Quick questions on Individual Project Critical Analysis: HSC Drama practical

Length. 2,500 words. The word count is strict; substantially over or under reads as not meeting the brief. Footnotes are typically counted within the word limit; check your school's rules.

Specific. "Brecht" is too broad. "Brecht's use of song in The Threepenny Opera" or "Brecht's verfremdungseffekt in Mother Courage as a response to the political moment of 1939" is workable.

Primary material. The plays themselves. Read each play under discussion fully, multiple times. Watch productions where available (Belvoir, STC, MTC and major British and American companies often have archival recordings or production photographs).

A typical 2,500 word essay structures as:

Draft early. A first draft by start of Term 3 leaves three months for revision. A first draft in October is too late.

The Critical Analysis essay is, in skill terms, an extended English Advanced essay. Students taking English Advanced and Extension typically transfer their writing skills directly. The Critical Analysis is an opportunity to develop research depth and citation discipline beyond what English typically asks for, which serves Year 13 university essays.

Section III of the written paper (Critical Analysis or theatre critic essay) shares the orientation of the Critical Analysis Individual Project, although in compressed form. Students who do the Critical Analysis path tend to write Section III responses with more confidence. The written-paper essay is shorter and answers a set question; the Individual Project is longer and answers a question the student has framed.

2,500 words. The word count is strict; substantially over or under reads as not meeting the brief. Footnotes are typically counted within the word limit; check your school's rules.

An academic essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Footnotes (or in-text citations, depending on the chosen referencing style) and a bibliography.

The essay is submitted to the school for school assessment, then forwarded to NESA at the end of the year along with the logbook.

The topic is registered with NESA early in the year (usually Term 1). The registered topic is binding; you cannot change the topic substantially after registration.

"Brecht" is too broad. "Brecht's use of song in The Threepenny Opera" or "Brecht's verfremdungseffekt in Mother Courage as a response to the political moment of 1939" is workable.

The student needs to be able to find primary plays and secondary scholarship. Topics on canonical figures (Beckett, Brecht, Lawler, Williamson, Enoch and Mailman) have plentiful scholarship. Topics on emerging figures may have limited scholarship.

A topic that has no genuine controversy ("Beckett used minimal sets") gives no room for an argument. A topic with real critical debate ("Is Mother Courage a critique or an endorsement of Mother Courage's economic survival?") gives room for argument.

Topics that build on the Australian Drama and Theatre core or the Studies in Drama and Theatre elective use what the student already knows. The Critical Analysis essay does not need to overlap with the written exam topics, but it often does.