Media Paper 1 mock exam - Learner response

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

WWW: You saved the best until last- this is you best answer, demonstrating good understanding

EBI: More details of the CSPs would be useful

Now read through the genuine AQA mark scheme. This is vital as the paper was an official exam paper and therefore the mark scheme tells us a lot about what AQA are expecting us to produce. Please note that some of the CSPs have changed since last year's exam so we've updated some of the indicative content for our 2024 CSPs.


2) 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:

Points that I could have added to answer:

Q1: The iconic look sported by the model is that of the 1950s film star cf. Grace Kelly

or Marilyn Monroe - the archetypal post-war blonde bombshell beauty, arguably

designed to accommodate the male gaze.

All of the key signifiers in the advert are intentionally used to connote aspects of

‘femininity’, purposefully reiterating and reinforcing myths around beauty and

ultimately the nature of a woman’s place in post-war society.

Q2: Both products address aspects of gender identity and representation directly

within the context of their respective form

Both advertisements promote similar brands and to some extent engage with

well-established codes and conventions associated with advertising products

However it could be argued that the stereotypes have been updated or altered through the emphasis of black culture.

Q3: Baudrillard’s ideas and theories on postmodernism.

the product has an impact due to the sexist character of its images and to its

association with a largely unremembered historical context

the relationship between sex, gender, sexuality and power is transparent/

exposed (deconstructed): this was never ‘real’ always ‘fantastic’

Q4: Constructed identity - the ways in which audiences actively and consciously

integrate media content into their own relationships and lifestyles.

negotiated identity - the balance between the need to conform to wider media

constructs and the subjective desires of the audience

collective identity - the sense of belonging to a particular group through the

shared experience of engagement with a media text.

Old town road is the ultimate postmodern media text - explicitly and knowingly playing with identity

Q6: theatrical trailers of varying lengths were also released with a PG certificate to

make them widely available to a range of potential audiences globally

the tried and tested publicity methods of press junkets, festivals and interviews

were also used to promote the film. That said, the distributors spent a long

time (arguably too long) on the festival circuit trying to publicise the film

Q7: War of the Worlds was made at a time when audiences had a limited ability

to directly engage in the production of media products

that said, audience reaction to the product (press exaggeration aside)

suggested that audiences felt able to 'interact' with the product using

back-channel mechanisms

Newsbeat’s aim is to offer a succinct and accessible news service suitably

packaged for a ‘young’ audience aged between 16–35 years

that said, the ‘contact us’ web page for the product aims to make

the aspects of this gatekeeping process visible to its audience and

consistently talks in terms of ‘you’ being at the heart of editorial decisions;

emphasising the idea of an audience and producer ‘in partnership’

3) Look at Question 4 - a 20-mark essay evaluating Shirky's 'End of audience' theory. Write an essay plan for this question using the indicative content in the mark scheme and with enough content to meet the criteria for Level 4 (top level). This will be somewhere between 3-4 well-developed paragraphs plus an introduction answering the question planned in some detail.

"End of Audience" 

War of worlds - Audience are dependent on the producers. They used fake professors: two-step flow model.

"most people who listened to radio at the time arguably expected to be

entertained or informed by content and placed trust in the producers to

provide programming for a specific purpose which adhered to certain

standards and conventions"

Newsbeat - Audiences listen to other media or are producing media of their own: Prosumers.

"Newsbeat was originally created to adhere to the BBC’s (rather patrician)

ethos that a public service broadcaster has a responsibility to provide a

‘high-quality’ and ‘trustworthy’ news service to all sections of society. The

content is now ‘simulcast’ (as a result of budget cuts) to niche audiences

listening on Radio1 Xtra and BBC Asian network as well as Radio 1"

4) Based on the whole of your Paper 1 learner response, plan FIVE topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise in your summer exam Media revision timetable.

Focus on the question and revise Cps more such as the score hair cream advert and black beauty advert, revise more on old town road and theories linked to it. Revise audiences theory, Gauntlett.