12 Film Essay Structure

Writing an introduction

An introduction needs to do three things:

               

1. Give important information about your text: title, author/director, year, and what it’s about. You can prepare this sentence before the exam.

Eg. “Peter Weir’s 1998 film The Truman Show is about a man named Truman Burbank, who without knowing it, is the start of a reality TV show.”

2. Answer the question.

Eg. “During the film, Truman changes from being an obedient and content man to being dissatisfied and rebellious. This helped me understand the idea that people need to be free in order to be truly happy.”

3. Give a sneak preview of the three points that are coming up in your essay.

Eg. “In this essay, I will show how costuming, dialogue and camera shot types were used to show the change in Truman.”

So here’s an example of a completed introduction:

“Peter Weir’s 1998 film The Truman Show is about a man named Truman Burbank, who without knowing it, is the start of a reality TV show. During the film, Truman changes from being an obedient and content man to being dissatisfied and rebellious. This helped me understand the idea that people need to be free in order to be truly happy. In this essay, I will show how costuming, dialogue and camera shot types were used to show the change in Truman.”                                          (82 words)

Writing a body paragraph (you need to write three of these)

The body paragraphs are the paragraphs between your introduction and your conclusion. You need to write three of these. Body paragraphs need to follow a pattern:

-          Topic sentence – this should relate back to the essay question.

Eg. Peter Weir has used costuming to show the change in Truman.

-          Explanation – more detail about your topic sentence

Eg. Truman’s costuming at the start of the film is like a child’s clothing, but by the end of the film, he is dressing like an adult.

-          Example – A specific detail from the text that supports what you have just said

Eg. For example, when Meryl finds Truman working in the garden, he is wearing a stripey shirt, bright red shorts, and sandals and socks.

-          Analysis of the example – here you explain how this example helps to answer the question

Eg. Truman’s clothing is like the clothing that a doll or soft toy would wear. This suggests that his wife Meryl may dress him. This makes us realise that he does not have much control over his life, but that he does what other people tell him to do.

-          Another example

At the end of the film, when Truman is escaping, he is wearing a dark sweater, trousers, and a sailor’s hat.

-          Analysis of the example

These clothes are more adult-like. They suggest that Truman has grown up since the start of the film. He is no longer being controlled, but is in control of his own destiny. The sailor’s hat is like the hat a captain of a ship would wear. Truman has now become his own captain.

When we put this all together, it looks like this:

Peter Weir has used costuming to show the change in Truman. Truman’s costuming at the start of the film is like a child’s clothing, but by the end of the film, he is dressing like an adult. For example, when Meryl finds Truman working in the garden, he is wearing a stripey shirt, bright red shorts, and sandals and socks. Truman’s clothing is like the clothing that a doll or soft toy would wear. This suggests that his wife Meryl may dress him. This makes us realise that he does not have much control over his life, but that he does what other people tell him to do. At the end of the film, when Truman is escaping, he is wearing a dark sweater, trousers, and a sailor’s hat. These clothes are more adult-like. They suggest that Truman has grown up since the start of the film. He is no longer being controlled, but is in control of his own destiny. The sailor’s hat is like the hat a captain of a ship would wear. Truman has now become his own captain.                                                                                                         (182 words)

The shaded parts of the paragraph are the analysis parts – you can see that the analysis should make up about half of each of your body paragraphs.

Writing a conclusion

Your conclusion needs to do three things

-          refer to the real world

-          refer to your text and your answer to the question

-          refer to yourself

Eg.   Many people in the world are not free to be themselves. The change in Truman in The Truman Show shows us that it’s more important to be free than comfortable. The film makes me wonder if we’ve traded freedom for comfort in New Zealand.