A Sense Of Belonging Analysis
About Writing
Adapted from: A Sense of Belonging – Oxford University Press Australia
1) Plot
The plot is what happens in the story. It can range from the very simple, to very complicated. Simple plots usually depend on other factors to bring the story to life in the reader's mind. A simple example of a narrative plot is the introduction-rising action-climax-resolution model. Certain stories have expected story lines, while others are complex or have so many twists that the reader is caught by surprise or cannot expect what will happen next. There are also stories which end without an actual ending, leaving the reader to guess what actually happened.
2) Characterisation
Characterisation brings depth to the participants in a story, making them more relatable to the …show more content…
reader. Therefore, without characterisation, we are presented with characters in the story that we do not understand or relate to in the story. It is possible to get to know a character through actual physical description, dialogue or by the actions he/she does. Dialogue can include what a character has to say, and how he or she says it, as well as the conversation of others about this particular person. Actions cover all the unique ways a character does things, such as his/her movement, temperament, and reaction to different situations.
3) Theme
The theme is the main point or sometimes, moral of the story. Very often, a story also has more than one theme. A good author will not explain the theme or make it too obvious, but instead, will leave it to the readers to discover it for themselves.
4) Setting
Setting refers to the place and time in which the story occurs. Thus, we may have a quiet lake, a tropical jungle, a spacecraft a thousand years into the future or a bustling street in downtown Singapore. The setting can thus be used to create a mood to the action in the story.
5) Style
Style refers to the manner in which the author tells the story, and the techniques he/she uses to convey that story to the reader. This aspect of writing is often ignored or avoided by students who are unfamiliar with what to look for in a story. There are several questions you can ask yourselves when reading what will help you identify and evaluate the style of a particular writer.
• Who is telling the story? • What tense the story is written in? • What sort of language is used? • Does the writer use conventional grammar and punctuation? • Is the story told through narration or dialogue, or a combination of both? • How long are the sentences? What effect does this have on the story-telling? • Does the writer use imagery, metaphor, simile or symbolism?
Techniques used by writers
Any of the following techniques may be used well or badly, depending on the skill of the writer:
• A ‘flashback’, which takes us into the past then after a while brings us smoothly and almost imperceptibly back to the present. This can be done by using a particular word or incident to trigger the character’s memory. • A common idea to act as a ‘link’ between paragraphs for easy continuity. • ‘Seeds’ of ideas which are planted early in a story, so that they can grow and come to fruition later. • The ‘twist in the tail’ or unexpected ending which deviates from the ‘seed’ planted earlier. • Dialogue, which can be a very valuable tool in characterisation. • Gestures, especially habitual ones, which can identify a character without the need for long descriptions. • Story told in a chronological order – logically, from beginning. • Story told in reverse order – starting from the end, then flashing back to beginning to show the reader how the story got there. • Repetition of a word or idea, which can be used deliberately to good effect. • The ‘slice of life’ story, which has no build-up and ends abruptly, leaving the reader to think about further possibilities. • Leaving a line between sections to indicate the passing of time or a change in location.
Did you know?
The earliest forms of storytelling were thought to have been primarily oral combined with gestures and expressions. In addition to being part of religious ritual, rudimentary drawings scratched onto the walls of caves may have been forms of early storytelling for many of the ancient cultures. The Australian Aboriginal people painted symbols from stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance. Non-permanent media such as sand, leaves and the carved trunks of living trees have also been used to record stories in pictures or with writing.
With the advent of writing, the use of actual digit symbols to represent language, and the use of stable, portable media, stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film, and stored electronically in digital form. Complex forms of tattooing may also represent stories, with information about genealogy, affiliation and social status.
Traditionally, oral stories were committed to memory and then passed from generation to generation. However, in Western, literate societies, written and televised media has largely surpassed this method of communicating local, family and cultural histories. Oral storytelling remains the dominant medium of learning in many countries with low literacy rates.
The Art of Storytelling
Essential Understanding: • Stories have been written and told by mankind in many forms since prehistoric times. • Techniques of storytelling differ across time and culture, but the fundamental elements of stories remain the same.
• Good stories are timeless – they are passed from one generation to the next.
Essential Questions: • When someone writes or tells a story, what is he/she trying to convey? • What are the differences resulting from a story being told in different way?
Starter Activity
Stories can be told using symbols, pictures, words, or movies (which are essential moving pictures). Despite being different in the medium a story is being told, the fundamental elements of a story remains the same. List down some stories or movies which you have come across and analyse them using the table below.
