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A2 Sociology AQA Mass Media?!?!?!

How are we meant to structure the 9, 18 and 33 mark questions?! (how many sociologists to put in, how many paragraphs, what essential to include) Our teacher hasn't mentioned this to us, has just said to go with what we feel is best....which isn't helpful at all :frown: what have your teachers told you to do? Thanks

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The structure ive been taught is :
9mark;
Point
Explain
Example

you do this 3 times for 3 different points

Let me show you what I mean.:
Identify and briefly explain three ways in which women working in mass media
organisations today are disadvantaged. (9 marks)

P - lack of women in high roles in mass media
E - GUMG - most owners of media are white middle class (you'd follow on by saying 'this results in less women being hired due to sexism?)
E - Ruppert Murdoch etc...
for 18markers a good 3-4 points would be nice.

Point
Explain
Evidence
Evaluation
Criticism
Link to next point


Include sociologists and theories ( Marxism, Pluralism, Neo-Philliacs & Cultural pessimists <<<< last 2 are mostly in new media questions though)
Using material from Item C and elsewhere, assess the view that the mass media
represent many groups in stereotypical ways. 18 Marks


P- Wolf(1990)- women are represented still as sex symbols through male gaze
E- Mulvey - portrayed in ways that appeal to men
E - often represented as tall, thin, clear skin, size 0
E - Wolf - women view their body as a project which needs continual improvement (beauty myth) results are often unattainable. results in devaluing of women by both males and females leading to the objectification of women by men and the media's constant portrayal allows women to accept this (cultural hegemony)
C- Criticised for being too deterministic as not all women aspire for this and not all men view women this way
L- similar to portrayal of ethnic minorities such as blacks and Asians as problematic.


then you'd continue E.E.E.L 2 OR 3 more times then conclude

Conclusion example :
portrayals are changing and are being more vast and less stereotypical e.g. of women and minority groups due to women and minorities in high places e.g. lady gaga, Barack Obama. introduction of new media has allowed theses groups to represent themselves in medias through blogs, citizen journalists. however it can be argued that representations of groups are still stereotypical or even more than ever due to the increase in concentration of media (7corps own 95% of media outlets) thus the lack of changing ownership and control of media means same ideas of the individuals who own it are being portrayed meaning It can be more stereotypical.
for the 33markers, it will be more indepth but similar structure to 18marks
Point
Explain
Evidence
Evaluation
Criticism
Link to next point


include sociologists and use theories (Marx, Plu/neoPlu, Neophil, CultPess) to structure essays. include audience modules and basically everything learnt in unit3. then use postmodernism to conclude (just because the theory is quite small and you may find it hard to structure points with. however if the question is on postmodernism, focus a lot on criticisms of it by other theories as it will be the basis of your points but do no over mention them.

The mass media do not control their consumers; the consumers control the media.’
To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view of the mass
media today? (33 marks)
INTRO - give an idea about who supports or disagrees with this view, state some figures of ownership and control e.g. 7 corps own 95% of mass media bagdikian &curran.

P- Marxism - do they agree or disagree
E- explain what they say (news is a social construct) HALL et al
E - through hypodermic syringe model audience passive.
E - this results in ? media being able to set culture of society (cultural hegemony)
C - audience are not homogenous and have different ideas and come from different backgrounds which means influence how people respond & use media thus are active and have ability to reject ideas set by media e.g.
L - Pluralism ....

do this 4 times, with a solid conclusion and you will gain at least 30/33


if you do not understand what the question is asking and cannot answer any questions. just try you best answering the question and you will receive up to 12 marks if it has NO relevance to what the question asked.
Reply 4
does anyone know what essays are likely to come up this year? I've homeschooled myself this topic so any help would be much appreciated! :smile:
Reply 5
Original post by jennifer.tariah
for the 33markers, it will be more indepth but similar structure to 18marks
Point
Explain
Evidence
Evaluation
Criticism
Link to next point

include sociologists and use theories (Marx, Plu/neoPlu, Neophil, CultPess) to structure essays. include audience modules and basically everything learnt in unit3. then use postmodernism to conclude (just because the theory is quite small and you may find it hard to structure points with. however if the question is on postmodernism, focus a lot on criticisms of it by other theories as it will be the basis of your points but do no over mention them.

