Section a 1b - essay plan

1. Essay Plan – Section A – Question 1b
In Question1(b) youmust write about one ofyour mediacourseworkproductions.
The questionwillask youto apply a key concept
(narrative/genre/audience/representation/medialanguage) to your production.
A typicalquestioncouldbe:
Apply the concept of narrative toone of your courseworkproductions.
INTRODUCTION
 Define the concept – What is narrative/genre/audience/representation/media
language?
“Narrativeis the way in which a story is created though a set of codes and conventions.”
 Explainbriefly what youmade.
“Our musicvideo,fromthe Housegenre, had the story of a girl who ate a mysteriouscupcakewhich transformed
her into variousfantasy worlds.Thisnarrativecrossed with the girl performing in her band thesong,‘My Head is
a Jungle’.”
 Make a statement about what youintendto do in this essay.
“In this essay,Iwill discusshowwe applied narrativetheory in the creation of our video.”
MAIN BODY OF ESSAY
 Breakyour essay down into 3-4 paragraphs; eachabout adifferent theory linking to
the question.
 Eachparagraphshould follow this structure:
o POINT: Introduce the theory – Whose theoryis it? What did they
suggest/link to real worldtexts? Summarise their theory in1-2 sentences.
o EVIDENCE: Provide specific examples from your productionpieceto show
how youapplied/subvertedthis theory. Youneedto include at least 2 but
ideally 3 or 4 examples from your productionpieceineachparagraph.
o EXPLAIN: Explainwhy youappliedor challengedthis theory (ie. What was
your intended impact uponthe audience).
o Link back to the first point ofthe paragraphand/or the original question.
An example ofan A grade paragraph:
“Goodwin says that music videos are an ‘extension of the lyrics’. Having watched real media texts ‘Katy B – ‘Broken Record’, we
noted the way the story was told through such things as repeating clips to portray the “broken record”. Our music video expressed
the lyrics, for example, the lyric ‘jungle’ was demonstrated through the cross-cutting between different scenes in the narrative to
show confusion. This was furthered through repeated close-ups of the girl looking confused over repetition of the word ‘jungle’.
Furthermore, the concept of confusion over love was in the lyric ‘in a dark room we fight, make up for our love’. Thus our mu sic video
creates disjuncture by showing a high key white room over the ‘dark lyric’ to accentuate the lyrics through stark contrast. The
concept of escapism from this ‘love’ is presented through eating this magical cupcake. The cupcake becomes part of the narrative as

2. an indexical sign for escape. The narrative parallels with that of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to use intertextuality to enhance narrative
understanding. The concept of escape is furthered through the contrast between dark ordinary performance and the colourful tie dye
and the powder paint in the narrative scenes. Thus our music video narrative can be seen as an extension of the lyrics”
Let’s breakthat downa little further:
o Introduce the theory:
Goodwin saysthatmusicvideosare an ‘extension of thelyrics’. Having watched realmedia texts ‘Katy B – ‘Broken
Record’,we noted theway the story wastold through such thingsasrepeating clips to portray the “broken record”.
o Theory appliedto the finished text:
Example1: Our musicvideo expressed thelyrics, forexample,thelyric ‘jungle’was demonstratedthroughthecross-
cutting between differentscenesin the narrative to show confusion. Thiswasfurthered through repeated close-upsof
the girl looking confused overrepetition of the word ‘jungle’.
Example2: Furthermore,theconceptof confusion overlovewasin the lyric ‘in a darkroomwe fight,makeup forour
love’. Thusour musicvideo createsdisjuncture by showing a high key whiteroomover the ‘darklyric’ to accentuatethe
lyrics through starkcontrast.
Example3: The conceptof escapismfromthis‘love’is presented through eating thismagicalcupcake. Thecupcake
becomespartof thenarrativeas an indexical sign forescape.The narrativeparallels with thatof ‘Alice in Wonderland’
to useintertextualityto enhancenarrativeunderstanding.
Example4 The conceptof escape is furthered through thecontrastbetween darkordinary performanceand thecolourful
tie dyeand the powderpaintin thenarrativescenes.
o Link back to first point of paragraph
Thusour musicvideo narrativecan be seen as an extension of the lyrics.
CONCLUSION
 Provide a short statement to explain:
o How far have you employedthis concept?
o How far have you challengedit?
o How effective were realmedia texts in inspiring your use of
genre/narrative/representations etc?
o How influential was (insert theorist, theory or idea) in the planning andproduction of
your piece?
MAKE SURE YOU USE TECHNICALLANGUAGE CONSISTENTLYANDACCURATELY!
For example:
“Goodwin says that music videos are an ‘extension of the lyrics’. Having watched real media texts ‘Katy B –
‘Broken Record’, we noted the way the story was told through such things as repeating clips to portray the
“broken record”. Our music video expressed the lyrics, for example, the lyric ‘jungle’ was demonstrated
through the cross-cutting between different scenes in the narrative to show confusion. This was furthered
through repeated close-ups of the girl looking confused over repetition of the word ‘jungle’. Furthermore, the
concept of confusion over love was in the lyric ‘in a dark room we fight, make up for our love’. Thus our music
video creates disjuncture by showing a high key white room over the ‘dark lyric’ to accentuate the lyrics
through stark contrast. The concept of escapism from this ‘love’ is presented through eating this magical
cupcake. The cupcake becomes part of the narrative as an indexical sign for escape. The narrative parallels

3. with that of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to use intertextuality to enhance narrative understanding. The concept of
escape is furthered through the contrast between dark ordinary performance and the colourful tie dye and the
powder paint in the narrative scenes. Thus our music video narrative can be seen as an extension of the lyrics”
WHAT THE MARK SCHEME SAYS:
To achieve an A GRADE:
Candidates can:
 Demonstrate a clear understanding of the key concept and
relevant media theory
 Relate concepts articulatelyto the production outcome,
describing specific elements in relation to theoretical ideas about
either narrative/genre/audience/representation/media language
 Offer a range of specific, relevant, interesting and clear examples
of how their product can be understood in relation to relevant
theories
 Use conceptual language articulately
 Express complex issues clearly and fluently using a style of writing
appropriate to the complex subject matter
 Produce written work where sentences and paragraphs, which
are consistently relevant, have been well structured,using
appropriate technical terminology. There may be few, if any,
errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar