A-level media studies mock exam
- This exam has been published at least a full day before you have to do it. You can spend time preparing for the exam in advance, and you can even write notes and plans to help you.
- This exam is open book. You can look up anything before or during the exam.
- Looking up stuff is not cheating, and I will assume you have done this when marking it
- Please write in paragraphs: point (main point of paragraph), evidence (media language), explain (why this stuff is important. It's much easier to mark lots of short paragraphs that just one huge one, so keep this in mind!
- Time allowed: 75 minutes (including watching time). 25% extra time = 100 minutes
- Please spend the full amount of time on each question
- Please publish your response directly on to your blog. The time of your post being published can and will be checked
- If you are not able to type your response, then please handwrite your answers, making sure to sign and date the exact time you finished at the bottom of the last page. You can give it in when you return.
Tips
- These questions look scary, but they're exactly what we've been discussing and doing in class, every lesson, even if they may be phrased differently
- If you don't use media language, you don't get marks, so make sure you have the toolkit for textual analysis open in front of you
- Remember: you can use anything we've studied in class as an example to back up your response. The Gap advert down there looks pretty conventional, doesn't it? What's an unconventional advert we've studied that might help us to understand it better?
- This is your first rodeo. It's OK to fail. You'll bounce back better next time. But give it your best shot!
Media language
Explore how meaning is created through the combination of media language in this advert for Gap. You may wish to make reference to:
- Polysemy
- Semiotics (Barthes)
- Structuralist approaches (Levi-Strauss)
- The conventions of print adverts (eg lexis, layout, Z-line rule etc) [15 marks, 30 minutes]
Representation
2017: Persil Ultimate Powergems [Extraordinary Powers] (click to view video. Please watch twice in a row before attempting response)
Compare and contrast the representation of gender in the Persil Ultimate Powergems [Extraordinary Powers] TV spot advert with the representation of gender in the Tide advert you have studied. Make reference to:
- How gender roles are constructed through media language
- The construction of ideological perspectives, including hegemonic norms
- How intertextuality can construct meaning
- Historical factors and their relation to representation [30 marks, 45 minutes]