Coursework Tutorials

You will be each be receiving a crucial one-to-one tutorial with your Media teacher during January 2010. However, you must have completed all the Xmas blog tasks to be eligible for this so these need to be done by the lesson we return after Christmas (Monday 04-01-10). Also, when you attend the tutorial you must bring your fully organised research folder with you (containing notes, plans, highlighted/annotated photocopies, etc.) so get those in order now if you haven't done already.

Finally, the deadline for the completed first draft of the Critical Investigation is...

• Monday 1st February '10 (Tuesday 2nd for 13D1)

This means that if you have a tutorial towards the end of the January exam period you will only have a few days to get all 2000 words done (with footnotes and a full bibliography for it to be accepted) so the advice would be to get in early for a tutorial so you can start the essay as soon as possible.

Available times & confirmed appointments will be posted below for each class, so watch this space and make sure you book early to avoid disappointment...

MEST 4 Xmas Task #6

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

INTRODUCTION & FIRST PARAGRAPH

Type out the full title of your Critical Investigation, highlighting what you consider to be the keywords in a different colour.

Then write out the first paragraph and post it on your blog. This is usually the hardest in any essay (along with the last one!) Obviously, it must be a clear introduction that makes reference to the keywords in the title and outlines the various areas that you will be exploring in the course of the essay. It may introduce a hypothesis (something that you will seek to test/prove during the next 2000 words). For example, you may be arguing that your contemporary textual examples demonstrate a change in the representation of a particular social group. It's a bit like a debate in this sense - you are putting forward a proposition and making points that will back it up (although you will also be given credit here for considering both sides of the argument too).

Then, write the next paragraph and post it on your blog. Remember that you're looking to include at least one quote/reference per paragraph and often considerably more. It may help to look at some of the best essays from last year, from 2008, from 2007, and from 2006 (all top grades, although a different specification, don't forget) to get an idea of the style and format required. But take care - plagiariam will always be found out so don't even consider copying from others...best to look on a day when you won't be writing as other people's work can sometimes be a bit disabling.

Good luck with everything here - yes, you're going to be very busy but you want to get the top grades and get into top universities so this is what's required!

If anyone needs help over the holiday then please email us and we'll try to get back to you asap.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #5

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

ESSAY PLAN

Produce a detailed essay plan for your independent study, covering everything that you hope to include in your submission. Break your ideas and research down into sections and paragraphs with headings, summaries and a list of references that you hope to include at each step. You can see some decent ones from previous years by clicking on Manjoth or Jatinder or Avneet or Madenah.

Make sure that you label each point you hope to include by linking it to Key Concepts (MIGRAIN) and Wider Contexts (SHEP). (You could just include the initial letter in brackets). This way you can see whether you have covered everything that you need to in an even way. Also, ensure that you think about where you will include theories/theorists, issues/debates and media keywords. (Keep the 'Essential Word Dictionary' handy).

This will make writing your essay so much easier. However, it is a big task as it requires you to read through all your research very carefully and browse through each other's blogs as there may be some overlapping areas of research you could share with each other.

You may want to produce this plan as a straightforward series of bullet points or as a more complex mindmap. If it's the latter you may have to do it by hand and then scan it in before posting it up on your blog. Or you may want to try out an online mind-mapping tool like bubbl.us.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #4

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

ADDITIONAL WEB RESEARCH

Although books carry more authority, the internet is an excellent resource and you should be searching regularly to identify additional ideas and references related to your Critical Investigation.

In particular, you will find up-to-the-minute, current information and opinion about your topic and this always scores highly with the examiners so it's important to continue online research all the way through until you hand in your final essay. A crucial platform that you really ought to cover - New Media and Digital Technology is always changing, for instance. Key places to keep track of this are...

• broadsheet newspaper sites, especially MediaGuardian (it's essential you get into the habit of reading this every week, preferably on a Monday), and the Independent Media;

• media education sites - the biggest and best is MCS; but there's also MediaEdu (the school has a subscription to this...ask Ms Holliday how to access it), Media Literacy, Film Education, Screen Online, and hundreds more...browse through the Macguffin Delicious Links (hand-selected by us over the years) and you'll find lots of other relevant sites;

• film review sites like IMDb (use the 'external reviews' link on the sidebar whenever you're on a chosen film) and Rotten Tomatoes;

• film magazines online like Sight & Sound, GuardianFilm, Empire, and Senses of Cinema;

• Wikipedia, naturally: a useful starting point for any web search, but make sure you avoid referencing this directly...it makes you look like a beginner. Provides, however, a good overview and. essentially, a list of 'References' and 'External Links' at the end of each entry;

• the best student essays from last year, from 2008, from 2007, and from 2006 : in particular, look at their quotes (usually highlighted by a footnote number) and bibliographies (at the end of each essay) as they will have often identified some of the best quotes for your topic. But, as ever, be wary of the temptation to plagiarise - you should only 'borrow' a few quotes from each person's essay!

Over the holiday, continue with your internet research, using the Google Search Tips you've been shown to help you refine your searches.

