craft his emotional plot twist, McEwan arguably does the following.

So use the idiom sailing off into the sunset to build up the expectation of a happy ending.

Now, an idioms type of figurative language, which language uses words and ideas just meaning, and create mental images.

It's not literal.

In the case of sailing off the sunset, this creates the mental image of sailing off into happiness, which then makes it more shocking that the happy ending isn't real.

He also repeats never and ended to announce the finality of the plot twist.

It shows the reader that any hope they had for happy ending is now finished.

He juxtaposes words with happy and unhappy connotations to remind the reader how they thought the story would end.

So it contrasts happy and unhappy words to remind us we wanted a happy ending, but that's been taken away from us.

He also uses explosive sounds to create an abrupt harsh tone.

Now close the sounds and sounds articulated with the abrupt release of air like PBT.

If they say them aloud, they sound harsh.

So using the mimics, the harshness of the plot twist.

So what I'd like you to think about is how we turn this into a toolkit that we might use to emulate McEwan's emotional plot twist, pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Let's talk through.

You might have said.

So in the same way that he uses figurative language to build up our expectation of happy ending, we could use figurative language, personification, similes, symbolism in order to influence the reader's expectations.

In the same way he use repetition of negative words, just never, we could use repetition to emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist.

In the same way you contrast words with happy and unhappy connotations to emphasise the reason they've lost the happy ending.

We could use juxtaposition to contrast the expectation with the plot twist.

In the same way he uses explosive sounds to emphasise the harshness of the plot twist.

We could use consonant sounds so plosive, euphonic, fricative to enhance the tone of the plot twist.

Now your euphonic sounds are sounds that form a pleasant sound through soft vowel sounds and consonants just M and L.

So using them creates a pleasant soothing tone.

And fricative sound sounds up form a hissing sound so it creates a more sinister tone.

So now for a quick check for understanding, what I'd like you to do is fill in the gaps to complete our toolkit for emulating McEwan's emotional plot twist.

So use language, personification, similes, symbolism, in order to influence the reader's expectations.

Use to emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist.

Use to contrast the expectation with the plot twist, and use consonant sounds, plosive, euphonic, fricative to emphasise the plot twist.

Pause the video, fill in the gaps now.

Welcome back everyone.

Now the correct answers are use figurative language.

So personification, similes, symbolism, in order to influence the reader's expectations, use repetition to emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist.

Use juxtaposition to contrast the expectation with the plot twist and use consonant sounds explosive, euphonic, fricative in order to enhance the tone of the plot twist.

So very well done if you've got this right.

Fantastic work everyone.

For the second task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is think about the idea you had earlier for a plot twist, and answer the following questions.

So how could you use figurative language? So personification, similes, symbolism, in order to influence the reader's expectations.

How could you use repetition to emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist? How could you use juxtaposition to contrast the expectation with the plot twist? And how could you use consonant sound, plosive, euphonic, fricative to enhance the tone of the plot twist? So pause the video, answer the questions now.

Welcome back Kevin, some amazing work there.

What I'd like you to do is think about Sofia's idea and think about which element doesn't feel cohesive.

So question one, how could you use figurative language in order to influence the reader's expectations? And Sofia said, "Perhaps I might personify a plant in a way that's just a sense of danger." So it builds up the reader's expectation that nature is dangerous to humanity.

Question two, how could you use repetition to emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist? And Sofia said, "Maybe I could repeat serene, and exhale just as calmness at revealing that nature isn't dangerous after all." How could you use juxtaposition to contrast the expectation with the plot twist? And Sofia said, "Maybe I could juxtaposition words with safe and dangerous connotations." Finally, how could you use consonant sounds to emphasise the tone of the plot twist? And Sofia says, "Maybe I could use fricative sounds for tension." So pause the video, think about which element doesn't feel cohesive.

Welcome back everyone.

Now Sofia wants to create a plot twist, but the ending is happy rather than expect a dangerous sinister ending.

So these of fricative sounds create tension, doesn't feel cohesive.

So which sound do you think Sofia could use instead? Pause the video.

Pick a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now rather than fricative sounds, Sofia could instead use euphonic sounds.

She create a sense of calm and harmony that fits with our idea of a happy plot twist.

So now we're gonna take our ideas for our plot twist and how we might use fricative language, juxtaposition and repetition and sound imagery and take those into our third learning cycle to write up our ending with an emotional plot twist.

Fantastic work everyone.

We're now the third learning cycle.

We're going to look at how Sofia's crafted a plot twist before writing your own emotional plot twist.

So if you remember from earlier in the lesson, Sofia's idea was to create a happy ending where it turned out that nature wasn't actually dangerous to humanity.

So now can just snippet from how she's constructed her ending.

