Mest 1: Blog Feedback

MEST 1 FEEDBACK DECEMBER 2016

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·         You are really up-to-date with all your work which shows that you are spending the right amount of time on the subject and aiming for the highest levels. It is also clear that you enjoy engaging with the Media outside of the classroom which will help you so much as we approach the exam topic and you want to push yourself. You also choose to focus on a wide range of different genres and text types (from more dated texts like Speed, to more modern franchises) when you are choosing media to analyse which shows breadth as well as depth.

·         Your blog is in depth, detailed and consistent in its level of accuracy but you now need to focus on your media literacy. I really enjoyed reading the analysis of media texts that you have chosen but more in depth analysis will really push this up to A level standard. You need to be really careful that you say HOW texts link to media theories rather than just giving narrative examples to show that they do eg for the Lord of the Rings, you say that there is Equilibrium and give an example in the narrative but you need to take this a bit further – how do you know this is equilibrium and why is it like this at the start? What does this offer as an appeal for the audience?

·         Your literacy levels are getting a lot better which shows your hard work. Your use of media specific terminology is impressive considering that you have not studied Media at GCSE- well done! A tip - when you are engaging with higher level media texts such as the factsheets that we have read and used to answer questions, don’t be vague and general with your points but be really specific.

EBI

·         You are still missing a tiny amount of work that needs to be added to your MIGRAIN index- I think it is only the work on the Fact sheet for Audience and your Photoshop work on Representation (important as you may not have done this before and need to practise these skills for your coursework at MEST2).

·         Applying theory is a really important skill at A Level so make sure that you are trying to bring in the theorists that we have looked at, as often as possible and applying them accurately. Get into the habit of putting all your media language into bold text so that I can see the progression and check your accuracy.  

·         Sometimes you are a little vague –always think of the WHY eg when you are talking about Waterloo Road and answering the David Chandler questions, you say that you find the ‘genre intriguing’ but you do not go into enough details. What are the conventions of this type of genre? Is there anything subversive about the example you have given (anything unexpected for the genre)? Are the representations dominant? Try and use ALL the theory that we have looked at as often as possible in all your work now.