Instructions: • Do not use stories from the book ‘A Sense of Belonging’. • Recall stories/movies that you have read/seen before to complete the following section.
|Name of story/movie |Which element of the story |Describe some techniques used in the story/movie. |
| |(Plot, characterisation, theme, style or setting) plays |
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| |the most important role in this story/movie? Why? | |
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Main Activity
Instructions:
Read the following stories in ‘A Sense of Belonging’ and write a response to the question(s) related to each story.
The Test
Who has a stronger personality? Marian or Mrs Ericson? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.
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A Sense of Belonging
Write a response to the following statements.
The story follows a straightforward chronological order, has simple plot, style, characterisation and setting, uses no flashbacks or twists, and is making a very obvious point. A simple incident, simply told, can be very effective. Despite its faults, this story is successful.
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A Sound of Thunder
Read the story again, looking specifically for ‘seeds’ or clues to later events and list them down in note form with brief comments.
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Comment on the relative importance of each of the basic five elements (theme, plot, character, setting and style) in the story.
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Writing Test
Now that you have discovered the elements of writing and some techniques authors use to tell their stories, try writing one yourself. Bearing in mind what you have learnt, write a story of about 350 words to 500 words on any one of the following topics:
• A Coincidence • An Unforgettable Experience • A Lesson in Life
Write your story in the box below:
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Further Readings
Now that you have finished your Holiday Homework, we suggest that you do some further readings.
The following stories in ‘A Sense of Belonging’ will allow you to explore even more writing styles and techniques which will be useful in your discover of the art of writing.
|Story |Read for: |Page |
|The Limits of Trooghaft |Satire/Social Critique - Using literature to criticise social norms. Note: Be |87 |
| |prepared to check for meanings of many words. | |
|The Vertical Ladder |Descriptive techniques |156 |
|Naema Diasparue |First person point of view style |63 |
|The Waste Land |‘Slice of life’ technique – Starts and ends abruptly |74 |
How to benefit most from the further readings?
As you read the stories, think about how the elements of the story and techniques of writing work together to generate the ‘feel’ of the story.
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Adapted from: A Sense of Belonging – Oxford University Press Australia
1) Plot
The plot is what happens in the story. It can range from the very simple, to very complicated. Simple plots usually depend on other factors to bring the story to life in the reader's mind. A simple example of a narrative plot is the introduction-rising action-climax-resolution model. Certain stories have expected story lines, while others are complex or have so many twists that the reader is caught by surprise or cannot expect what will happen next. There are also stories which end without an actual ending, leaving the reader to guess what actually happened.
2) Characterisation
Characterisation brings depth to the participants in a story, making them more relatable to the …show more content…
reader. Therefore, without characterisation, we are presented with characters in the story that we do not understand or relate to in the story. It is possible to get to know a character through actual physical description, dialogue or by the actions he/she does. Dialogue can include what a character has to say, and how he or she says it, as well as the conversation of others about this particular person. Actions cover all the unique ways a character does things, such as his/her movement, temperament, and reaction to different situations.
3) Theme
The theme is the main point or sometimes, moral of the story. Very often, a story also has more than one theme. A good author will not explain the theme or make it too obvious, but instead, will leave it to the readers to discover it for themselves.
4) Setting
Setting refers to the place and time in which the story occurs. Thus, we may have a quiet lake, a tropical jungle, a spacecraft a thousand years into the future or a bustling street in downtown Singapore. The setting can thus be used to create a mood to the action in the story.
5) Style
Style refers to the manner in which the author tells the story, and the techniques he/she uses to convey that story to the reader. This aspect of writing is often ignored or avoided by students who are unfamiliar with what to look for in a story. There are several questions you can ask yourselves when reading what will help you identify and evaluate the style of a particular writer.
• Who is telling the story? • What tense the story is written in? • What sort of language is used? • Does the writer use conventional grammar and punctuation? • Is the story told through narration or dialogue, or a combination of both? • How long are the sentences? What effect does this have on the story-telling? • Does the writer use imagery, metaphor, simile or symbolism?
