1. Skills Required
• Note-taking
• Understanding technical codes/knowing
media language
• Relating technical codes to representation
• Backing up points with examples
• Keeping it readable
• Writing it in the time

2. Essay Structure
• Four areas…four sections?
• Constant reference to representation
• No big intro; get on with it
• Keep conclusion short

3. Opening/Closing Sentence
Opening Sentence
In this sequence from xxx, the technical features
combine to construct representations of yyyyyy.
This follows/challenges stereotypes of yyyyy.
Concluding Sentence
As we have seen, the representation of yyyyy is
constructed by the combination of the technical
codes in the sequence.

4. In summary
Write down what technique is used
Give an example from the extract
Explain how meaning is being created for the
specific representation
Can you refer to how its working together with
another technique/write a comparative analysis for
the opposing representation/link to theory

5. Chief Examiners Top Tips
• Have a system for your notes-
use the notes table
• Be selective from the text- richest moments
• Know your terms- media language
• Make it readable on the page- paragraph gaps

6. Representation of Class and
Status
Remember this is class and status…the
two may link together in the extract or
it may focus on one of the two

7. Class and Status
• Classes (eg Made in Chelsea) – often shown as
rich, clever, snobby, very posh
• Middle Classes (eg My Family)– often shown as
“normal”, good family values, well behaved
• Working Classes (eg Coronation Street) – often shown as
poorer, less happy, less intelligent, but with strong community
links
• Lower / Under Classes (eg Shameless) – often shown as being
criminals, no family values, no community links, bad parents
etc
People have often noticed that in many TV shows, people of
different classes, don’t mix. And when they are shown
together, they are often shown as clashing andbeing very

8. What to Consider
• Can I identify what class characters are?
• Are people from different classes shown as having different
interests, personalities, attitudes, behaviours? If so, how?
• Is their class represented as being important in their life?
• Are people from particular classes portrayed as being
better, more powerful, than others?
• Are people from particular classes portrayed as being
abnormal /weaker/ more pathetic than others?
• How do other characters in the clip treat the characters
from different classes?
• What is the message the clip is trying to portray about
class?

9. Class and Status Extract
• Discuss how the representation of class and
status is represented in the extract using the
following:
– Camera shot, angle, movement and composition
– Mise en scene
– Sound
– Editing

10. Class and Status Extract

11. Merlin

12. Applying your notes
• Read the exemplar essay for the Merlin extract on
Learnzone.
• Copy two high level sentences that analyse two
different technical areas from the Merlin extract.
• Now you write a high level sentence for the same two
technical areas; applying the same sentence structure
as the exemplar essay; but for the Cranford extract
• Ensure you are meeting all the marking criteria (always
referring to representation, using specific examples,
applying terminology)…P.T.O for example

13. Example Sentences from Merlin
Essay:
3 Point Sentence Structure