step-by-step guide to successful hsc essay web viewthen it cuts to an oblique close ... he moulds...

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Step-by-step guide to successful HSC essay writing

Copy right © Department of Education and Communities 2014.

ContentsStructure of the essay............................................................................................................................1

The importance of Essays......................................................................................................................2

NO TECHNIQUES = NO MARKS..............................................................................................................4

TABLES...................................................................................................................................................5

Paragraph Structure (PEEL)....................................................................................................................7

Example:............................................................................................................................................8

Transitional Words..............................................................................................................................13

Steps from now:..................................................................................................................................14

Important Step................................................................................................................................14

Paragraph Writing Scaffold..................................................................................................................15


Structure of the essayOk – so you are now in your final years of high school and you realise that you have no idea how to write an essay.

The really, really bad thing is English is COMPULSORY and you have to write essays to pass.

So basically you are stuffed…

However, your exams are not tomorrow and if you work really hard over the next year (or two) you are going to be in with a fighting chance of making it through with a good mark (yes I said good!)

Firstly you need to know the structure of an essay :

It goes like this:

1. Introduction2. Body Paragraphs3. Conclusion.

You know this – have seen it before - just remember that you will probably have lots of body paragraphs.

Your introduction and conclusion are different to your body paragraphs but are similar to each other.

Your introduction should look like this:1. Overarching Statement2. Thesis (answer the question)3. Introduce the texts you will discuss.

While your conclusion should look like this:1. Restate what each text has done2. Restate your thesis3. Concluding Statement

But let’s not get too concerned with introductions and conclusions yet – they are easy. What is really important is the body paragraphs. Once you have this down you will be able to attack any essay question with confidence (and no and I am not being just an English teacher when I say this – I have seen students go from poor writers to excellent writers in just a few months by focussing on their paragraphs!)

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The importance of Body Paragraphs

When it comes to HSC Essay writing it is really important that you learn how to write body paragraphs. This means you need to expand your points in your argument and use techniques from the text to support your argument. A good paragraph from a Standard Student in the HSC would look something like this:

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. The death of her mother and twin during childbirth causes grief in the family and community at the loss of, not only life but, their believed future leader and, as such, Pai is not recognised as being their leader. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean showing how important the ocean is in the film and together with the narration of a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between leadership and the whale. The quick cut to the close up of the baby’s face clearly demonstrates the narrator’s connection to the whale and therefore illustrates her leadership to the audience. This is contrasted by the cut to the mid shot of the dead mother and the narration “there was no gladness when I was born” demonstrating the pain and rejection at her birth, additionally the dialogue “my twin brother died” highlights the loss of the expected male leader at her arrival and consequent rejection of her leadership. Therefore it is clear that the horror of death and loss of Pai’s twin brother hinders others to perceive her as the prophesied chief.

I know that you may be thinking “Oh Great – I may as well quit now!”, or (if doing Advanced) “I should drop to Standard”, or worse “Forget it – I’ll go to Studies”. But don’t be so hard on yourself. Essay writing is really quite easy if you learn the techniques and the structure.

Many students entering into Year 11

Lack knowledge of literary and filmic techniques

Write recount

Have little integration of techniques (because they don’t know them)

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Look at the following example from a student who studied “Whale Rider1” as a text in the Area of Study – “Identity”

Question: How is the identity of Pai communicated in the film “Whale Rider”?

Once you have brainstormed you have come up with a few points – the first one you want to work on is: Because Pai was a girl her identity as a leader was ignored.

Pai is a girl that was rejected by her father at birth because she was not a male. Pai has been raised by her grandfather Koro. The village is in need of a leader and Pai feels it should be her but her grandfather is waiting for another child and hoping it would be a boy, even though Pai is dedicated to the culture unlike anyone else is the village. Pai’s identity shows she is a very strong little girl and will strive to what she wants.

Does this look familiar to you? Is it something you would write?

