Media Paper 2 mock exam - Learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).

WWW: Q3 is strong and you make good points elsewhere too. 

EBI: revise TV regulation industries and magazine Csps. 

2) Did you succeed in meeting or exceeding your target grade for A Level Media in this paper? If not, how many additional marks do you need to achieve your target grade in Paper 2? 16 marks 

Now read through the real AQA mark scheme for Paper 2. 

3) Write a question-by-question analysis of your performance. For each question, write how many marks you got from the number available and identify any points that you missed by carefully studying the AQA indicative content in the mark scheme:

Question 1: 

  • the construction of masculinity can be read as paradoxical, with aspects of vulnerability (the pleading look, body language, nakedness) combined with traditional strength
  • the minimal style of the cover – in contrast to other magazines – places it as an alternative, independent publication – form of deconstruction
Question 2: 

Capital
  •  As a public service broadcaster, the BBC can be seen as exemplifying the argument that the media has to be regulated (in this case by Ofcom) in order to protect the public interest.
  • The prestige nature of its cast and source material, Sunday evening scheduling, the representation of contemporary political and cultural issues (the ‘state of the nation’) signify the programme as a serious, quality product which is worthy of public funding.
Deutschland 83
  • The German broadcast system is similar to that of the UK, with a mix of public service broadcast channels and private companies, all of which are nationally regulated, suggesting a belief in the argument of the need to protect the audience.
  • Deutschland 83 is produced by the private German company RTL, a subsidiary of the European conglomerate Bertelsman – characteristic of the ownership structure of commercial media industries.
Question 3:

The Sims FreePlay
  •  The representation of contemporary social and cultural contexts is central to the game – part of its appeal and ongoing success.
  • The game producers foreground issues of representation in the game and its marketing – often focusing on the importance of progressive representations which are debated in social and cultural contexts.
Horizon Forbidden West
  • The construction of a future, post-apocalyptic world for the setting could distance it from contemporary cultural contexts or be read as a metaphor for them.
  • The use of technology to create a realist aesthetic may reinforce a reading of the game as being about the real world (cultural contexts).
  • The representation of the central female character can be read as representing issues of gender but also the specific cultural context of accusations of misogyny in the gaming industry.

4) Look at question 4 - the synoptic question. How many of the four key concepts did you cover in your answer? Write a new essay plan for this question using the indicative content in the mark scheme and taking care to include at least three of Language - Representations - Audience - Industries. You can use bullet points but make sure you offer enough content to meet the criteria for Level 5 (top level). This will be somewhere between 3-4 well-developed paragraphs planned in some detail.

GQ

  • The aesthetic (media language and representation) is part of the selling point of the magazine which is specific to the print form.
  • Aesthetic is positioned more with alternative magazine styles (eg Kinfolk, Frame) than mainstream (eg Men’s Health) 
  • Audience is targeted through consumerism and notions of ideal images in a similar was to the construction of a mainstream, mass mode of address.
The Gentlewoman

  • Focus on ‘long form’ journalism as opposed to celebrity-led profiles.
  • Focus on literature, environment, design and architecture suggests the way the producers construct a specialised readership.
  • Explicit focus on modernist design in the aesthetic of the magazine differentiates the representations from those aimed at a mass audience.
  • Coverage of mainstream women’s magazine subject areas such as fashion and beauty are constructed to be authentic in opposition to negative consumerism – focus on individuality. The Gentlewoman ‘club’ personifies the brand’s (paradoxical?) attempt to mix consumer luxury and alternative taste to target a specialised audience.

5) Based on the whole of your Paper 2 learner response, plan FIVE topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise in your Easter Media revision timetable.

Social, cultural contexts , Industries , magazines 

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