The mass media do not control their consumers; the consumers control the media.’
To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view of the mass
media today? (33 marks)
INTRO - give an idea about who supports or disagrees with this view, state some figures of ownership and control e.g. 7 corps own 95% of mass media bagdikian &curran.

P- Marxism - do they agree or disagree
E- explain what they say (news is a social construct) HALL et al
E - through hypodermic syringe model audience passive.
E - this results in ? media being able to set culture of society (cultural hegemony)
C - audience are not homogenous and have different ideas and come from different backgrounds which means influence how people respond & use media thus are active and have ability to reject ideas set by media e.g.
L - Pluralism ....

do this 4 times, with a solid conclusion and you will gain at least 30/33


if you do not understand what the question is asking and cannot answer any questions. just try you best answering the question and you will receive up to 12 marks if it has NO relevance to what the question asked.





This has helped me so much so thank you! Just wondering if you have an essay structure for the crime and deviance paper also? Thanks!
Original post by 13smithe
This has helped me so much so thank you! Just wondering if you have an essay structure for the crime and deviance paper also? Thanks!


yes I can post that for you in a second!

Original post by bbfree
does anyone know what essays are likely to come up this year? I've homeschooled myself this topic so any help would be much appreciated! :smile:


SCLY3 I'm thinking - audience models, representations of disability and feminist views of the media.

SCLY4 - Corporate/State crime, control & punishment, and for T&M either Policy or Postmodernism.

For SCLY3 Media I think the 18 mark question could be New media or News values etc. 33 mark questions could be Marxist/Pluralist views, or representations of gender/disability/ethnicity, or even News again. I agree the 9 mark could be on audience effects and I never rule out Globalisation - that seems to pop up all the time.

For SCLY4 21 mark state/corporate crime, subcultural, age/ethnicity or even suicide. 15 mark - questionnaires, 33 mark postmodernism or social policy, although I've not ruled out Interactionism


my predictions! :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by jennifer.tariah
yes I can post that for you in a second!



SCLY3 I'm thinking - audience models, representations of disability and feminist views of the media.

SCLY4 - Corporate/State crime, control & punishment, and for T&M either Policy or Postmodernism.

For SCLY3 Media I think the 18 mark question could be New media or News values etc. 33 mark questions could be Marxist/Pluralist views, or representations of gender/disability/ethnicity, or even News again. I agree the 9 mark could be on audience effects and I never rule out Globalisation - that seems to pop up all the time.

For SCLY4 21 mark state/corporate crime, subcultural, age/ethnicity or even suicide. 15 mark - questionnaires, 33 mark postmodernism or social policy, although I've not ruled out Interactionism


my predictions! :smile:


thank you so much!! :smile:
Original post by jennifer.tariah
for 18markers a good 3-4 points would be nice.

Point
Explain
Evidence
Evaluation
Criticism
Link to next point

Include sociologists and theories ( Marxism, Pluralism, Neo-Philliacs & Cultural pessimists <<<< last 2 are mostly in new media questions though)
Using material from Item C and elsewhere, assess the view that the mass media
represent many groups in stereotypical ways. 18 Marks


P- Wolf(1990)- women are represented still as sex symbols through male gaze
E- Mulvey - portrayed in ways that appeal to men
E - often represented as tall, thin, clear skin, size 0
E - Wolf - women view their body as a project which needs continual improvement (beauty myth) results are often unattainable. results in devaluing of women by both males and females leading to the objectification of women by men and the media's constant portrayal allows women to accept this (cultural hegemony)
C- Criticised for being too deterministic as not all women aspire for this and not all men view women this way
L- similar to portrayal of ethnic minorities such as blacks and Asians as problematic.


then you'd continue E.E.E.L 2 OR 3 more times then conclude

Conclusion example :
portrayals are changing and are being more vast and less stereotypical e.g. of women and minority groups due to women and minorities in high places e.g. lady gaga, Barack Obama. introduction of new media has allowed theses groups to represent themselves in medias through blogs, citizen journalists. however it can be argued that representations of groups are still stereotypical or even more than ever due to the increase in concentration of media (7corps own 95% of media outlets) thus the lack of changing ownership and control of media means same ideas of the individuals who own it are being portrayed meaning It can be more stereotypical.


