Design Essentials
Four model paragraphs + the terminology that actually earns marks.
Look closely: Which of these checks is easiest to forget when writing an exam answer?
Board lens: Not set
How to use this page
Pick one paragraph and adapt it to the extract: add one specific moment and one audience effect. That’s the difference between “nice idea” and “marks”.
Extract focus
Pick what your extract is mostly about. The four model paragraphs will rewrite to match.
Tip: still add one *specific moment* from the extract.
Set: Composite stage + class as space
composite setrostrum/levelsset dressingproxemics
Lighting: class contrast + Narrator as fate
washintensityprofile spotsnapuplight
Terminology mini-bank
Composite setMultiple locations visible at once for fast episodic transitions.
Rostrum / levelsHeight signals status; forces characters to “look up”.
Wash / intensityGeneral coverage and brightness—powerful for class contrast.
Profile spot / snapHard-edged isolation; instant cue changes for shock/fate.
Diegetic / non-diegeticHeard by characters vs heard only by audience.
Motif / underscoreRecurring idea-music vs background tension layer.
Silhouette / breaking downOverall shape; artificial ageing to show poverty/wear.
Audience effectAlways state what the audience understands/feels because of the choice.