Opening Paragraphs

What an opening paragraph should include: 

Within an opening paragraph, you need to define any key terminology that has been used in the question in order to show that you understand the meaning. For example, if you are asked a question on representation, you should demonstrate your understanding by defining what representation is. You should not begin your analysis in your opening paragraph but instead show your understanding of the concept using key terminology, possibly by outlining the points you will go on to explain in more detail. For example, writing the stereotypes of the category you have been asked to talk about in a representation question.

Representation 

Opening paragraph for a representation question based on age: 

Representation is a constructed process in which the producer is re-presenting something to an audience based on stereotypes. The representation of young people contrasts greatly with the representation of older people within the media. The common stereotypes of young people include being: aggressive, anti-social, disrespectful and involved with gang culture, drink, drugs and teen pregnancies. The common stereotypes of older people include: deafness, grumpiness, inability to function effectively in society, slow and weak. The dominant ideology of the media text, which includes a representation of age, controls how a particular age group is presented and they also control how the text is mediated which results in a constructed view which an audience may have to rely on.

Audience 

Opening paragraph for an audience question- how audiences may respond differently to the same media text:

As the reception theory states, an audience is made up of individuals who will respond in different ways to the same media text based on their own perception. This perception is due to a range of factors which help to create an active audience as oppose to a passive audience. These factors include: gender, age, ethnicity, culture, cultural experiences, cultural competence and situated culture. There are three main ways in which are audience can respond differently to a media text which are: the preferred reading, the negotiated reading and the oppositional reading.