level 5 exemplars and comments paper 3 sample 1: extended essay… · 2014-11-28 · sample 4:...

Level 5 exemplars and comments

Paper 3

Sample 1: Extended Essay: Imagery of Light and Darkness in The Fellowship of the Ring and The

Dark Knight

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Dark Knight

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Dark Knight

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Dark Knight

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Dark Knight

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Dark Knight

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Dark Knight

Comments

This ambitious essay discusses the ways in which the settings and characters of two major films

compare and contrast in terms of light and darkness, and analyses how these features are used

(symbolically) to present the theme of good v. evil. The essay is well written and there are several

relevant examples. The essay could have been improved by referring to religious traditions and

texts, and other classic works, in which light/darkness are similarly used, and by including some

screen shots.

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Sample 2: Extended Essay: Connecting with “the Fugitive Kind” – a Comparative Study on Blanche

DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and Sebastian Venable in Suddenly Last Summer

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Comments

This insightful essay discusses how Williams portrays fragility and vulnerability in two deeply

flawed characters in plays which treat the ‘mature’ themes of sexuality, alcoholism and mental

illness. It discusses critical times when the two characters are most vulnerable – how they are

dressed, what they do and say, what others say and do in response and what the consequences are.

The comparison is coherent for the most part, but the numerous short quotations are sometimes

confusing out of context; citing complete lines or sections of dialogue would have been better. In

general, the essay is very well written and has many insights into human nature and dramatic

techniques. There are extensive endnotes, but these are not generally too helpful: it is better to

include such information in the body of an essay in the form of in-text citations.

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Sample 3: Extended Essay: War in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down and Kingdom of Heaven

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Comments

This is a compare-and-contrast essay which looks at two films by the same director, both based on

historical ‘invasion’ incidents, but far apart in terms of the time in which they are set (Somalia,

1993; Jerusalem, 12th century). It discusses how objectively the films portray war, and how they

seem to align themselves with a certain political or cultural ideology. The essay covers aspects of

the curriculum such as reference to other cultures and belief systems, and it discusses

cinematography sensibly. The essay is also well written and thoughtful, although there could have

been more sensitivity to historical issues. There are many screen shots but it seems that these are

sometimes illustrative rather than promoting or exemplifying a particular argument (e.g. Image 1.9),

and the footnotes and references could have been more expertly handled.

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Sample 4: Extended Essay: A comparison between two versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much by

Alfred Hitchcock based on the ways he used to create suspense in the concert hall scene

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Comments

This essay compares the same scene in the 1934 and 1956 versions of the films, both directed by

Hitchcock, and so is manageable in scope. Its concentration is on filmic techniques

(cinematography) and so discusses in detail such things as the music, the cutting from one shot to

another, camera angles, shot lengths and so on. The essay is illustrated with numerous screen

shots.

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level 5 exemplars and comments paper 3 sample 1: extended essay… · 2014-11-28 · sample 4:...

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