Assessment 1: Learner response

 1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

23- C

WWW: This is a solid first A level media assessment- well done! You are close to the upper levels in several questions so the challenge now is consistently reading level 3 or 4 using depth of analysis and more media theory. 

EBI: Revise genre theory. Revise social class a little. Think about how you organise your writing (paragraphing, constructing an argument etc.) 

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

Q1- Character's eyeline looking off screen suggests danger or threat- enigma code. 

Q2- Both grounded in working class British culture but perhaps inadvertently reinforcing negative stereotypes around this. 

Q3-  Neale "repetition and difference"- allows producers to evolve genre but maintain audience; Abercrombie " television producers set out to exploit genre conventions... economic sense" "Genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience." 

Q4- Oppositional- reinforcement of negative black stereotypes (sex,drugs and R&B), central image aggressive or challenging. 

3) Read this exemplar response from a previous Year 12 (an A grade) - note this was a slightly different paper in terms of the question wording (we've updated it to better reflect recent exams). Identify at least one potential point for each question from this student's paper that you could have mentioned in your assessment. 

Q1-  Th second image illustrates an urban estate setting which suggests this film poster will fall under the genre of urban drama.

Q2-  Estates usually have the connotations of the working class who are typically black. This ideology is supported in figure 2 as the male is also depicted within a 'tough' urban environment, however it is subverted in figure 1 as there is a white male placed within the same environment. 

Q3- As stated by Abercrombie " media producers set out to exploit genre conventions, it makes economic sense." This theory is supported as it is clear that producers often repeat key conventions in order to improve the marketability of their products to mainstream audiences. 

Q4- It is clear the magazine is primarly focused on the music industry as shown by the cover lines on the magazine cover: "Kendrick Lamar, the new God MC" The fact that this is a well known music magazine also implies that the brand of Vibe is associcated with quite urban, street culture. 

4) Did you get any media terminology or theory wrong in the assessment? Make a note of it here for future revision, including theories/terminology that you could have used but didn't.

I didn't get any terminology wrong however i didn't use the genre theories that i was supposed to use in Q3 such as Neale's repetition and difference. 

5) Identify your weakest question and write five bullet points that would improve on your original response. Use the mark scheme and exemplar paper to identify these points - particularly focusing on the anticipated content and the top level descriptors.

My weakest question was Q3 as the aim was to include media theories of genre and i did not include any. 

I could have included Neale's theory about repetition and difference as well as Abercrombie's about "media producers set out to exploit genre conventions, it makes economic sense."