Creating Suspense &

Tension
Learning Objectives
By the end of the lesson
you will

Be able to recognise how

tension and suspense is
created in writing

Be able to create
suspense and tension in
your own writing
Reading
Whilst I read the extract, try to locate the
following elements in the story:
Suspense &
Tension
Forebodin
g
Varied
senten
ce
lengths
Slow
pace
Anticipati
on
Image
ry

A feeling tat
someting
bad !ill
appen
"isually
descriptiv
e or
#gurative
language
$%pectati
on or
prediction
Saspen
s&&
'aprua
&&
(uestions
)* !The land seemed almost as dar" as the water# for
there was no moon$% &ow does the writer create an
atmosphere here'
+* !The (sh turned towards shore%$ What do you notice
about the sentence length' Where is this in the
paragraph' Why'
,* !The sweeps of its tail )uic"ened, thrusting the giant
body forward with a speed that agitated the tiny
phosphorescent animals in the water$% What do you
notice about the *erbs here' &ow do they change the
pace of the story'
(uestions
-* !+or the (rst time, the woman felt fear, though she
did not "now why%$ ,se the suspense wheel to explain
how tension is being built here%
.* !-t (rst, the woman thought she had snagged her
leg on a roc" or a piece of .oating wood%$ Why include
the woman/s point of *iew here'
/* !0ain and panic struc" together% The woman threw
her head bac" and screamed a guttural cry of terror%$
Why include this short paragraph' 1omment on the
language and its e2ect on the reader%
0atcing a Clip
We are now going to watch a clip from
the (lm in which there is another shar"
attac"%
Watch closely and ma"e notes in your
noteboo"%
0riting Tas1
,se ideas from the text and (lm clip to
create your own description of a shar"
attac"%
Write two paragraphs:
)* - peaceful and tran)uil scene that
becomes dar"er and builds tension
+* - terrifying shar" attac"