MS1 Media Studies WJEC Help!

Is anyone else doing this exam because I'm finding it really hard to revise for and wondered if anyone had any advice

i am resitting it, i would put some of your revision on working on your examples for the audience/representation questions, and drawing out the examples in terms of age, men, women, ethnicity and national/regional identity

thank you! As we know it is print based what do you think It will be this year because previously we've had film posters and magazines I seem to remember

I'm actually not sure, but I hope it's magazine covers, or film posters, there preety easy

Yes I agree , wouldn't know what to put if it was an article though

article as in newspaper article? im preety unsure also, but if Q1 doesnt go so well, you have your examples, just make sure their different i.e one print based and 2 audio visual

Does anyone know any good theorys to use in the exam... i have a few...but not enough I don't think :'( someone help please!??! DX

What does everyone think may come up. Also is anyone able to specify what has to go into Q3's examples? Eg. if it were representation of age? also how does GRANITE fit in? is it a fair template for Q1?

Here are some theories we were given, hope it helps

I'm doing this paper soon and I wrote out 'perfect essays' to revise from for all of the representations e.g. age, gender. I also revise audiences for the texts along with theory's and terminology. It's helpful to re watch clips from the the texts as well.

what do people predict will come up for question 3?

We got a video on the intro to the rugby last year, but as you say its paper based this year

Personally I think the representation question will be on ethnicity, this topic hasn't come up since 2010 and is long over due!

As we know the unseen text will be a still image piece looking back at past papers which include a still image as the unseen text, representation has always been the last question (Question 3, the 30 marker)

Does anyone have any ethnicity texts?

Hey guys, I'm glad there's a thread for this because I'm pretty confused as to what to revise as Media seems quite straight-forward to me, but I have trouble with getting my head around the exam paper and structuring my questions. My college has given me a revision guide which seems pretty helpful, so I'd like to share it with you all (and see if it sparks anything). I've added so much more to what they've given me, so making this post is a form of revision for me too!

The exam paper is as follows.

Question 1

Textual analysis of an unseen PRINT based media. It makes it easier that you know what type of media it is, because you'll be focusing your revision more on textual analysis of print rather than moving image. Also, I understand it's preference, but I seem to find analysing print texts much easier because my memory doesn't fail me when I have to watch a clip 3 times over. You will be asked to analyse 1 or more texts in relation to at least 3 of the following areas (so it's best to revise these subjects for your question 1 answer):

Visual Codes: Worth mentioning things such as connotations/denotations on 'main visual codes', such as clothing, expression, gesture, technique, use of colour, iconography, images and graphics.

Layout and design: Pretty similar as before, but you'll be mentioning things such as superimposition, and reasons as to why the author/producer of the text has chosen to present the text like that.

Language: Mentioning your lexical register (informal - low, formal - high), hyperboles, imperative commands, ellipsis, colloquialism, and how it can involve the reader within the text.

Mode of Address: This one is key to revise because you'll more or less be talking about mode of address in some shape or form throughout the whole exam. Revise the types of modes of address, such as (informal/formal modes of address, direct/indirect modes of address). And remember, it's all about how it involves the reader/consumer of the media text.

Genre (if relevant to the text): This one is only applicable to certain texts, such as movie posters, but it's not so difficult to remember what it details. Here, your narrative, characters, iconography and setting will be useful. Thankfully, because it's not moving text, you won't have to pay attention to technical/audio codes in question 1.

Narrative: Much easier for print texts, and one that is relative on the type of text you get. Cliffhangers, circular narratives, and the Todorov theory will get you marks (Tzvetan Todorov is a theorist who researched narrative structures, and suggested that narratives were linear with key points of progression and that narratives involved characters solving a problem, ending in a resolution). As well as this, you'll be mentioning headlines, cover lines, images and captions, the language and enigma codes (ways of holding the interest of the audience).

Question 2

Audience or Representation - this question will be split into 2a, 2b and 2c.

2a and 2b will be questions about the print based media you have analysed for Question 1.

Question 2c will ask you to answer the question using your own detailed examples from the media texts you have studied in class. Make sure you don't discuss the unseen text here.

Question 3

Audience or Representation - if you have given representation questions for Question 2, then this one will be an audience question, and vice versa...

You must respond to the question using your own detailed examples from the media texts you've studied in class, and make sure you don't discuss the unseen text!

The representations you might get for question 2c or 3 will be one of the following. Now remember, this is what I studied in class, but you should all have examples for each of these representations. I'll give you mine anyway.

Gender: Fast Girls (trailer and poster), Tomb Raider (game cover), Lynx - Angels will Fall (TV advertisement)

Ethnicity: Fast Girls (trailer and poster), Lynx - Angels will Fall (TV advertisement), 2012 Olympic Games (TV coverage and newspaper front covers)

Age: Fast Girls (trailer and poster), 2012 Olympic Games (TV coverage and newspaper front covers), Teen Dramas (TV trailers and programmes).

Issues: Binge Drinking, Childhood Obesity (variety of examples to choose from).

Events: 2012 Olympic Games (TV coverage and newspaper front covers), Royal Baby (newspaper front covers)

Regional and National Identities: Fast Girls (trailer and poster), Lynx - Angels will Fall (TV advertisement), 2012 Olympic Games (TV coverage and newspaper front covers), Royal Baby (newspaper front covers).

For Audience analysis questions, it's worth considering these:

Who is the target audience for the text? (Consider age, gender, etc). What is it about the text that tells you this?

Reception theory - how can the text be read? What would the preferred reading be? Why would an audience have a negotiated or oppositional response to the text?

Uses & Gratification theory - what would we use the text for - which needs could it gratify?

Context - how could the way in which the text was consumed affect the audience's response?

Genre & Narrative - would the genre attract or discourage audiences? How would the content and the structure of the narrative affect audience responses?

I'm gonna do a past paper tomorrow, and develop a plan in my head for the exam on Friday. Hope everything above helped, best of luck, and hope you smash this exam!

what does everyone think question 3 will be, audience of representation?

I'm hoping representation, there's much more to talk about!

yeah me too!

There's not been one still image paper that hasn't had representation as the last question so we could be in luck! Fingers crossed