The Big Screen
Documentary Films
WORLD CINEMA & LION
FILM CRITICISM & DEBATES
DIRECTED WRITING SKILLS
100

This 2016 film starring Dev Patel tells the true story of five-year-old Saroo getting lost on a train in India and searching for his biological family using Google Earth.

Lion

100

Modern documentaries aim beyond showing reality; they seek to engage viewers on a personal level to inspire this type of outcome.

What is social change (or a social movement / reaction)?

100

Five-year-old Saroo is lost thousands of miles from home when his desperate cries for help are drowned out by this metaphoric phrase.

What is "an ocean of people"?

100

The writer of the Cruella article argues that screenwriters rely on villains like James Bond's Ernst Blofeld or Batman's Joker to wreak this upon the innocent.

Havoc

100

When writing a formal letter of complaint, you should maintain a serious and respectful tone by opening with this title format.

What is Mr/Mrs/Ms (followed by their surname)?

200

Disney’s 2021 film starring Emma Stone reignited the debate over whether classic movie villains should be given sympathetic backstories or remain "pure evil."

Cruella

200

According to the film director in Text A, this is the main creative reason that attracted him to making independent documentaries.

What is creative freedom?

200

While living on the streets, another vulnerable child shows generosity to young Saroo by sharing a piece of this material for sleeping.

What is a cardboard box?

200

In her formal complaint letter, Mrs. J. Eze states that typical leading ladies in films are thin, beautiful, and almost always of this ethnicity.

What is white?

200

When writing an interview transcript, you should format the page like this specific text type, using names on the left followed by a colon.

What is a playscript?

300

In Text B, the interviewed viewer describes young Saroo navigating the chaos of this massive Indian city completely alone and scared.

What is Calcutta (or Kolkata)

300

This 2016 documentary inspired millions to reduce plastic bags and straws, prompting some governments to ban single-use takeaway cutlery.

What is A Plastic Ocean?

300

In Text B, the interviewed moviegoer states that Saroo navigating the chaos of this massive Indian city puts life into perspective.

What is Calcutta (or Kolkata)?

300

In the Cruella article, this anti-hero film starring Ryan Reynolds is cited as an example of screenwriters giving complex, sympathetic traits to dark characters.

What is Deadpool?

300

Active voice places the emphasis on the subject doing the action, whereas this voice places the emphasis on the action being done to the subject.

What is the passive voice?

400

Alfonso Cuarón used a monochromatic palette in this 2018 autobiographical film to highlight the tender, tragic life of Cleo, a domestic worker in 1970s Mexico.

Roma

400

The director in Text A credits this specific 2014 documentary for moving him so deeply that he became a vegan.

What is Cowspiracy?

400

Saroo’s adoptive parents, living in Hobart, Australia, raise him to love this national sport and aspire to become a hotel manager.

What is cricket?

400

Mrs. J. Eze argues that movie directors often defend cliché, repetitive storylines by claiming they are simply "making what" does this.

What is "making what sells"?

400

Even when writing for peers or a young audience, students must avoid non-standard English and this excessive level of informal expression.

What is extremely informal language (or excessive slang)?

500

When analyzing a source text for an interview transcript, this study strategy uses three different colored highlighters to match text details directly to prompt questions before paraphrasing.

Traffic light technique

500

Modern documentaries help set the political agenda by exposing negative practices on issues previously disregarded by these two entities.

What are governments and international organisations?

500

The review of Lion warns that vulnerable street children face constant danger from "vultures," as shown by Saroo’s interaction with this sinister woman.

Who is Noor?

500

Rather than propping up societal stereotypes, the letter writer argues that it is a film director’s ultimate responsibility to do this.

What is break boundaries?

500

Verbs that explicitly state the writer's stance in an article—such as "I claim", "I assert", or "I maintain" are known as these.

What are argumentative verbs?

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