Your teacher would probably mark this and say something like: The response has NO selection of techniques There is little evidence It is a recount Does not answer question

And it would fail and if you were the student you would not know what the teacher meant by these points and instead of working hard on it, you give up because there is no point and you suck at English. Right?

Well let’s break down these comments: The response has NO selection of techniques

o There are no techniques used – this depends on what text you are studying

There is little evidence

o You are not using your text to say anything about your Area of Study

It is a recount

o All you are doing is restating the script/plot of the text

1For those of you who do not know: Whale Rider is a 2002 drama film directed by Niki Caro, based on the novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera. The film stars Keisha Castle-Hughes as Kahu Paikea Apirana, a twelve-year-old Maori girl who wants to become the chief of the tribe. Her grandfather Koro believes that this is a role reserved for males only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_Rider

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori_people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keisha_Castle-Hughes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witi_Ihimaera

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niki_Caro


Does not answer question

o The question has been ignored and you are just ranting about the things that happen in the text

What do you need to do?

Well first you need to know your techniques.

NO TECHNIQUES = NO MARKS

You will get heaps of techniques from your teacher or just google them!

You need techniques to answer your HSC question. Why? The English HSC course is about getting you to understand what a composer does to compose. This means you need to be asking: What word choices have been made? Why are they using particular shots? What colours are being used?

When a composer creates a text, you as a reader or viewer are forced to see things the way the composer wants you. Say for instance the composer loves dogs, the composer will most likely describe the dog as loveable, loyal, and obedient. If, however the composer hates dogs then the dog could be described as flea bitten, mongrel and savage.

This is obviously a very simple example – but you get the idea right? This is what your HSC marker is looking for – the fact that you understand that every composer puts their beliefs and opinions into a text. (This idea becomes more complicated in Advanced though!)

Let’s look at what we have to do for your Area of Study in the HSC

Area of Study

Discovery. This means that every text you look at for your Area of Study you must look at it through the lens of Discovery. This means you have to ask: What word choices are they making that show discovery? Why are they using particular shots to show discovery? What colours are being used to show discovery?

Remember the HSC question will be a HOW question – for example

“Discovery can lead to change within self and the wider world"How does your study support this statement?

The ‘HOW’ means : TELL ME WHAT TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN USED BY THE COMPOSER TO CREATE MEANING AND IN THIS QUESTION RELATE THEM TO DISCOVERY!!

You will also have to do three other modules on top of the Area of Study but they differ depending on the course. Just trust me and remember

YOU MUST INCLUDE TECHNIQUES IF YOU WANT TO PASS

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Is that all? I don’t even know what the hell you are rambling on about when you talk about techniques and I have no idea of how to put them into a paragraph.Okay…. I understand. Please stick with me while I show you the best thing in the world for HSC study

TABLES!! Yes it is true that I am a nerd who enjoys creating EXCEL documents for daily routines and enjoys having my bookshelf in alphabetical order based on the author’s last name then year of publication. However, tables, if used correctly, will become your best weapon in HSC English. Let me explain…

TABLES

You should create the following table for EVERY text you study in the HSC. Start it as you begin to study the text and continue to build it as you work through it.

Your table should look like this:

Technique Quote EffectWhat technique is used Quote it How does it support your point

So if you watch the beginning of “Whale Rider” you will pick up these in the first five minutes:

Technique Quote Effect

Establishing Shot OceanShows importance of Ocean

Sound Effects Ocean and Whale

Narration (girl)waiting for a leader. And he came on the back of a whale... For the boy who would be chief

Introduces the male relationship between leader and the whale

Oblique/Close up shot Woman in pain, grimacing Shows agony and confusion

Close up White surgical gloved hand Establishes hospital

Mise en scene Blue water, whale shape Cut shows connection between hospital and whalePanning Body of whale

Close up Baby’s face Cut shows connection between whale and child

Medium shot Woman dead Shows the pain child was born

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into – audience understands the connection between the child and the whale, yet sees her rejection.

Narration

There was no gladness when I was born.My twin brother died and took our mother with him.

Not hard, is it? All you have done is create a table but now you can see what techniques are used really clearly.