Nice plans, but when you say the rest of the paragraphs are EEEL, what does this mean. Say I made a point with the hypodermic syringe having a direct influence on the audience (criticised etc..) when I move onto the next paragraph, lets say about 2 step flow which suggests there isnt a direct influence. Do I carry on PEEECL or do I just say how its different to the hypodermic syringe?


Sorry that sounds so confusing reading it back :P
Original post by ScruffyQuaver
Nice plans, but when you say the rest of the paragraphs are EEEL, what does this mean. Say I made a point with the hypodermic syringe having a direct influence on the audience (criticised etc..) when I move onto the next paragraph, lets say about 2 step flow which suggests there isnt a direct influence. Do I carry on PEEECL or do I just say how its different to the hypodermic syringe?


Sorry that sounds so confusing reading it back :P



its just a really detailed break down, all the eee's count for analysis.

if you were doing an 18 or 33 marker, i'd advise you start of explaining your point with a theorist, i.e. marxism for hypodermic sm, so your in analysis and explanation, you'd use the HSM to explain it and then, criticise your point, then link it to the next point
Original post by jennifer.tariah
its just a really detailed break down, all the eee's count for analysis.

if you were doing an 18 or 33 marker, i'd advise you start of explaining your point with a theorist, i.e. marxism for hypodermic sm, so your in analysis and explanation, you'd use the HSM to explain it and then, criticise your point, then link it to the next point


What makes HSM a Marxist theory? I understand the Cultural Effects is, but I dont understand how HSM is
Original post by ScruffyQuaver
What makes HSM a Marxist theory? I understand the Cultural Effects is, but I dont understand how HSM is


woops I meant cultural effects.

hypodermic syringe model can be used to explain how the audience accepts mainstream ideas from media due to their passiveness. marxist believe this also, thus it can be used to explain them also. its alright to be synoptic, you dont always have to follow the book.
Original post by jennifer.tariah
woops I meant cultural effects.

hypodermic syringe model can be used to explain how the audience accepts mainstream ideas from media due to their passiveness. marxist believe this also, thus it can be used to explain them also. its alright to be synoptic, you dont always have to follow the book.


Thanks for the help, final question, this has confused me right from the beginning. What the hell is the difference between Popular Culture, Mass Culture and Global Culture
Original post by ScruffyQuaver
Thanks for the help, final question, this has confused me right from the beginning. What the hell is the difference between Popular Culture, Mass Culture and Global Culture


pop culture refers to the culture that is popular in a nation e.g. TOWIE and stuff like that, the word popular culture is normally associated with cultural pessimists and used to explain how there is a candy floss culture in mainstream media, its hard to explain, tbh there isnt much different between them so even if you get it confused you'll be okay.

global culture refers to cultural imperialism and how one culture has become mainstream and formed hybrid sort of cultures (cultural hegemony can be used to explain this) e.g. Big brother, then Big brother indian, Australia, etc...
Original post by jennifer.tariah
pop culture refers to the culture that is popular in a nation e.g. TOWIE and stuff like that, the word popular culture is normally associated with cultural pessimists and used to explain how there is a candy floss culture in mainstream media, its hard to explain, tbh there isnt much different between them so even if you get it confused you'll be okay.

global culture refers to cultural imperialism and how one culture has become mainstream and formed hybrid sort of cultures (cultural hegemony can be used to explain this) e.g. Big brother, then Big brother indian, Australia, etc...


