A LEVEL FRENCH REVISION SHEET -Critical Response in Writing
ENTRE LES MURS (LA CLASSE)
Writing about a film
Dans ce film, il s’agit de…
Mon analyse s’appuie sur…
… nous permet de comprendre la manière dont…
Une manière dont le réalisateur …, c’ est ...
L’action se déroule à …
Il est un des fondateurs de (la nouvelle vague)
C’est avec … que le réalisateur a fait sa marque
Les effets spéciaux sont / Le dialogue est …
Comme ces exemples l’indiquent…
Comme je l’ai démontré,…
le réalisateur a voulu montrer que.../ dénoncer
Guidance on Structuring your Essay:
Learners could use the following ideas, if relevant to the question set, to help them structure their
essay:
• Consider the main events of the film/text, i.e. the plot: is it linear? Is it chronological? Does it move
around in time? Are there flashback sequences and why?
, • Identify the characters relevant to the question. Which character changes most during the plot? Who
or what causes the change in the character? Consider key events which illustrate this. Look at
relationships between characters and what happens to them.
• Is it a first-person narrative? Is your protagonist (main character) narrating the film/text, or is he/she
an observer of the events? Is the narrator reliable or unreliable?
• Establish the film/text’s main themes. The theme is the main idea of the film/text, there can be a
number of themes. Which theme is the most important for this question? Has the question indicated a
particular theme to analyse?
• Think about the film/text, in a wider context. What does the theme say about the world, human
nature, human experience or human values? What was the director/author trying to convey? How
successful has he/she been in your opinion in conveying that message?
• Look at the words/listen to the dialogue. What imagery does the author use? This is easy to identify if
you take notes throughout reading the text or watching the film since it can be a chapter or whole scene
or just a few words or dialogue. In what places does the author/director evoke your senses: touch, taste,
smell, sight and hearing?
• Identify symbolism in the film/text. Symbolism means the use of objects, people or elements of the
story to represent something else.
• Do any of the characters symbolise something? Is the setting symbolic? Symbolism is easier to spot
the second time you watch a film or read a text, when you are already aware of the general events of
the story and can focus on the underlying meaning.
• Consider the style and tone of the language of the film/text. Is it formal or informal? Does the
narrator or a specific character make you laugh or feel sad? Does any scene make you react angrily or in
solidarity? The ways in which scenes and chapters are structured can have an effect on how you respond
to the film/text.
• Short, apt quotations can be used to illustrate a point but lengthy quotes are not necessary and often
detract from the point being made. An essay should not be built around pre-learnt quotations which, if
not used appropriately may detract from the quality of the essay. If quotations are used, they must be
correct. The above ideas will help learners to structure the main body of the essay in a clear and concise
way. The two key words here are clarity and concision.
Examiners Comments on Essay Structure:
“Generally speaking candidates have very good knowledge of plot, theme and characters but it is vitally
important that they answer the question set and not write long detailed essays which often have no
relevance to the question. After selecting the question candidates should then plan an essay around this.
The rubric states Écrivez environ 250 mots en français. Many essays were well in excess of this and
candidates produced several pages of writing. Long introductions, especially of the “Tout d’abord je vais
aborder la question “………”, “En premier lieu je vais……, en deuxième lieu je vais…” were very common.
ENTRE LES MURS (LA CLASSE)
Writing about a film
Dans ce film, il s’agit de…
Mon analyse s’appuie sur…
… nous permet de comprendre la manière dont…
Une manière dont le réalisateur …, c’ est ...
L’action se déroule à …
Il est un des fondateurs de (la nouvelle vague)
C’est avec … que le réalisateur a fait sa marque
Les effets spéciaux sont / Le dialogue est …
Comme ces exemples l’indiquent…
Comme je l’ai démontré,…
le réalisateur a voulu montrer que.../ dénoncer
Guidance on Structuring your Essay:
Learners could use the following ideas, if relevant to the question set, to help them structure their
essay:
• Consider the main events of the film/text, i.e. the plot: is it linear? Is it chronological? Does it move
around in time? Are there flashback sequences and why?
, • Identify the characters relevant to the question. Which character changes most during the plot? Who
or what causes the change in the character? Consider key events which illustrate this. Look at
relationships between characters and what happens to them.
• Is it a first-person narrative? Is your protagonist (main character) narrating the film/text, or is he/she
an observer of the events? Is the narrator reliable or unreliable?
• Establish the film/text’s main themes. The theme is the main idea of the film/text, there can be a
number of themes. Which theme is the most important for this question? Has the question indicated a
particular theme to analyse?
• Think about the film/text, in a wider context. What does the theme say about the world, human
nature, human experience or human values? What was the director/author trying to convey? How
successful has he/she been in your opinion in conveying that message?
• Look at the words/listen to the dialogue. What imagery does the author use? This is easy to identify if
you take notes throughout reading the text or watching the film since it can be a chapter or whole scene
or just a few words or dialogue. In what places does the author/director evoke your senses: touch, taste,
smell, sight and hearing?
• Identify symbolism in the film/text. Symbolism means the use of objects, people or elements of the
story to represent something else.
• Do any of the characters symbolise something? Is the setting symbolic? Symbolism is easier to spot
the second time you watch a film or read a text, when you are already aware of the general events of
the story and can focus on the underlying meaning.
• Consider the style and tone of the language of the film/text. Is it formal or informal? Does the
narrator or a specific character make you laugh or feel sad? Does any scene make you react angrily or in
solidarity? The ways in which scenes and chapters are structured can have an effect on how you respond
to the film/text.
• Short, apt quotations can be used to illustrate a point but lengthy quotes are not necessary and often
detract from the point being made. An essay should not be built around pre-learnt quotations which, if
not used appropriately may detract from the quality of the essay. If quotations are used, they must be
correct. The above ideas will help learners to structure the main body of the essay in a clear and concise
way. The two key words here are clarity and concision.
Examiners Comments on Essay Structure:
“Generally speaking candidates have very good knowledge of plot, theme and characters but it is vitally
important that they answer the question set and not write long detailed essays which often have no
relevance to the question. After selecting the question candidates should then plan an essay around this.
The rubric states Écrivez environ 250 mots en français. Many essays were well in excess of this and
candidates produced several pages of writing. Long introductions, especially of the “Tout d’abord je vais
aborder la question “………”, “En premier lieu je vais……, en deuxième lieu je vais…” were very common.
