1. Higher Essay Questions
4 questions - one each on Narrative, Audience, Representation, Institutions
Choose one!
One hour
Marked out of 40

2. Higher Essay Questions
Step 1: At the start of the exam:
Skim read the first line of each question to see which key aspect you are being asked about
Read the full question for possible questions, to help you choose which one to tackle

3. Higher Essay Questions
Step 2: When you have chosen your question:
Re-read it carefully to check exactly what it is asking you to do.
Highlight key words in the question.

4. Higher Essay Questions
Writing your essay – The opening paragraph
Your opening paragraph should be brief, but should contain:
Name of film / director / year of release
Genre of film (you are not marked on your knowledge of categories, but establishing the genre at the start of your essay will help you integrate key aspects)
Task statement

5. Higher Essay Questions
Step 3: Refine the question.
You need to refine the question so that you can write a task statement that fits more specifically with Catfish, e.g.:

6. Higher Essay Questions
For the question:
All media texts rely on narrative conventions, codes and structures. With reference to a text you know well, analyse how aspects of narrative integrate with at least two other key aspects
Your task statement might read something like this:
Catfish’s complex narrative structure, containing elements of a number of different fictional genres,, was clearly deliberately constructed by the film’s internal institutions in order to appeal to a young, cinematically literate audience

7. Higher Essay Questions
Step 4: Plan your essay
Quickly jot down notes on the key features of each key aspect that you will need to write about.

8. Higher Essay Questions
Step 5: The main body of your essay
You must cover the specified features of each key aspect
Use topic sentences to link back to the question, e.g.:
Catfish uses narrative structures common in fictional films in order to broaden its target audience.
The binary oppositions between truth and lies, and between the real and virtual worlds, were cleverly used by Rogue Pictures in their marketing campaign for the film..

9. Higher Essay Questions
Use a Point – Evidence – Comment structure to help make sure your paragraphs stay relevant to the question, e.g.:
POINT – Catfish’s narrative structure follows the classic 5-part Todorovian structure which is common to many films.
EVIDENCE – [describe actual structure of the film]
COMMENT – This “fictional” narrative structure allowed the film to appeal to a wider range of audiences than that which is typical of a documentary. However, it also opened the film up to a range of differential readings which have challenged the film’s authenticity as a documentary.

10. Higher Essay Questions
At the end of each paragraph, use your comments to refer back to the question
All questions ask you to connect 3 key aspects together, so you need to have some comment in each paragraph that makes links between at least two out of Narrative, Audience and Institutions

11. Higher Essay Questions
Points to remember:
You must analyse 3 key aspects
Time is short – don’t waffle!
You are not marked down for spelling or grammar – Media knowledge and analysis is what the examiners are looking for
You have all the knowledge you need

12. All media texts rely on narrative conventions, codes and structures
All media texts rely on narrative conventions, codes and structures. With reference to a text you know well, analyse how aspects of narrative integrate with at least two other key aspects

13. Suggested Structure for Narrative Essay
Equilibrium Audience profile / mode of address / preferred reading (hero in ordinary world) / institutional choices
Disruption Audience profile / action & enigma codes/ call to adventure
Recognition Audience profile / binary oppositions / thriller narrative
Repair Hero’s journey / preferred reading / horror genre
New Eq End of hero’s quest / preferred reading / audience response and differential readings
Institutional factors Give rationale for narrative in terms of internal and external institutions