Don’t think you are suddenly going to write a perfect paragraph. , You will probably overuse techniques at first and write a paragraph like this:

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. She is seen as ‘only a girl’. Pai’s grandfather, Koro accepts her but not as the leader she is because she was not a boy. The beginning scene opens with a blue screen of water, the sound effects is an ocean sound as well and you hear a narration of a girl’s voice. Then it cuts to an oblique close up of a woman in pain and zooms to a white, gloved hand and we know she is in hospital. It then goes back to a shot of the ocean and a whale and then cuts back to a close up of the baby. The narration, “there was not gladness when I was born” shows Pai’s birth was not celebrated.

So what is wrong with this? It has techniques but is doesn’t have any clear argument.

Basically:

The response has lots of techniques but not judicious

It is a recount of techniques rather than plot

There is little evidence

Does not answer question

The greatest problem is you do not know how paragraphs are constructed. This is really important (whether you are doing Extension or Standard). But don’t worry – paragraph structure is easy.

6


Paragraph Structure (PEEL)

The best thing about essays is that they are reliable. They always stay the same. Many acronyms are used to describe a paragraph but here I will use PEEL. This stands for

Point

Explain

Example

Link

At sentence level this means

Point – State your argument (short and simple) Explain – Expand your first sentence (say it again with more

information) Example – Technique – Quote – Effect x 3 (at least) Link – State how this answers your question

In order to break it down – follow this pattern:

What is your point………………………………….

Explain this differently ……………………………

Example

o Technique…………………………….

o Quote …………………………………

o Effect…………………………


o Quote …………………………………

o Effect………………………………….


o Quote …………………………………

o Effect………………………………….

Link to question …………………………………….

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Example: What is your Point

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth.

Explain this differently

She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is

Technique

establishing shot and sound effects

Quote

ocean

Effect

showing how important the ocean is in the film

Technique

narration of a girl

Quote

waiting for a leader… to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief”

Effect

introduces the relationship between male leadership and the whale

Technique

cut to the close up

Quote

baby’s face

Effect

shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership

Link

This shows her identity is linked to the whale and leadership

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Put this together:

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is. The establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean shows how important the ocean is in the film. The narration of a girl “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale .. the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between male leadership and the whale. The cut to the close up baby’s face shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership. This shows her identity is linked to the whale and leadership.

This is starting to sound good! You hand this in and feel great – after all you spent all night on it and then your teacher takes out a pen and pulls it apart. You are then told:

The paragraph has good selection of techniques – this is good

It is not a recount – this is good

Tries to create an argument – this is good

Does begin to try to answer question but techniques do not match up with original point as it is too shallow – not so good

More techniques are needed to create strength – this is where you need to work

What the Hell? You did what you were asked! Still it is not good enough! You may as well quit!

Really? Why?

You are almost there and you should notice that most of it is good!

The problem is that you have shifted your focus from the plot to the techniques but are still not doing anything with it. It becomes a retelling of the techniques rather than the plot.

So … you have actually made a great improvement… now you need to know where to go from here.

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Firstly you need more techniques in your paragraph to make it valid:

Point: Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth.

Expand: She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is.

Example: Technique Quote Effect

The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean showing how important the ocean is in the film.

The narration of a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader… to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between male leadership and the whale.

The cut to the close up of the baby’s face shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership.

The mid shot of the dead woman and the narration “there was no gladness when I was born” shows the pain and rejection at her birth while “my twin brother died” shows the male leader they were waiting on passed during her arrival.

Link : Therefore it is clear that Pai’s was seen as only a girl and not a leader by the family she was born into.

Put together:

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean showing how important the ocean is in the film. The narration of a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale .. the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between male leadership and the whale. The cut to the close up of the baby’s face shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership. The mid shot of the dead woman and the narration “there was no gladness when I was born” shows the pain and rejection at her birth while “my twin brother died” shows the male leader they were waiting on passed during her arrival. Therefore it is clear that Pai was seen as only a girl and not a leader by the family she was born into.

