This ends where it begins or begins at the end. This structure hooks the reader and makes us curious about how the characters ended up where they are. It creates a sense of doom and inevitability.

Examples include:

• Blood Brothers; and
• Romeo and Juliet.

The same action is narrated by different characters with very different perspectives. This interests the reader because of the different voices and differing reliability of the narrators.

Examples include:

• Stone Cold;
• The Lilac Bus; and
• Gone Girl.

The story is structured around one critical moment of understanding or decision and that moment shapes the life or future of the protagonist.

Examples include:

• The Dubliners 'Eveline' by James Joyce; and
• The Hitch-hiker by Roald Dahl.

In this structure, the older character looks back with the benefit of hindsight on their own story or a story in which they have a role. The question of how reliable the narration is can be central to interpreting this structure.

Examples include:

• The Great Gatsby;
• Jane Eyre; and
• To Kill a Mockingbird.

A framing narrative contains a second narrative or narratives to provide a context or setting for it. Sometimes this framing narrative will begin and end the narrative as a whole, providing book ends. At other times the framing narrative will simply be present in the beginning of the narrative. The framing narrative sets the scene for the other story or stories, providing a context for reading and interpreting the text.

Examples include:

• The Canterbury Tales; and
• X-Men.

This is the most straightforward structure. It can be useful for identifying the key elements of the plot before you decide how to structure your story.

Examples include:

• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas;
• Our Day Out; and
• Skellig .

Below we have provided classroom posters with these structures depicted and space for you to add examples as you go through the year's teaching.