Theatre-Making Fundamentals 2: Assessment Information

Assessment Summary
Magnitude 
Type of task  Weight within the unit
(e.g. No of words, time,
(e.g. essay, report, group performance)  (e.g. 50%) 
etc.) 
Illustrated essay 1,000-2,000 words plus 5- Pass/Fail
15 elements
Assessment Notes
This is a pass/fail unit. 
You must pass all of the above elements of assessment to pass the unit
 
Assessment Criteria
 Intellectual engagement (e.g. devising and sustaining arguments and/or solving
problems)
 Analysis and interrogation, demonstrating knowledge and understanding some
of which is at the forefront of the theoretical and practical field/industry
 Testing the validity of presented facts, opinions and hypotheses
 Self-reflection
 Effective use of research
 Communication (of, for example, ideas and concepts)
 

Your illustrated essay should respond to the following question:

Making reference to a key practitioner or practice studied in the unit and

reflecting on your practice in the session where you explored this work, discuss
how you might use these techniques when making a piece of theatre.

What is an illustrated essay?

 An illustrated essay enables you to bring together critical writing and

diagrammatical or pictorial strategies within the same piece of work in
order to reflect on and interrogate a wide range of different concepts,
theories and creative processes.
 You can decide whether you wish to include more visual ‘elements’ or more
‘critical writing’ within your illustrated essay, the balance between these is
up to you as long as you remain within the guidelines given.
 The flexible format of the essay enables you to draw on a wide range of
pictures, journal notes, images, brainstorms and other audio-visual material
in order to enable you to move fluidly between thinking and doing and
reading, writing and creating.

What is an ‘element’?
An ‘element’ refers to any visual or audio-visual component which is not usually
found within a conventional essay.
For example, (and not limited to):
 A mind map
 Images – taken by you, your colleagues or found somewhere else
 Sketches of costumes
 Diagrams
 Extracts from journals or tutorial notes
 Email correspondence
 Video or audio extracts
 Other artwork

Word count
The range of word-count and the number of non-text elements required for this
task is very broad, (i.e. 1000 words appears to be a much shorter essay than 2000
words; and 15 diagrams could hold a lot more information than 5 photographs).

This means that you can make your own judgement about how to balance your use
of written text and other elements. In general, if you want to use more non-text
elements, you should use fewer words, and vice versa.

Does my illustrated essay need to have a bibliography?

Yes. The illustrated essay requires some sections to be presented as critical writing
which will draw on references from other sources and evidence of research. These
sources must be referenced and recorded in a bibliography in the usual way.

Do I need to plan my illustrated essay?

Yes. Like all essays and other pieces of writing, the illustrated essay needs to be
planned carefully. You will need to think about how you signpost your argument or
your reflection and you will need to think carefully about how you direct your
reader through the material you present.

How do I hand in my Illustrated Essay?

You should submit your essay as an e-portfolio (which allows you to use video or
sound recordings). The Programmes office will send further information about
submission in due course.