Expressive Writing Consider the onion you have been passed. In your jotter, try to describe it as vividly as you can. You may wish to consider the following: The way it looks The way it smells The way it feels The way it tastes The way it sounds

Valentine, by Carol Ann Duffy Not a red rose or a satin heart. I give you an onion. It is a moon wrapped in brown paper. It promises light like the careful undressing of love. Here. It will blind you with tears like a lover. It will make your reflection a wobbling photo of grief. I am trying to be truthful. Not a cute card or a kissogram. I give you an onion. Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, possessive and faithful as we are, for as long as we are. Take it. Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding-ring, if you like. Lethal. Its scent will cling to your fingers, cling to your knife.

Understanding a Text Your understanding of a text is your awareness of the ideas and information that its writer is attempting to put across. This might be generalised, such as an awareness of a theme the writer is trying to explore throughout the writing. Alternatively, it may be specific, such as an awareness of the meaning of a particular word or phrase. Understanding of a text should demonstrate that you know what is happening in a text.

Valentine – Understanding the Poem Explain what the poem describes, in your own words. Provide as much detail as possible. From whose point of view do you think the poem is written? Try to be as specific as possible. Decide on one question that you and your group have about the poem, which none of you can answer.