MEST3 mock exam - Learner Response

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

Section A 14/32
-More focus to the question
-Other side of the argument 

Section B 33/48 
-Some great points + examples, and you generally stay very well focused on the question
-You could take some debates further
-Need more Marxism/Pluralism
-Need independent case study

2) Read through the mark scheme. Pay particular attention to page 9 that has suggested content for each of the questions in Section A. How many of these potential points did you make? Did you successfully answer the questions?

Q1.
• Fast editing
• Direct address of the “Who are you?” questioning
• Use of text on screen to provide a very contemporary scene
• One text creates the desire to own a product, while the other encourages self-realisation

Q2 
• Identification with celebrity
• Creation of personal spectacle
• Pros and cons of social networks
• Increased opportunity for members of the public to control their own representations

Q3
• Illusion of empowerment
• Cross media promotion
• Direct audience feedback


3) Now look at page 15 of the mark scheme. How many of the broad areas suggested by AQA did you cover in your Section B essay? Did you successfully answer the question?

• Exemplification via case study
• Globalisation and media manipulation
• Agenda setting via production


4) Read the Examiner's Report in full. For each question, would you classify your response as one of the stronger answers or one of the weaker answers the Chief Examiner discusses? Why? What could you do differently next time? Write a reflection for EACH question in the paper.

Q1. Weaker 'simple points of analysis, in some cases being limited to brief references to one or two media language examples, such as the use of a particular camera shot or soundtrack.

Next time I will use theoretical and conceptual frameworks to reveal detailed knowledge and show understanding of how media products are constructed and what impact they are likely to have upon an audience.

Q2. Weaker, next time I need to talk about the effect on the audiences and include the wording in the question.

Stronger responses revealed a very real awareness of how individuals are increasingly able to reveal their identity in ways that were unavailable even a decade ago.
Higher level responses showed some excellent critical autonomy in debating whether technological developments, while enabling individuals to express themselves more fully.

Q3 I should talk about my examples in greater detail and depth. Show a broad knowledge of media theory. The highest performing students showed some excellent critical autonomy in debating whether technological developments, while enabling individuals to express themselves more fully. Talk about both sides of the argument. 



5) Choose your weakest question in Section A and re-write an answer in full based on the suggested content from the Examiner's Report. This answer needs to be comprehensive and meet the criteria for Level 4 of the mark scheme. This will be somewhere between 3-6 well-developed paragraphs (depending on the number of marks).

Q2 In what ways are issues of personal identity presented in the media?

Firstly, with terrorism being prevalent in this day and age, Muslims are now generally categorised as terrorists. The view point of society would mirror Edward Said's 'Orientalism', that the East is uncivilised and the West is civilised. Last year, The Guardian released footage of an English woman screaming abuse at a group of Muslim women on public transport. This women's abusive behaviour would accentuate this view on the Muslim community as terrorists and asylum seekers. This shows how the media has created an unfair generalisation towards this specific group of people therefore presenting the issues of personal identity in the media. 

Similarly, the unfair representation of a specific group could further be seen in the representation of youth in the 2011 London riots. During the heat of the riots, the youth of London were immediately labelled, 'Morons', 'dangerous' and 'mindless'. Interestingly, the creators of these labels were the people in power and those is authority. This would be parallel with Bathe's stereotyping, that those in power stereotype the less powerful. The demonisation of the youth would be considered unfair because the reasoning - that the youth had for rioting, wasn't mentioned. This shows the issue of how the media unfairly generalises a group of people thus highlighting the issues of personal identity in the media. This would also portray how the identities that are presented in the media could be untrue and should not always be trusted.