2.2 Response to Visual Text 2014 EXAM FEEDBACK

General Feedback  ‘Analyse how’ means talk about techniques – you MUST use film terminology throughout your essay.  Answer the whole question – underline the key words of the question BEFORE you start writing your essay. Unpack the question – there are often several aspects you need to cover  PLAN – at this level your essay will not survive without a plan  Never retell the plot – no question EVER requires this  Introduce each new character with a brief phrase or adjective eg: “Anthony, Philomena’s son”

Remember:  There is no credit in repeating the material from a practise question and twisting it to a different topic  Do make use of what you know (from your notes and practise essays) but link it to your new topic with new keywords and a new essay structure  The best answers show an appreciation of the effect of techniques in combination, working together  Your examples must be specific and use plenty in each paragraph  At the end of each body paragraph your comment must link to the question

Questions 1 – Analyse how the interaction of characters or individuals helped illustrate one or more key themes in the visual or oral text(s).  The interaction of characters is not exactly the same as the relationship  Interaction must include exchanges, conversations and the characters’ reactions to each other  Interaction can be between individuals e.g. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett  Interaction can also be between groups of people e.g. the middle and upper classes  Connect the interactions with the theme(s) throughout the essay

Question 2: Analyse how conflicts were developed to show one or more emotion(s) in the visual or oral text(s).  The topic said ‘conflicts’ i.e. you must refer to more than one  ‘Conflict’ could refer to internal conflict, a character’s inner turmoil  ‘Conflict could also be external conflicts, between characters or groups  Discuss meaningful ‘emotions’, enabling you to reveal important issues and ideas in the text

Question 3: Analyse how at least one significant incident changed the attitude of a character or individual…  Be very specific about the incident/s you are referring to – e.g. Pip becoming a rich man isn’t specific enough as an incident – you need more detail, it must be a clear event  Focus on the change in attitude, don’t spend long discussing before or after the incident  Many students discussed the first interaction between Darcy and Elizabeth, this was not a good choice and they are forming their attitudes here, rather than changing them

Question 4: Analyse how language is used to develop the theme(s) in the visual or oral text(s).  The best answers show an awareness of the combined effect of different techniques, how they connect and work together This could be structured  by techniques  by themes  or by stages in the development

Question 5: Analyse how details of settings in time and/or place are used to help you imagine a believable new world…  Setting can include time and place  What is meant by a ‘believable new world’? This part of the question was not answered convincingly by students. Why is it ‘believable’?  ‘a…new world’ means that you can not discuss the setting of a historical or contemporary time, it must be in the future.  ‘The Truman Show’ is a possible choice here as reality TV has not yet reached this extreme.

Question 6: Analyse how the beginning and ending showed how one or more characters had changed…  Character change does requires a description of before and after the change. You needed to consider both how the characters had changed and also what they (and the audience) can learn from this change.  You needed to explore both the beginning AND the ending of the film in order to write convincingly about how the characters changed.  Keep the topic of beginning and ending in focus throughout the essay. The best answers discuss a different change in each body paragraph, mentioning both the beginning and ending  Many students spent whole paragraphs on in between stages which means spending a lot of essay time not directly answering the question

Questions 7: Analyse how tension was created for a purpose …  Purpose might be to engage the audience, evoke particular reactions eg sympathy, fear, anger  Purpose might also be to convey a particular message, idea, theme  In Pride and Prejudice you could discuss the stages of rising tension between characters but must still explore how this tension is created which should be through specific analysis of film terminology.  The purpose must be explored in depth.

Question 8 – Analyse how symbolism was used to deepen your understanding of one or more ideas in the visual/oral text(s)  Most students answered this question well  You need to identify your idea/s early in your introduction and refer to them throughout your essay  You should discuss a range of symbols  Consider how you could integrate the discussion of symbols rather than addressing each in isolation – this could be drawing the ideas together in your conclusion to show an overall understanding of the text’s symbols and ideas.