How the MS1 (AS) exam is structured.

The golden rules

The structure to the MS1 exam is fairly straightforward, as long as you remember the following two things:

1. There are three separate questions; textual analysis, audience and representation
2. Question one is always textual analysis, but question two and three can swap round. However one will always be on audience, and one will always be on representation. 

So reading the question is essential!

Here's a quick run-down of what you have to do for each question:

Question one: the textual analysis one

This is the longest question and is worth 40 marks. This year (May 2016) you will be shown an audiovisual extract. You will watch this extract three times, and will be allowed to make notes as you watch it. Don't worry about this part too much: there are very detailed instructions on the screen.

You will be given an open and question that will ask you to comment on specific textual aspects. For example

Analyse the [news reports] commenting on:

• visual codes
• technical and audio codes
• genre conventions

You will be expected to address all of the aspects given to you. It is very likely, given it's an audiovisual text you will be watching, that visual codes and technical codes will come up, but depending on the text genre, narrative, language, graphics etc can also be mentioned. Just make sure you are totally familiar with the toolkit for textual analysis. Make sure you are using specific terminology in every paragraph.

This is the longest question and is worth the most marks. You do not need to bring your own case studies in to this question, as you will be analysing the one text that has been given to you (though you might like to make brief reference to similar texts).

In order to secure a C grade, you will need to evidence a point of view about the meaning of the text.

In order to push towards higher marks, (for example an A grade), you will need to identify the ideology of the text, why the producer has made the text,  polysemic (multiple) audience interpretations and why this important.

Top tip - The examiner wants to see you refer to everything that is mentioned in the question, eg visual codes, technical codes, audio codes... Use this as your essay plan, and write around two short paragraphs for each! Additionally, remember that it's an essay. Use PEA paragraph structure, exactly like you have been taught!

Question two: the bitty one

Question two will be presented in several pieces. The first couple of 'bits' will refer to the extract you just saw. You will need to look at the number of marks available for each question to know how much detail to put in. You will also need to pay close attention to the wording of the questions: it will either be about audience or representation!

Here's an example of what a question 2 can look like. However, please remember that the number of marks for each 'bit' can change:

2 a) Suggest two different audiences for the BBC News shown at 10.00 pm. Give brief reasons for your suggestions. [6]

2 b) How is the main audience for Newsround attracted to this programme? [9]

2 c) With reference to your own detailed examples, explore what influences how audiences or users respond to media texts. [15]


Looking at the marks, you can see you need to put more detail in to the higher mark questions. Let's take 2 a). It's six marks for you to identify two audiences and give brief reasons for your choice. So that's three marks per suggestion. This works out as

One mark for identifying an audience (for example for Newsround, male, middle class, 8 - 16 years old)
One mark for offering a simple reason for why this audience would watch it ("the mode of address uses simple language, appropriate to an 8 - 16 year old boy")
One mark for a slightly more detailed response (in addition to the above statement, "the selection of stories focuses on UK issues, and is delivered in a typically middle class accent, allowing British middle class audiences to identify with it"

For part b), in this instance it's nine marks. You will need to make specific reference to audience theory to push towards the higher marks. Here are some suggestions, quoted straight from the mark scheme. Note that if you choose the wrong main audience for Newsround, for example 'women aged 50 - 70', then you will not get many marks here!

• Main audience being young people
• The presenters – lively, cheerful, enthusiastic
• The way in which the events are presented – use of appropriate language etc
• The narrative focus of the report – security, stories about young people
• The images and anchorage
• Colours and overall style of the programme.

In this case, C) is worth 15 marks, and you will not be talking about Newsround. You will be making reference to examples from your Media lessons, and any examples you will have encountered in your wider reading. For this 'bit' you will need to make reference to no less than two and no more than three examples. You will be using PEA paragraph structure for this question.

Again, here are some suggestions of points you can make from the mark scheme,

• Social and cultural background
• Gender
• Age
• Experience
• Relevant contexts
• Construction of text and audience within the text
• Ways in which audiences/users are positioned

This is an addition to a range of theories debates, views and approaches.

Top tip - A key debate surrounding audience can involve the hypodermic needle model. It's a flawed theory, but many newspapers and online news sources believe it to be true. Think about how many arguments there are about violent videogames influencing teenagers! You could counter this with the uses and gratifications theory. Audiences have the power to use or take pleasure from a text in any way that they want!

Question 3 - the long one

Question three is worth 30 marks. It's almost as long as the first question, and you will need to make reference to two or three examples again. Once more, it will either be representation or audience for this question. If you had audience for question two, it will be representation for question three, and vice versa.

