PAPER 1 PRACTICE
STRUCTURE FOR EFFECT
LESSON OBJECTIVES
I MUST: understand the function of openings
and endings
I SHOULD: identify features contained in
openings and endings
I COULD: explain Doris Lessing’s opening and
ending and the impact on the reader
STARTER
Read the following and work out whether they are opening or endings to stories. Try and match them together and for a bonus
point name the novel they come from!
We thought a little longer, and in the end we simply called her Joy.
So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world they were born in, and looked
towards the sun, and walked into the sky.
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an
enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings.
I found him in the garage on Sunday afternoon. It was the day after we moved into
Falconer Road. The winter was ending.
He sprang from the cabin window as he said this, upon the ice raft which lay close to
the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and
distance.
Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one
side, out of sight of the kitchen.
STARTER
Read the following and work out whether they are opening or endings to stories. Try and match them together and for a bonus
point name the novel they come from!
We thought a little longer, and in the end we simply called her Joy. (ENDING)
So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the world they were born in, and looked
towards the sun, and walked into the sky. (ENDING)
You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an
enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. (OPENING)
I found him in the garage on Sunday afternoon. It was the day after we moved into
Falconer Road. The winter was ending. (OPENING)
He sprang from the cabin window as he said this, upon the ice raft which lay close to
the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and
distance. (ENDING)
Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one
side, out of sight of the kitchen. (OPENING)
STARTER - ANSWERS
How did you work out whether they were
openings or endings?
What clues in the writing gave it away?
Solid settings, introduction of character...
PAIR WORK
In pairs choose whether to be an opening or
ending.
Decide on a storyline and individually write your
part of the story – the opening or the ending.
When it is complete, in a different colour,
label/annotate what you have written giving
reasons for your choices. What effect did you
hope to have on the reader?
EXAMPLE - OPENING
I found him in the garage on a Sunday
afternoon. It was the day after we moved into
Falconer Road. The winter was ending. Mum
had said we’d be moving just in time for the
spring. Nobody else was there. Just me. The
others were inside the house with Doctor
Death, worrying about the baby.
EXAMPLE - ENDING
So Lyra and her daemon turned away from the
world they were born in, and looked towards
the sun, and walked into the sky.
THE IMPORTANCE OF OPENING AND
ENDINGS
Why do we have clear openings and endings in
stories?
Complete the following sentences explaining
what we find in openings and endings.
OPENINGS: The purpose of an opening is.....
ENDINGS: The purpose of an ending is....
SUNRISE ON THE VELD - OPENING
The boy stretched his body full length, touching the wall at his
head with his hands, and the bedfoot with his toes; then he
sprung out, like a fish leaping from water. And it was cold,
cold.
The opening of the story introduces the main character
stretching himself upon waking. After reading the whole
story however, this could be seen as a metaphor of how the
boy is growing up; he is almost too long for his bed! The
leap out of bed returns us to his childish ways but the final
short, dramatic sentence seems to contain more depth
than just referring to the cold air. It suggests that the adult,
mature world which he discovers later in this story, is a cold
place which is emphasised by the use of repetition.
SUNRISE ON THE VELD - ENDING
For a moment he was a small boy again, kicking sulkily at the
skeleton and hanging his head. At last he picked up his gun
and walked homewards. He was telling himself defiantly
that he wanted his breakfast. He was telling himself that it
was getting very hot, much too hot to be roaming the bush.
He walked heavily, not looking where he put his feet.
When he came within sight of his home, he stopped,
frowning. There was something he had to think out. The
death of that animal was a thing that concerned him, and
he was by no means finished with it. It lay at the back of
his mind uncomfortably. Soon, the very next morning he
would get clear of everybody and go back to the bush to
think about it.
ANALYSIS OF THE ENDING
The ending of the story is very different to the beginning as it shows us
how the boy has changed. He is thinking about what he had witnessed
and trying to work it out. At first he tries to take the easy option of
ignoring the unpleasantness trying to pretend it is not there, but the
word “sulkily” tells us that deep down he realises that to cause
unnecessary suffering is wrong and that was what he had set out to do
at the start of the day. He tries to avoid these conclusions by thinking
adult phrases such as “it was getting too hot” to be outdoors. When
he stops upon seeing his home and is “frowning” this suggests that he
feels strange with this new realisation and needs more time to
understand the adult world. The vocabulary in the final paragraph is
very different to the start of the story which was full of hope and
excitement; now the words suggest thought and understanding, taking
responsibility for actions. The ending of the story contains the moral or
deeper meaning and links to the opening which contained the
repeated word “cold”.
PLENARY
Read out the openings and endings.
Work out which it is and what features it contains.
Refer to lesson objectives.
I MUST: understand the function of openings and endings
I SHOULD: identify features contained in openings and endings
I COULD: explain Doris Lessing’s opening and ending and the impact on the
reader