Answering the Question 1: Interpreting the Question

The question for the TV Drama section of the examination paper will be worded along these lines (three examples follow):

From January 2009: "How is the representation of age constructed in this extract?"


From Summer 2009: "How is the representation of gender constructed in this extract?"


From January 2010: "How is the representation of ethnicity constructed in this extract?"



In other words, the question is identical each year; "How is the representation of SOMETHING constructed in this extract?" There are really only two differences:

1. The actual clip, obviously.
2. What that SOMETHING is. You may be asked to write about any one from the following list:

Gender
Age
Ethnicity
Sexuality
Class and status
Physical ability/disability
Regional identity

So your first job when making your notes in the exam is to write down in big letters at the top of the page: GENDER, or AGE, or ETHNICITY or whatever...