When you analyse media texts for the first time, it can be difficult to understand exactly what your markers are looking for when they read your responses.

The guide below is for students who would like a structure in which to shape their responses. Remember, this is not the only way to approach media analysis. It will, though, help you to ensure that you cover the major aspects of what your markers are expecting.

And remember, when we refer to a “media text”, we mean any text that could be studied in media. This includes films, websites, photography, newspaper articles, podcasts and many others.

1) Think about HOW THE TEXT MAKES YOU FEEL.

Create a list of adjectives to describe how the text makes you feel. Here, you might focus on the text as a whole, or you might find it easier to create a few lists of adjectives that are related to different aspects of the text such as characters, settings or events.

For example, you might describe the atmosphere of the text as being eerie or intimidating, a character as being nervous or vulnerable, or an interviewee as being brash or dominant.

2) Identify the TECHNIQUES used in the text to INFLUENCE THE AUDIENCE’S RESPONSE.

For each of the adjectives that you have written for part 1 above, list at least one if not a number of techniques used in the text that help to achieve this specific effect on the audience.

You may want to do this in a table format, in a similar way to the one below.

ADJECTIVE(S) TO DESCRIBE THE TEXT TECHNIQUES USED TO ACHIEVE THIS EFFECT ON THE AUDIENCE

Eg: The setting was claustrophobic and constricted. * Tightly framed camera shots, often close-ups or over-the-shoulder shots.

* The city was often shot from ground-level, with the camera occasionally looking up at tall buildings that would block out natural light.

Now that you have considered the audience’s response to the text and how they have been positioned to have this response, you can start to write sentences or paragraphs about your text. Consider the paragraph starters below as some effective ways in which you might want to open your discussion.

PARAGRAPH STARTERS:

1. The audience are positioned to see [insert the event/place/character/etc that is the focus of your text] as being [insert adjective]. The [director/journalist/etc] achieves this through their use of [insert techniques].

2. The purpose of the [director/journalist/etc] was to encourage the audience to see [event/place/character/etc] as [adjective]. The most important technique they used was [technique].

3. The [director/journalist/etc] effectively utilised a range of techniques in combination with each other to ensure the audience thought that [event/place/character/etc] was [adjective]. An example of this is when [technique] and [technique] are used together when [provide example moment from the text].

4. When [example moment from the text], the [director/journalist/etc] encourages the audience to feel that [event/place/character/etc] was [adjective]. During this moment, the use of [technique] enhances the audience’s understanding by…

Once you have begun your paragraph, you will then need to explain the techniques in more detail, connecting them clearly to the adjectives you have identified in your table and then providing an example where these techniques are used.