New
New
Year 8

Writing a gothic description

I can write a multi-sensory and thrilling Gothic description.

New
New
Year 8

Writing a gothic description

I can write a multi-sensory and thrilling Gothic description.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In descriptions, you can focus on how the scene smells, feels, sounds and tastes, as well as just what it looks like.
  2. Multi-sensory descriptions make the scene more vivid for your reader.
  3. You can use figurative language to create vivid imagery for the reader.
  4. Fronted adverbials can build tension by elongating the sentence and delaying the action.
  5. To build tension, try describing small details quite comprehensively.

Keywords

  • Imagery - words used to create a clear image in the reader’s head

  • Vivid - producing strong or clear images in the reader’s mind

  • Multi-sensory - involving more than one sense

  • To congeal - to begin to change from a liquid state to a more solid state

  • Timid - showing a lack of courage or confidence

Common misconception

In descriptive writing, students often just describe what their protagonist can see. They often neglect the other senses.

To create the most vivid description possible, students should focus their description on the five sense, subtly moving between exploring how the scene feels, smells, looks, tastes and sounds.

Print the Gothic description of blood from learning cycle 1 so that students can annotate it as they progress through the first learning cycle. They can also pinch words and phrases from it to use in their own descriptions.
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the five sense is missing from this list: touch, taste, smell, feel and ....?
Correct Answer: sound, hear, hearing
Q2.
A field is a group of words that all share meaning.
Correct Answer: semantic
Q3.
Which of the following colours are considered Gothic?
blue
Correct answer: black
pink
Correct answer: white
Correct answer: red
Q4.
Which of the following would make the best Gothic setting?
Correct answer: a grand mansion
a school classroom
a quaint cottage
a tropical beach
Q5.
Which of the following animals are considered Gothic?
Correct answer: spiders
doves
butterflies
Correct answer: bats
dog
Q6.
Which methods do we see in this quotation: "The windows were like vacant eyes, blinking in the pale light of the moon."?
Correct answer: simile
metaphor
Correct answer: personification
onomatopoeia
pathetic fallacy

6 Questions

Q1.
What is multi-sensory language?
language that affects your emotions
Correct answer: language that appeals to more than one sense
language that you have not encountered before
language that appeals to your sense of reason and logic
language that is persuasive and convinces you to take action
Q2.
Which of the following are shades of red?
Correct answer: crimson
indigo
porcelain
lilac
Correct answer: scarlet
Q3.
Gothic writers often Gothic colours to reflect the battle between good and evil that many Gothic texts explore.
Correct Answer: contrast, juxtapose
Q4.
Which of the following words means 'to lack courage or confidence'?
bold
Correct answer: timid
congealed
vivid
sceptical
Q5.
Why might you not reveal the object you are describing until the end of the description?
Correct answer: to create a thrilling experience for the reader
to make your reader confused about the text
Correct answer: to build tension by withholding information
to foreshadow later events to come
Q6.
Which of the following sentences uses the word 'congealed' correctly?
She was so angry that congealed tears fell from her eyes.
The burger began to congeal as it started to ooze liquid.
Correct answer: The jelly-like substance had begun to congeal, forming horrible clumps.
The torrential rain congealed as it pummelled the pavement.
The dog snarled, congealed spit flying towards me as it did so.