Techniques used by writers
Any of the following techniques may be used well or badly, depending on the skill of the writer:
• A ‘flashback’, which takes us into the past then after a while brings us smoothly and almost imperceptibly back to the present. This can be done by using a particular word or incident to trigger the character’s memory. • A common idea to act as a ‘link’ between paragraphs for easy continuity. • ‘Seeds’ of ideas which are planted early in a story, so that they can grow and come to fruition later. • The ‘twist in the tail’ or unexpected ending which deviates from the ‘seed’ planted earlier. • Dialogue, which can be a very valuable tool in characterisation. • Gestures, especially habitual ones, which can identify a character without the need for long descriptions. • Story told in a chronological order – logically, from beginning. • Story told in reverse order – starting from the end, then flashing back to beginning to show the reader how the story got there. • Repetition of a word or idea, which can be used deliberately to good effect. • The ‘slice of life’ story, which has no build-up and ends abruptly, leaving the reader to think about further possibilities. • Leaving a line between sections to indicate the passing of time or a change in location.
Did you know?
The earliest forms of storytelling were thought to have been primarily oral combined with gestures and expressions. In addition to being part of religious ritual, rudimentary drawings scratched onto the walls of caves may have been forms of early storytelling for many of the ancient cultures. The Australian Aboriginal people painted symbols from stories on cave walls as a means of helping the storyteller remember the story. The story was then told using a combination of oral narrative, music, rock art and dance. Non-permanent media such as sand, leaves and the carved trunks of living trees have also been used to record stories in pictures or with writing.
With the advent of writing, the use of actual digit symbols to represent language, and the use of stable, portable media, stories were recorded, transcribed and shared over wide regions of the world. Stories have been carved, scratched, painted, printed or inked onto wood or bamboo, ivory and other bones, pottery, clay tablets, stone, palm-leaf books, skins (parchment), bark cloth, paper, silk, canvas and other textiles, recorded on film, and stored electronically in digital form. Complex forms of tattooing may also represent stories, with information about genealogy, affiliation and social status.
Traditionally, oral stories were committed to memory and then passed from generation to generation. However, in Western, literate societies, written and televised media has largely surpassed this method of communicating local, family and cultural histories. Oral storytelling remains the dominant medium of learning in many countries with low literacy rates.
The Art of Storytelling
Essential Understanding: • Stories have been written and told by mankind in many forms since prehistoric times. • Techniques of storytelling differ across time and culture, but the fundamental elements of stories remain the same.
• Good stories are timeless – they are passed from one generation to the next.
Essential Questions: • When someone writes or tells a story, what is he/she trying to convey? • What are the differences resulting from a story being told in different way?
Starter Activity
Stories can be told using symbols, pictures, words, or movies (which are essential moving pictures). Despite being different in the medium a story is being told, the fundamental elements of a story remains the same. List down some stories or movies which you have come across and analyse them using the table below.
Instructions: • Do not use stories from the book ‘A Sense of Belonging’. • Recall stories/movies that you have read/seen before to complete the following section.
|Name of story/movie |Which element of the story |Describe some techniques used in the story/movie. |
| |(Plot, characterisation, theme, style or setting) plays |
|
| |the most important role in this story/movie? Why? | |
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Main Activity
Instructions:
Read the following stories in ‘A Sense of Belonging’ and write a response to the question(s) related to each story.
The Test
Who has a stronger personality? Marian or Mrs Ericson? Give evidence from the text to support your answer.
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| |
| |
| |
| |
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A Sense of Belonging
Write a response to the following statements.
The story follows a straightforward chronological order, has simple plot, style, characterisation and setting, uses no flashbacks or twists, and is making a very obvious point. A simple incident, simply told, can be very effective. Despite its faults, this story is successful.
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A Sound of Thunder
Read the story again, looking specifically for ‘seeds’ or clues to later events and list them down in note form with brief comments.
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| |
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Comment on the relative importance of each of the basic five elements (theme, plot, character, setting and style) in the story.
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| |
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Writing Test
Now that you have discovered the elements of writing and some techniques authors use to tell their stories, try writing one yourself. Bearing in mind what you have learnt, write a story of about 350 words to 500 words on any one of the following topics:
• A Coincidence • An Unforgettable Experience • A Lesson in Life
Write your story in the box below:
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Further Readings
Now that you have finished your Holiday Homework, we suggest that you do some further readings.
The following stories in ‘A Sense of Belonging’ will allow you to explore even more writing styles and techniques which will be useful in your discover of the art of writing.
|Story |Read for: |Page |
|The Limits of Trooghaft |Satire/Social Critique - Using literature to criticise social norms. Note: Be |87 |
| |prepared to check for meanings of many words. | |
|The Vertical Ladder |Descriptive techniques |156 |
|Naema Diasparue |First person point of view style |63 |
|The Waste Land |‘Slice of life’ technique – Starts and ends abruptly |74 |
How to benefit most from the further readings?
As you read the stories, think about how the elements of the story and techniques of writing work together to generate the ‘feel’ of the story.
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