Paper 1 Feb Mock LR
1) Type up any feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to).
Go to your Media teacher's Google Classroom and find the mark scheme and examiner's report uploaded. This is vital as the paper was an official exam paper and therefore the mark scheme tells us a lot about what AQA are expecting us to produce.
Strengths:
You tried to identify some elements of the media text, like basic visuals and narrative.
Missed Points / Improvements:
Did not fully use Barthes’ narrative codes (action, enigma, symbolic, etc.) to explain meaning.
Needed more semiotic analysis: denotation, connotation, and myth.
Didn’t link codes or images to the message or audience.
Could have included CSPs (like media ownership or regulation) where relevant.
Needed specific examples from the text to support your points.
2) Write a question-by-question analysis of your performance. For each question, write how many marks you got from the number available and identify and points that you missed by carefully studying the AQA indicative content in the mark scheme:
Example: Q1: 4/8 marks
Q1: N/A
Q2: N/A
Q3: 4/9
What I did well: Attempted to explain intertextuality; gave examples of media referencing other texts.
Missed points:
Needed clearer links to specific media examples across genres or platforms.
Did not fully explore how audiences recognise and interpret these intertextual references (encoding/decoding).
Could have applied CSPs (e.g., convergence, cross-media ownership) to strengthen analysis.
Action for revision:
Explain and develop intertextuality thoroughly: e.g., how video games reference films, music videos reference past pop culture, or TV shows reference other shows.
Use specific examples with context.
Connect intertextuality to audience recognition and meaning-making.
Q4: 11/20 (Judith Butler essay question)
What I did well:
Identified key theory: gender as performance.
Gave examples from media texts illustrating gender roles.
Attempted some evaluation.
Missed points:
Could have integrated audience theory (Hall) to show how different audiences might interpret gender performance.
Needed more evaluative depth, e.g., comparison with other feminist or industry-based perspectives.
Should have linked theory to CSPs (e.g., how media industries influence gender norms).
Structure could be clearer to reach top-level marks (Level 4).
Action for revision:
Plan essays with intro, 3–4 strong paragraphs, conclusion, using both theory and examples.
Include evaluation: audience response + industry influence.
Practice linking Butler to other media theories for AO3/AO4 marks.
Q5: 0/6
What I did well: None – attempt didn’t meet mark scheme criteria.
Missed points: Likely did not address the question at all or lacked reference to key concepts/CSPs.
Action for revision:
Revise keywords and definitions for media theory and CSPs.
Practice short-answer questions to apply concepts accurately.
Q6: 2/9
What I did well: Some attempt at addressing the question.
Missed points:
Needed to focus on audience theory and show understanding of reception and decoding.
Could have applied CSPs and relevant examples.
Lacked clarity in connecting theory to media texts.
Action for revision:
Focus on audience concepts: active/passive, niche/mass, decoding strategies.
Practice linking audience theory to specific media texts.
Q7: 8/20
What I did well: Attempted some analysis. Possibly included some theory or example
Missed points:
Needed links to wider media industry context, including conglomerates, vertical integration, global ownership.
Could have connected CSPs, audience, and industry together for a stronger argument.
Evaluation and examples were likely weak or underdeveloped.
Action for revision:
Study media industry structures: conglomerates (Disney, Warner Bros), vertical integration, horizontal integration, cross-media ownership.
Connect these to how content is produced, distributed, and consumed.
Additional points: Using Roland Barthes’ theory of semiotics, the National Trust advert “What will take your breath away?” can be analysed through denotation, connotation and myth. Denotatively, the advert shows images of British landscapes and historic sites. Connotatively, these suggest peace, escape and emotional fulfilment, reinforced by the slogan which implies awe and inspiration. This creates a myth that British nature and heritage are naturally restorative and meaningful, promoting the ideology that visiting National Trust sites is an essential and valuable experience.
3) Look at Question 4 - a 20-mark essay evaluating Judith Butler's gender is a performance theory. Write an essay plan for this question using the indicative content in the mark scheme and with enough content to meet the criteria for Level 4 (top level). This will be somewhere between 3-4 well-developed paragraphs plus an introduction answering the question planned in some detail.
Introduction:
State essay focus: evaluation of how this theory explains media representations of gender.
Mention that you will reference contemporary and historical media texts.
Apply Butler: norms are reinforced through repeated behaviours and visual cues.
Strength: theory explains variability and fluidity of gender in media.
Critique: may overlook structural or economic factors influencing representation.
Use Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding: audiences may resist or negotiate the gender norms presented.
Strength: demonstrates media influence on gender identity and social expectations.
Critique: theory is abstract and difficult to measure in real-world audience studies.
Butler may underplay industry control: conglomerates, regulation, marketing pressures reinforce gender norms.
Suggest combination of theories gives a fuller understanding.
Reiterate Butler’s value in explaining performed gender in media.
Evaluate: highly relevant to content analysis but should be considered alongside audience and industry factors for full context.
4) Based on the whole of your Paper 1 learner response, plan FIVE topics / concepts / CSPs / theories that you will prioritise in your summer exam Media revision timetable.
Intertextuality – Develop examples from multiple media forms and CSPs.
Audience Theory – Focus on reception, decoding, and demographics.
Key Concepts / CSPs – Action, enigma, narrative codes, genre, representation, regulation.
Media Industries – Ownership, conglomerates, vertical integration, technological convergence.
Keywords / Terminology – Semiotics, ideology, myths, narrative, performance, encoding/decoding.
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