Wow – you wrote this! This is awesome! Definitely an A! Right? Well not yet. But this is the exciting part – you are now starting to write a pretty good paragraph. One that may even get you out of the “I fail at English” mindset This paragraph would definitely pass. But you don’t want to just pass anymore…. You know that you can do better than this and it really isn’t that hard overall.

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So let’s look at the paragraph:

The response has good selection of techniques (good) It is not a recount (good) Tries to create an argument (good) One part of argument is not supported (seen as only a girl) (not good) Explanation and Link must be reworded.(not good) Paragraph is clunky and needs fluency.(not good)

When you start to get feedback from your teacher that tells you your paragraph lacks fluency or is clunky it means that you are on the right track. It means you are beginning to make sense and your language and way of stating things needs to be focussed on!

But the question remains: How to improve from here? (you are not an A student yet!).

The biggest problem is that a point is not supported:

You stated that

She is seen as only a girl and not the leader she really is

Yet nothing in the evidence is gender related – all the examples discuss her leadership but NOTHING in the paragraph that talks about the fact that the grandfather believes only males can become leader and because of this the point has not been supported. Either the examples need to change (that means the whole paragraph) OR change the point and explanation to suit the evidence.

This means getting rid of gender and it will look like this:

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. The death of her mother and twin during childbirth causes grief in the family and community at the loss of not only life, but their future leader and as such Pai is not recognised as the leader she truly is. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean showing how important the ocean is in the film. The narration of a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between male leadership and the whale. The cut to the close up of the baby’s face shows her connection to the whale and therefore leadership. The mid shot of the dead woman and the narration “there was no gladness when I was born” shows the pain and rejection at her birth while “my twin brother died” shows the male leader they were waiting on passed during her arrival. Therefore it is clear that the horror of death and loss of Pai’s twin brother hinders others to perceive her as the prophesied chief.

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Notice when the explanation changes – so must the linking statement to make it all join together.

So, you have done ALL this. You hand it in. You are expecting an A or some merit certificate on assembly but all you get back is:

The response has good selection of techniques

It is not a recount

Tries to create an argument

Paragraph is clunky and needs fluency.

“What the hell does clunky mean?????”

It means that your paragraph does not flow – does not sound good when reading.

Well how do I fix this? Easy! Transitional Words Create Fluency

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Transitional Words

• furthermore• moreover• also• in addition• next• further• illustrate• demonstrate• in the same• exemplifies

• in such a way• similarly• likewise• however• though• otherwise• on the contrary• in contrast• consequently• highlights

• on the other hand• since• therefore• thus• hence• in order that• accordingly• coupled with• together

Transitional words allow sentences to flow and ideas meet.

The above paragraph is missing the connecting or transitional words… Look what happens when you put them in:

Pai’s identity as a leader is not recognised at her birth. The death of her mother and twin during childbirth causes grief in the family and community at the loss of, not only life but, their believed future leader and, as such, Pai is not recognised as being their leader. The film opens with an establishing shot and sound effects of the ocean showing how important the ocean is in the film and together with the narration of a girl stating they were “waiting for a leader to come on the back of a whale..the boy who would be chief” introduces the relationship between leadership and the whale. The quick cut to the close up of the baby’s face clearly demonstrates the narrator’s connection to the whale and therefore illustrates her leadership to the audience. This is contrasted by the cut to the mid shot of the dead mother and the narration “there was no gladness when I was born” demonstrating the pain and rejection at her birth, additionally the dialogue “my twin brother died” highlights the loss of the expected male leader at her arrival and consequent rejection of her leadership. Therefore it is clear that the horror of death and loss of Pai’s twin brother hinders others to perceive her as the prophesied chief.

Your teacher will read this and you should get some VERY positive feedback.

You are now on your way to writing fantastic paragraphs that answer the question with techniques.