For some examples of question for question three, take a look at this post.

Top tip - 2 c) and 3 have very similarly phrased questions. The main difference is 3 us a lot longer...

Top tip - The perfect amount of time to spend of each question, including planning, is sixty minutes on question one and 45 minutes each on questions two and three. Even if you do not usually wear a watch, it can be helpful to wear one, as sometimes you might not be able to see the clock in the exam room.

Representation of young people - key theory and examples

There are several theorists who you can refer to if you get a question on the representation of age, specifically to the representation of youth. Here's a quick recap:

Hebdige (1979)

• Youth subcultures – Challenge hegemony through expression
• Limited to either trouble or fun, no in-between
• Representation is NOT REALITY
• Producers believe it would be boring to show teenagers or youth hard working, fade into the background
• But this makes the adult audience believe that all youths are either trouble or fun…

Gerbner – Cultivation Theory

• Youth involved in crimes and always being the victim. Negative representation, constantly involving crime.
• Consistent negative representation indoctrinates the public to place blame on teens.
• Closely linked to what we see on television.
• Television ‘sows the seeds’ of negative representation… and after a while, audiences begin to accept as fact.

Giroux (1997)

• Who makes the media? It’s almost exclusively older people!
• Shows how youths are shown as an ‘empty category’ 
• Producers don’t understand what its like to be a teenager, so they use own ideas in the ‘empty space’ to represent youth. 
• Adults use teenagers as a scapegoat.
• Young characters end up being a ‘dumping ground’ for negative stereotypes.
• This confirms stereotypes and beliefs held by older audiences.

Suggested texts

So that's some great theory you can refer to, but you also need specific case studies. 

There are several UK films and TV shows that deal with the representation of young people, and how they interact with older people. Here are some suggestions:

• Kidulthood (2006)
• Harry Brown (2009)
• Skins (TV, 2007-2013)
• Eden Lake (2008)
• NEDS (2010)

(Just a quick note; some of these texts are pretty controversial. Eden Lake is particularly challenging, and Kidulthood features some very upsetting scenes)

As you watch these films, keep a notebook in front of you, and make notes under the following headings:

1.     The group, place or issue on which a media text is focusing.
2.     The technical devices the media text uses in order to present these groups or issues.
3.     The message about the group or issue being created within the text.
4.     The impact of this message on the target audience.

Analysing representation

When it comes to offering a detailed analysis of the representation, you must include not only how a group are represented in a certain way, with reference to visual and technical codes, but also why. So why could producers benefit from representing younger people in a negative way? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Stereotypes are an invaluable short cut for producers, saving time and effort. Richard Dyer argues that stereotypes are an ordering process. They help us to make sense of the world, but in using them as a short cut, we can make things too simple and jump to assumptions. 
2. Stereotypes are an invaluable short cut for audiences, and help to make sense of the world. Once again, the above points apply. 
3. All of the texts listed above tie in to real world moral panics, particularly those involving young NEETs in hoodies. The time in which these films were made was important, and in 2006, David Cameron famously made a speech, referring to Kidulthood, the problems it bought up, and the 'political' implications of hoodies.
4. From a Marxist perspective, consistently representing young people in a negative way reinforces their lack of power in day to day life. Since it tends to be older, middle class people who make Media texts, it can be argued that negative representations are just reinforcing the status quo. 

Positive representations

There are some examples which poke holes in Hebdige's 'fun or trouble' hypothesis. While many representations of younger people stick to stereotypes involving violence or 'lad' culture, in both TV talent shows and TV sports coverage, we often see inspiring, non-stereotypical representations of teenagers. Watch the following clip from The Voice (Cody Frost’s blind audition (S05E01, 2016). Now ask the following questions:

1. In what ways is the representation of youth constructed?
2. What technical devices are used?
3. What message is disseminated?
4. Who are the target audience of The Voice and what impact does this representation of young people potentially have on them?

Thanks to Lewis and Tanya for contributing material to this post!

Representation case study: Kellogg's Special K advert (2015) and the male gaze

This case study would be invaluable for a question on the representation of women specifically, or of gender in general.

Before you do anything else, watch this advert for Kellogg's Special K, a low fat cereal that has been marketed for many years as a dietary aid.

One of the most useful theoretical approaches we can apply to texts dealing with the representation of women is Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory. The male gaze is the assumption that every media text is created to be looked at and for the pleasure of an assumed male heterosexual audience. This is obviously a big assumption, as many texts expressly target a heterosexual female audience.