I always think it's a good idea to see an example so you can see how someone's turned their ideas into writing.

So let's have a look at the opening to Sofia's plot twist.

Unstoppably quick, "The vine shot into the carriage as the door was pulled shut, it turned as if considering us, then sprung towards an elderly gentleman." So what I'd like you to think about is how is Sofia's personification to set up our expectations of nature's dangerous? Pause a video.

Take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Let's talk what you might have said.

You might have zoomed in on the phrase unstoppably quick.

I thought that that creates an alarming image.

Moments just that humans are vulnerable in relation to nature.

You also might have thought about the words shocked and sprung.

And they emphasise the agility and speed of the plant, which again makes feel vulnerable in comparison.

You also might have thought about the image of the plant considering the humans and thought about how that implies the nature of somehow judging humanity.

So now let's continue reading Sofia's opening to a plot twist.

"We held our breath too stunned to move.

Alarms were blaring all over the train.

The vine secured itself around the gentleman's hand, to our surprise, his shoulders were relaxed and we exhaled deeply.

A serene state settled on the carriage.

We collectively let go of the breath we've been holding and exhaled." So what I'd like you to think about is how is Sofia's juxtaposition and repetition to create a plot twist? Pause a video, take a few moments to consider.

Well welcome back, having some great ideas there.

Let's talk what you might have said.

And you might have thought about the juxtaposition of the alarms and secured.

And now this creates a contrast from the expectation of danger and the reality of safety.

You also might have thought about the repetition of exhaled.

Now that creates a sensation of calmness and relaxation.

So now for a quick check for understanding which of the following sentences uses euphonic sounds, that might create a soothing tone for Sofia's plot twist? Is it A humming.

The vine seemed to lull the man to sleep.

B, vibrating, the vine appeared to try to and treat the man to rest.

C, definitely the vine kissed the man's hand and tried to get him to relax.

Pause the video, take a few moments to consider.

Welcome back everyone.

Now euphonic sounds of words that form a pleasant sound through soft foul sounds of consonant such as M and L.

So if we look at the first sentence, we can see the use of M consonant and humming and the use of L and lull as well as soft foul sounds and humming seemed lull and sleep.

So very well done if you got that right.

Amaze and work everyone were the final task of the lesson.

So what I'd like you to do is think about the following story outline.

Civilization shut off from nature due to nature mutating and becoming harmful and toxic to humans.

A trainman devote transport people between cities.

The trainer supposedly reinforced to repel any effects or attacks.

However, on the current journey, an explorer opens the door to allow himself to leave.

In doing so, he lets air onto the train.

Then I'd like you to write an ending to the story that includes a plot twist.

Now not to emulate McEwan's emotional plot twist.

You might use the following, so figurative language, personification, similes, symbolism, not to influence the reader's expectations.

You might use repetition.

Emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist.

You might use juxtaposition to contrast the expectation with the plot twist.

And you might use consonant sounds, plosive, euphonic, fricative to enhance the tone of the plot twist.

So pause the video, write your plot twist now.

Welcome back, Erin's fantastic work there.

Now for the final part of the lesson, what I'd like you to do is share your work with a peer and of the following questions.

So how did you feel about their plot twist? Why do you think they might have chosen that particular plot twist? Did they use figurative language to influence your expectations? Did they use repetition to emphasise the emotions behind the plot twist? Did they use juxtaposition to contrast your expectations with the plot twist? And did they use consonant sounds to enhance the tone of the plot twist? So pause the video, peer assess your work now.

Welcome back everyone.

Now know it can feel intimidating sometimes to share your work with someone else, especially creative writing.

But it's such a good habit to get into 'cause we're writing to have an effect on someone else.

So it's so useful to see how they respond to our writing and whether it's creating the effect we want it to.

You will did amazingly well today everyone.

Here's a summary of what we covered.

Not to emulate McEwan's emotional plot twist.

We might use figurative language to influence the reader's expectations.

So if you remember, McEwan used the idiom sailing off into the sunset to build the expectation the ending would be happy.

And that made it even more shocking that it turned out the happy ending wasn't real.

We may then use juxtaposition to contrast their expectations with the reality of the situation.

If remember, McEwan contrasted words with happy and unhappy connotations to emphasise the reader they wanted a happy ending and that's now been taken away from them, we could then use repetition to emphasise the emotion behind the plot twist.

So McEwan's, repetition of never and finally to show there's no hope of getting the happy ending that we wanted.

We could also use consonant sounds not to enhance the tone of the plot twist.

So McEwan use explosive sounds to emphasise the harshness of the plot twist, but he also might use euphonic sounds to emphasise the calming effect or fricative sounds to emphasise the sinister effect of a plot twist.

I really hope you enjoy the lesson everyone.

I hope to see you for another lesson soon.

Goodbye.