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Steps from now:

1. Follow this structure for EVERY English text you encounter – whether Area of Study or Modules.

2. Always include techniques as ‘NO TECHNIQUES =- NO MARKS’.

3. Always follow the PEEL structure. (Point – Explain - Example – Link)

Important StepDo not write a full essay until you and your teacher are happy with your paragraph (unless it is the night before it is due and by not writing the whole essay you will get a zero and a N-Award Letter).

It is easier for a teacher to mark a paragraph than a whole essay and you won’t be wasting time writing a whole essay just to be told it is all wrong. Once you have written a paragraph that has a clear argument, uses techniques as evidence and flows then you can write an excellent essay – after all, every paragraph follows the same pattern (except the introduction and conclusion).

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Paragraph Writing Scaffold

What is your point?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Explain this differently

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Technique

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Quote

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Effect

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Technique

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Quote

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Effect

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Technique

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Quote

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Effect

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Link to question

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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ALLITERATIONis the repetition of consonant sounds in a series of words. If the consonants are the same but the sounds are different they do not alliterate. eg. "...the grease that kisses the onions with a hiss."from WILLIAM STREET by Kenneth Slessor

ALLUSIONis the reference to well-known figures and/or other texts eg. "And thrice I heard the Cock crow thinking I knew it's meaning well."from COCK CROW by Rosemary Dobson The reference here is to the denial of Jesus after his arrest by one of his disciples.

APPROPRIATED TEXTA text which has been taken from one context and translated The process of translation allows new insights into the original text and emphasises contextual differences between the two.

ASSONANCEis the repetition of vowel sounds. The vowels themselves may be different but the sound has to be the same. eg. "If I should die, think this only of me"from THE SOLDIER by Rupert Brooke

CLICHÉis a time-worn phrase used to explain thought or feeling. They are usually images that have lost their power to surprise because of over-use. eg. like a bat out of hell or as old as the hills or he's a cold fish.

CONNOTATIONis an idea or feeling associated with a word. Some words have richer associations than others eg 'house' may be the building in which you live but 'home' refers to the same object and has associations of warmth, family, security.

CONTEXTThe range of personal, social, historical, cultural and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.

CONVENTIONSAccepted practices or features which help define forms of texts and meaning (see genre). We recognise a genre (type of text) through its conventions eg. Conventions of a Western include such stock characters as hero (white hat), villain (black hat), school marm, bar girl, themes such as tension between the settled life of the town and the freedom of the frontier which resolves as hero rides into the sunset with his best pal, his horse.

FIGURE OF SPEECH(or figurative language) is another term used for imagery and generally refers to such devices as metaphor, simile and personification.

GENREA category or type of text that can be recognised by specific aspects of its subject matter, form and language eg. Teenflic - usually set in a high school with stock characters such as the cool kids, sport jocks, nerds. There is often a romantic interest but the central problem is usually social or ethical and problems tend to be resolved in the end with some degree of justice.

ELLIPSISrefers to the omitting words from a sentence/paragraph. It is common in transcripts of conversations and is sometimes indicated by ...

EUPHEMISM

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is an acceptable or mild expression which replaces an unpleasant or hurtful one. For example, some people find it too distressing to speak of death and so soften the effect by such terms as: he has passed on; she has gone to a better place etc.

IMAGEis a term that is has a range of meanings that are used in the study of English. It can refer to • a real or ideal resemblance eg. He moulds himself in the image of his father• a projection of light or arrangement of pixels on a screen• a public impression eg. a politician's image

IMAGERYrefers to the mental representations of pictures, sounds, smells textures and tastes that are created through powerful or interesting use of language. Imagery can often refer to figures of speech such as metaphor, simile and personification.

INTERTEXTUALITYis the ways texts make reference to other texts. These references may be • explicit such as an allusion• implied by the many different ways a composer can draw our attention to other texts (such as parallel situations, sameness of genre, satire, parody etc.)• inferred from your own reading. This refers to the way that you draw on your own experience of texts. These references need not have occurred to the composer and can in fact be drawn from texts composed at a later period. For example, our reading of the original Emma by Jane Austen is affected by the fact that we have seen the film Clueless.