Every time you refer to an example, you have to refer to how it is technically constructed, so you will be making reference to your toolkit for textual analysis. So with reference to visual and technical codes, in what ways is the gaze in this video assumed to be that of a heterosexual man? And how are women represented?

What technical devices are used?

• The use of non-diegetic soundtrack presents a quirky, carefree atmosphere.
• The settings include fields of corn and majestic waterfalls, emphasising the purity and ideology of the models
• Aspects of mise-en-scene including bright red wellingtons splashing in puddles, connoting a childish sense of wonder

What message is created about women?

That women are childish, free-spirited, care-free and thin. The advert heavily suggests that as a result of the weight lost through eating Special K, the audience will not only become more stereotypically attractive, but will also become happier as a result.

This links to hegemony, and the societal expectations of women. No woman in this advert is using her new found energy to do something such as going to work, creating art, or changing the world in some way. Instead they splash in puddles, ride a bike without a helmet and dance in a field. The message here is that as long as women live up to the hegemonic ideals of beauty dictated by media, then they will be happy, and nothing else really matters!

What is the impact of this message on the target audience?

The advert suggests that in order to be considered attractive, a woman has to have a very specific appearance, in this case tall, thin and white. The cinematography emphasises women's bodies, with many voyeuristic shots of legs in mid shots and close up. It's not exactly a Rhianna video, but it's still very definitely a sexualised representation of women. Even though the advert is targeting women, the camera reflects the gaze of a heterosexual man. This suggests women are defined by how they look to men.

 Even more worryingly, it suggests that women have to behave in a very specific way. The nursery rhyme soundtrack and slow motion shots of the women taking part in 'silly' activities suggests women are not to be taken seriously, and it is perfectly acceptable to behave like somebody much younger.

This has considerable potential impact on the target audience (women aged 25 - 40), as it reinforces hegemonic ideologies of what a woman should look like and how they should act.

Thinking further

While this example is ideal for representation of women, it could also be used for

• Representation of issues (specifically body image)
• Representation of ethnicity (white people)
• Representation of age (young people)

Further reading

You can find an analysis of a TV spot ad for Mr Muscle brand sink unblocker here. This example could be used for representation of men or women. 

Media exam countdown timers

If you're the kind of student who benefit from a definite deadline, check out the timers below. Concerned? Have a look at the previous post on revision tips, consider getting hold of an online or physical revision guide, and head down to the LRC, where a wealth of information can be found.

Just don't leave things to the last minute! If you have any serious concerns, please make sure to speak to your Media teacher.

Revision tips and exam times

First things first; here are the times and dates for the MS1 (AS) and MS4 (A2) exams:

• MS1 - Thursday 19th May (AM)
• MS4 - Wednesday 8th June (AM)

Now is the time to make sure that you are revising each and every day for each of your subjects. While you might be tempted to cram as many hours of revision in to each waking hour, the best approach is little and often. Make sure you do something related to media each day, but mix it up by alternating between research (of key texts for example), notes (going through your notes and condensing them in to a more streamlined version), study groups (meeting up with friends and sharing ideas), and timed essays (take a previous question, which you can find on this blog, and set yourself the correct amount of time, before using the mark scheme to have a go at marking it yourself). 

Here's a great list of scientifically proven tips to maximising your revision potential. Do remember though that there will be some revision techniques that will work better than others. If you know that you work better in a completely barren room with no phone or music, be honest with yourself. If you genuinely work better with a study buddy, then this can be a good way to break up the formality of revision. 

Finally, if you are stumped, make sure to ask your teachers, who will be able to suggest ways to revise effectively, and may even share what worked for them when they were sitting A Levels!

This week's MS1 resit workshop - representation of issues

For those considering coming to the MS1 resit workshop this week, I would like to cover representation of issues. I would ideally like to focus on body issues, though as an alternative we could look at violence in media or even something completely new.

The workshop is being held in G8 on Wednesday at 15:25. See you then!

A2 Media - TV Mock

Choose one of the following questions and answer it with reference to all of the following three texts:

True Detective

Made in Chelsea

The Hunt

Make sure to include:

An introduction that discusses the context of your three main texts, defines the key terms in the question you have selected and presents your point of view/argument 

Detailed reference in each paragraph to an appropriate key scene and visual/technical/narrative codes where appropriate

A conclusory statement that sums up your argument and defines your point of view

B1 How have your chosen texts been constructed to appeal to their audiences?

B2 To what extent have your chosen texts been affected by regulation issues?

B3 With reference to your selected industry, explore the ways in which your chosen texts are marketed and/or promoted.

B4 What different pleasures do your chosen texts offer audiences?

Your Media teacher will give you a deadline for when this is to be completed.