Okay cool, I have come to understand 'mass culture' is the same as global culture? What are you predicted to get for this exam :smile: ?
Original post by ScruffyQuaver
Okay cool, I have come to understand 'mass culture' is the same as global culture? What are you predicted to get for this exam :smile: ?


yes exactly the same.

hoping for an A*, ill be happy with an A though. hope there's nothing too hard in the paper lol

what about you?
Original post by jennifer.tariah
yes exactly the same.

hoping for an A*, ill be happy with an A though. hope there's nothing too hard in the paper lol

what about you?


Same as you, I need an A for uni, but A* would obviously boost in case of a cock up in Sociology Unit 4 (I hate it!)

Mind if I PM you a essay question that is confusing me a bit and we can discuss it?
Original post by ScruffyQuaver
Same as you, I need an A for uni, but A* would obviously boost in case of a cock up in Sociology Unit 4 (I hate it!)

Mind if I PM you a essay question that is confusing me a bit and we can discuss it?



yes PM me anytime.
I am better at Unit 4 actually so i can help you.
Reply 18
i have an essay plan for selection and presentation. but people are syaing ownership and contol could come up.

can someone please help me structure it like para 1 - para 2..
33 marker would be about 6 paras
Reply 19
News selection and presentation is ideologically controlled

Intro - ideological control concept introduced by marxists - means control someone not physically but mentally in a sub-conscious manner. but not all people are passive. plus depends on producer of the news.

Para 1 - news isn't objective or impartial. McQualil says many events occur but doesn't it'll be reported in the news this is because of the sheer no. of them. he argues news is a socially manufactured product because it is the result of a selective process. gatekeepers such as journalists + editors, make judgement and choice on what present => so, news showing one sided view from producer of news's view and ignoring other potential views.

para 2 - gatekeepers and agenda setting suggests hat media influence of content shows is for public discussion. mass media merely provides info that is discussed and form an opinion, so, those who portray news have high control+large power. GUMG argue that those who present news act as gatekeeper by influencing what the audience gains knowledge in. issues that aren't aired is cuz affects upper class. => so news is biases and sense of authority is present with those who show the news

para 3 - journalists background, big impact on what is presented. journalists tend to be somewhere in the moderate center of poltics. they ignore or treat unfavourably to what they regard as "extremists" or "radical views". Hall et al - mostly important people are primarily definers who regularly feature in new/set agenda/+influence journalits on how to represnt them => shows that news distorts reality and is mainly for the elite and poses an unfair reflection of the whole society

para 4 - pluralists - media is constructed by consumer demand therefore whatever is shown is what the buying public wants to see. audience are the real power holders as they have ultimate right on to buy or not to buy. e.g. public service broadcasters such as BBC have the legal obligation to inform/educate/+ensure all is pluralistic and diverse, so they are impartial and objective and balance bias that could be presented in the private sector. should also be noted - ownership is limited. some countries' gov dont all how someone to own too much media and crossownershp rules restricts them to to own more than one type of media

para 5 - marxists - media presented is characterised by inequalites. capitalists use culture power to dominate ruling class ideology. conecept on ideologial state apparatus proposed by Althusser mean audience face false class-consious that capitalism benefits all social groups of society.miliband argues that media shapes how we think of the world and the audeince is very little knowledge of the actual important news.

para 6 - spencer-thomas - editors and journs use concept of news values that determine what is newsworthy. newsworthy depends on what news outlet it is. galtung and ruge catalogues news values. few are: threshold -bigger the news means more likely to be reported eg. wars n natural disasters. negativity - bad new is favoured and seems more exciting to journs than good news. refernce to elite persons - coverage of famous ppl seems more newsworthy than ordinary people. Buckley - gave 2 editors 64 stories to classify as newsworthy. found, all classified in same manner and the news most likely to pop u in news had the most news values. also mean that stories may have some news values, but not all.


Advice would be appreciated on how to improve!
Wrote all of this off by heart with 2 peaks at my plan.
Sorry for the spelling errors! was writing in a hurry.
Didn't link it back at the end in some para but will do in exam!

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