JARGONrefers to the language or technical terms specific to a particular subject.

HYPERBOLEa deliberate exaggeration for dramatic effect and not intended to be taken literally eg. "...the endless cry of death and pain."from GALLIPOLI by Mary Gilmore

LANGUAGE MODESListening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and representing. These modes are often integrated and interdependent activities used in responding to and composing texts. It is important to realise that:• any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing print, sound, visual or multimedia texts; and• the refinement of the skills of any one of the modes develops skills in the others.

MEDIUMThe physical form in which the text exists or through which the text is conveyed.

METAPHORis a comparison where one thing is said to be another eg. The crimson rose of passion (Passion= crimson rose)

ONOMATOPOEIAis the use of words whose sound echoes their sense eg. "... the boom of shells"from THE REAR- GUARD by Siegfried Sassoon

OXYMORONis a contradiction in two words placed next to each other to heighten the contrast eg. "Parting is such sweet sorrow."from ROMEO AND JULIET by William ShakespearePERSPECTIVEA way of looking at situations, facts and texts and evaluating their meaning or value.

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PARADOXis a contradiction which at first seems irreconcilable, but with deeper reflection proves to be a truth. A paradox that is frequent in literature is birth in death which refers to the nature of the life cycle.

PARODYis a conscious imitation of another work usually for a satiric purpose eg. "I love a sunburnt country a land of open drains..."

REPETITIONof words is used to add emphasis eg. "Alone, alone, all, all aloneAlone on a wide, wide sea"from THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

PERSONIFICATIONis the figure of speech which gives human qualities to non-human things eg. "The Kind old Sun will know"from FUTILITY by Wilfred Owen

SARCASMis the use of sharp direct and intentionally cutting words. Literally means flesh tearing eg. "He has so many faults and defects it will be hard to replace him in the job."

SATIREis composition which holds up to ridicule human vice or frailty in a scornful and amusing way

SIMILEis the figure of speech which compares two things using 'like' or 'as' eg. "The bomb burst like a flower."from HIROSHIMA by Angela M. Clifton

TONEis the writer's attitude to his or her subject matter or readers. You can often decide the tone by imagining the tone of voice a writer might be using if speaking the text.

Source: http://www.englishteacher.com.au/glossary.php

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http://www.englishteacher.com.au/glossary.php


A list of techniques when analysing a visual text.

Angle See Framing.

Body language and gaze

Facial expressions, gestures, stance or position – can convey the attitude, feelings or personality of the individual shown. Take note of the direction of the subject’s eyes.

Composition What is included is deliberately placed (also applies to what is omitted). Consider all inclusions and omissions e.g. surroundings, objects, clothing etc.

Colour, Hue and Tone In black & white images examine the use of contrast, light and darkness. In a colour image, colours are used to signify feelings and evoke a response. E.g. Red = passion, anger, hell, vitality, etc. blue = peace, harmony or coldness.

Contrast The arrangement of opposite elements (light and dark, large and small, rough and smooth) to create interest, excitement or drama.

Framing The same camera shots and angles relevant to film. Close ups, extreme close ups, medium shots, long shots, tilted up or down shots etc.

Omissions What has been deliberately left out.

Orientation, Point of view

Relates to framing and angle: is the responder positioned above the image (looking down), below or at eye level?

Positioning Consider which objects have been placed in the foreground, middle ground or background.

Rule of thirds Divide an image into thirds from the top and sides and look at the placement of people and/or objects. An object in the top third is usually empowered whereas anything in the bottom third is disempowered.

Salience The part that your eyes are first drawn to in the visual. Colour, image and layout determine what the salient image is.

Symbolism The use of an image to represent one or more (often complex) ideas.

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Vectors The line that our eyes take when looking at a visual. Composers deliberately direct our reading path through the vectors. E.g. If all of the subjects are tall, long and upright our eyes follow straight vectors that lead to the top of the frame. This could make the subject seem powerful or inflexible.

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step-by-step guide to successful hsc essay web viewthen it cuts to an oblique close ... he moulds...

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