New
New
Year 7

‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Boscombe Valley Mystery’: a written comparison

I can write a response comparing ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Boscombe Valley Mystery’.

New
New
Year 7

‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Boscombe Valley Mystery’: a written comparison

I can write a response comparing ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Boscombe Valley Mystery’.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. You should begin an essay with an introduction that summarises your main ideas
  2. An introduction should include three sections that move from general ideas to more specific ones
  3. A comparative paragraph must include a topic sentence and comparative connectives
  4. Quotations should be selected and analysed from both texts to help create a balanced comparison

Common misconception

An introduction can be written without thoughtful planning

To make an introduction worthwhile, and for it to effectively introduce an essay, it requires thoughtful planning

Keywords

  • Archetypal - Something which is archetypal is very typical of a certain type of thing.

  • Subvert - To subvert means to go against what is expected. A villain that subverts the archetype may be gentle.

  • Adhere - To adhere means to stick to or follow what is expected.

  • Simultaneously - If two things occur simultaneously, they occur at the same time.

Show pupils an introduction without the three part structure and ask them about its effectiveness
Teacher tip

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime

Supervision

Adult supervision required

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).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Where does an introduction appear in an essay?
in the middle
at the end
Correct answer: at the beginning
Q2.
What is a thesis statement?
Correct answer: a statement that summarises a viewpoint
a concluding sentence for the end of your essay
a detailed analysis of a quote
Q3.
Which elements are similar in 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' and 'The Speckled Band' and which are different?
Correct Answer:the victim's presentation ,difference

difference

Correct Answer:the villain's presentation,difference

difference

Correct Answer:the detective,similarity

similarity

Correct Answer:the crime,similarity

similarity

Q4.
Who is an archetypal villain from the Sherlock Holmes stories?
Correct answer: Dr. Roylott
John Turner
Helen Stoner
Q5.
What does subvert mean?
To stick to
Correct answer: To go against
To mix
Q6.
In which two ways does 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' subvert archetypal victim and villain roles?
Correct answer: The victim is presented unsympathetically.
Correct answer: The villain is presented sympathetically.
There are two murders.
There is no culprit for the murder.

6 Questions

Q1.
How many sections are there in an introduction?
two
Correct answer: three
four
Q2.
Starting with the first, put the parts of an introduction for a comparative answer in chronological order.
1 - a sentence about both texts as a whole
2 - a sentence summarising the differences
3 - a thesis statement
Q3.
'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' and 'The Speckled Band' are both typical detective stories.'' is an example of ...
a quote
Correct answer: a comment on both texts as a whole
a comment on how the stories differ
Q4.
What is true of quotes in a comparative essay?
Correct answer: you need quotes from both texts
you need quotes to be at least a sentence long
you need a quote from the longer text
Q5.
Thinking about 'The Speckled Band' and 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery', who could be considered both victim and villain simultaneously?
Helen Stoner
Julia Stoner
Correct answer: Charles McCarthy
Alice Turner
Q6.
Which quotes from 'The Boscombe Valley Mystery' suggest that Charles McCarthy could be victim and villain simultaneously?
Correct answer: ''terribly injured''; ''had his grip upon me''
''Enormous limbs’’; ‘’Limping step, bowed shoulders’’
“face blanched with terror”; “shrieked, writhed”

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