To make a video explaining a social issue for school, narrow the issue to one specific question, explain it through one person's experience and then the evidence behind it, and end with what is being done or could be done. Use a composite or fictional character rather than a real classmate, say so on screen, and describe the people affected the way they describe themselves. Structure it as hook, what the issue is, causes, effects, evidence, responses and your conclusion. Keep it to three to five minutes, around 450 to 750 spoken words, with every statistic sourced on screen. Teachers mark the explanation and the evidence. Emotional music and shocking images earn nothing and can cost you marks for fairness.

Narrow the issue until it fits

"Mental health", "poverty" and "climate change" are not video topics. They are fields. A three to five minute video can explain one mechanism inside a field, and a narrower topic always produces a clearer video.

Each narrow version contains a "why", which forces your video to explain a cause rather than describe a situation. That "why" is where the marks are.

The structure that rubrics reward

Social issue projects in civics, PSHE, social studies, health and sociology classes tend to be marked on the same things: understanding of causes and effects, use of evidence, a range of perspectives, a reasoned conclusion, and respectful treatment of the people involved. This structure covers all of them.

1. Hook (15 to 30 seconds). One moment from one person's day that shows the issue.
2. What it is (30 seconds). A plain definition, in the words used by the people affected where possible.
3. Causes (45 to 60 seconds). Why it happens. Usually more than one cause, so name two or three.
4. Effects (45 to 60 seconds). What it does to people, with evidence.
5. Perspectives (30 seconds). Who sees it differently, and why.
6. Responses (30 to 45 seconds). What individuals, schools or governments are doing or could do.
7. Conclusion and sources (20 seconds). Your answer to the question, then sources on screen.

Worked example: autistic masking, a young person's day

Masking (researchers also call it camouflaging) is when autistic people hide or suppress autistic traits to fit in: forcing eye contact, rehearsing conversations in advance, copying how other people behave, holding in movements like hand flapping that help them regulate. It is a strong school topic because most classmates have never heard the word, it happens in school itself, and there is real research on it, including interview studies with autistic adults and a questionnaire built to measure it, the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q).

The character is Maya, a fourteen-year-old who is a composite, not a real person. Say so in the first scene. A composite lets you show a day without exposing anyone's private life.

The question: why do many autistic young people mask at school, and what does it cost them? About 650 words, four and a half minutes.

Scene 1, hook. "Maya has a practised smile for the school gate. She has worked out how long to hold eye contact before it looks strange: about three seconds. Maya is not a real person. She is a composite, built from what autistic people have described in research and in their own writing." On screen: Maya at the gate, a small note in the corner reading "composite character".

Scene 2, what it is. "Maya is autistic. Many autistic people say they spend the school day masking: hiding the things that make them visibly autistic, so that other people do not notice." On screen: Maya with a thought bubble listing eye contact, scripted replies, hands kept still.

Scene 3, the morning. "In maths, the strip lights hum loudly to her, though not to anyone else. She does not cover her ears, because someone laughed last time. She copies how the girl next to her sits." On screen: the classroom, a sound wave drawn from the light, Maya's hands flat on the desk.

Scene 4, causes. "Why mask? Autistic people describe three reasons over and over: to avoid being bullied or singled out, to make and keep friends, and because they learned early that their natural behaviour got them in trouble." On screen: three labelled arrows pointing towards Maya.

Scene 5, who masks. "Studies suggest masking is common across genders but has been noticed more in girls, which is one reason many autistic girls are diagnosed later than boys, or not until adulthood." On screen: two timelines of diagnosis age, one later than the other, with a source line.

Scene 6, the cost. "By the end of the day, Maya has had no breaks from performing. At home she shuts down, cannot talk, and needs hours alone. In research, autistic adults who mask more report more exhaustion, anxiety and depression, and many describe losing track of who they are." On screen: Maya's energy drawn as a bar emptying across the day, then at home on her bed.

Scene 7, perspectives. "Some autistic people say masking has helped them get through job interviews and school. Others say it is the main reason they burned out. Most say they would mask less if the people around them were more accepting." On screen: three short speech bubbles, each labelled with its source.

Scene 8, responses. "Schools can lower the cost: a quiet space at lunch, permission to wear ear defenders, teachers who do not demand eye contact, and classmates who do not comment on stimming. None of these cost much." On screen: the classroom again, with the four changes labelled.

Scene 9, conclusion. "Masking is not a choice made once. It is effort spent every hour, because the room is not built for the person in it. Making the room a little easier means less of that effort is needed." On screen: Maya at the gate, without the practised smile. Then the sources scene.

Every claim in scenes 4 to 7 needs a source on screen or in the sources scene: a peer-reviewed study, a reputable autism organisation, or published writing by autistic people. Do not invent numbers. If you cannot find a reliable figure for something, say it in words without one.

Treating people fairly

This is often a named rubric criterion, and it is the part students most often get wrong without meaning to.

• Use the language the community uses. Many autistic people prefer "autistic person" to "person with autism". Many deaf people prefer "Deaf" with a capital letter for the community. Look it up for your issue, and mention your choice in one line if it is debated.
• No pity framing. Show a person with a problem caused by their situation, not a person who is the problem. Sad music under a disabled character teaches the viewer to pity rather than understand.
• Composite or fictional characters only, unless a real person has given clear permission and your teacher has agreed. Never use a classmate's story, even anonymously, without asking them.
• Quote people affected, not only experts about them. Published first-person writing counts and is easy to cite.
• Avoid shocking images. For issues involving self-harm, abuse or violence, explain rather than depict, and check your school's guidance before choosing the topic at all.

A drawn style helps with several of these. A drawn composite character does not look like any real student, and a whiteboard drawing of a classroom makes a point about the room without anyone's face in it. If your video follows the same character through several scenes, or you make a short series, how to keep the same character across a video series covers keeping them consistent.

Make it

1. 1

   Narrow the issue to one question with a why

   Not 'mental health' but 'why many autistic young people mask at school'. Check the topic with your teacher if it touches on anything sensitive.

2. 2

   Collect four to six sources

   At least one study or official statistic, one reputable organisation, and one first-person account from someone affected. Note what each one supports.

3. 3

   Build a composite character

   One person, one day, built from your sources. Decide how you will label them as a composite in the first scene.

4. 4

   Write the script in seven parts

   Hook, what it is, causes, effects, perspectives, responses, conclusion. 450 to 750 words. Mark each claim with the source it came from.

5. 5

   Paste it into openCanviz and keep your wording

   Set a three to five minute target. Pick a calm style such as whiteboard or doodle on paper, and keep the same character across scenes. Fix any scene that looks mocking or pitying.

6. 6

   Check facts, add the sources scene, export

   Read every on-screen number against its source. Free exports carry a watermark; a one-off payment unlocks a clean export of that project to hand in.

Common questions

Can I interview someone affected by the issue? Yes, with their clear permission, their choice about whether to be named or shown, and your teacher's agreement. Many students record audio only and draw the scenes, which protects the person's privacy.

Should I give my own opinion? In the conclusion, yes, if the brief asks for one. Base it on the evidence you showed, and make sure your perspectives scene gave the main opposing view a fair hearing first.

How do I show statistics without a wall of numbers? One number per scene, drawn as something countable: a bar, a group of figures, a share of a circle. Say the number in words and put the source on the same scene.

What if my topic is about health? Many health topics overlap with social issues. How to make a video for a health class covers the health specific rules, and how to make a video for a school project covers academic honesty and AI tools.

Can I use AI to write the script? Check your school's policy first. Even where it is allowed, write the question, choose the sources and decide the conclusion yourself; those are what you are marked on, and drafted text can misstate statistics.