Post up AT LEAST 10 additional quotes, with full article titles (and hyperlinked web addresses) and an explanation about each one saying how it's linked to your study.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #3

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

HISTORICAL TEXT ANALYSIS & RESEARCH

Research a historical text that you can use to compare with your contemporary one (that is the main focus of your investigation). By 'historical' it is meant anything pre-2000 but the 40s, 50s, 60s or even 70s might be more fruitful because they pre-date many of the important changes that have occurred more recently (such as the gains for women as a result of feminism, or greater equality for ethnic minorities now that we are - arguably - a more inclusive and multi-cultural society). The purpose here is to be able to demonstrate...

• how society has changed over the years and how these changes are reflected in different media texts, or - to put it another way...
• how popular culture reflects the 'spirit of the age' or zeitgeist

Ideally, you will watch at least one film/TV programme from the past, make notes on it and research it in Media/Film Studies textbooks and on the internet. The best option is to watch the whole text on DVD/online or otherwise you might be able to see extracts on YouTube.

• How is it similar/different to your text?
• How does this show how the genre/society has changed?

A highly recommended text here (if you're focussing on film) is 'The Cinema Book', edited by Pam Cook and Mieke Bernink and available in the school library. If you follow the link here you can read the contents page and index online and this will be useful.

Through this you will become aware of developments in the genre you are researching - look for a range of titles (at least five) that you can refer to in your essay - and you should be able to link them to the wider contexts that were present at the time. It's also worth noting that you will be rewarded for considering your topic across different platforms.

If you can't get hold of the text it's not the end of the world - you are stuck with doing just secondary research instead of this and primary research. Just make sure you do plenty of it.

List your media texts, research, analysis and links/bibliography in a detailed blog post.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #2

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

ADDITIONAL READING

As you know, a detailed bibliography is crucial for the top grades in the coursework. Please refer to the Essential Reading List which contains titles of 45 of the most important books for the Critical Investigation, all of which are either in the school library or media suite.

Those underlined are the twenty most important but, obviously, not all of the texts on this list will be directly relevant for you...you'll need to spend a fair amount of time searching through them (especially the contents and indexes) to find the key quotes and ideas that will impress the examiners.

You must include references to quite a few of these books if you want an A or B so borrow/buy these books and read them over Christmas: one/person from the Media Suite and you MUST sign them out with Mr Babu and you MUST bring them back the day we return after the holiday).

Then please include the following in a blog posting...

• Author-Year-Title-Place-Publisher info;
• Quotes (+ Page References) from the book that can be linked to your study;
• A short explanation of each one explaining how it is relevant to you.

MEST 4 Xmas Task #1

The following needs to be done by all Year 13s and completed by the day we return after the holiday: 4th January 2010...

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Carry out a close textual analysis of a chosen scene from your main text and post it up on your blog.

The scene should be able to exemplify some of the key points you wish to make in your Critical Investigation and link with some of the following key areas raised by your text...

• issues and debates

Representation and stereotyping; Media effects; Reality TV; News Values; Moral Panics; Post 9/11 and the media; Ownership and control; Regulation and censorship; Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century; The effect of globalisation on the media

• theories

Semiotics; Structuralism and post-structuralism; Postmodernism and its critiques; Gender and ethnicity; Marxism and hegemony; Liberal Pluralism; Colonialism and Post-colonialism; Audience theories; Genre theories

Make sure it is a scene you haven't analysed before (and, if at all possible, NOT a trailer) and embed the YouTube link in your posting if you can.

Think of the task as like a MEST 3 exam analysis but with one text instead of two - so you need to cover MIGRAIN and SHEP and you are advised to watch the scene several times and to make detailed notes before embarking on the write-up, which should be in essay format (NOT in note form).

Also, use the Key Concepts Glossary to help you think about terminology to use. You should be including as many of these keywords and ideas as possible in your analysis (where relevant...this won't always be the case), along with ideas you've picked up from the Media Keywords A-Z.

Yr 13 Representation Homework

It has been said that media representations often reflect the social and political concerns of the age in which they are created. Discuss. (48 marks)

Prepare an exam style response for this question which should be typed and a must be a minimum of 1,500 words. You must make sure you make full reference to your own case study (you may include reference to other social groups/places studied in class to support your answer, if relevant) and include representation and audience theory, a range of actual examples using media language to support your points along with relevant wider contextual issues (SHEP).

This is due your first lesson next week. Please remember that you need to demonstrate your ability to meet your predicted grade with this essay as it will be used as the basis of your next interim.

Book Research

For 13c1 and 13d1

Although you've been doing some excellent internet research, it's crucial if you want a top grade (i.e. an A or B) to include a wide range of book research as part of your study too. The internet has only been around as for a decade or so and absolutely anyone can publish on the web. This means that when it comes to academic investigations books still carry much more authority.

You'll need at least a dozen decent book references in your bibliography. By 'decent' we mean relevant academic works or textbooks that you actually quote or refer to in the main body of your essay. It won't be enough just to copy out a long list of related books - you have to have read at least part of each one and identified useful material that you can use from them. Use the contents page and index in each book to help you select that nugget of information that could be helpful.

Please carry out the following over the next week (by Friday 11-12-09)...

• This week you must visit the school library which, quite frankly, has the best range of media books for miles (better than Ealing libraries for sure). [TIP: Use the online library catalogue to search for books as well as looking on the shelves]. As everyone in Year 13 is doing this task it would be a bit selfish to borrow the books from the library because it stops anyone else from using them. Therefore, please treat all media-related books as reference books and don't take them out. (But if you want to borrow them over the following week, to use over Xmas, then please do so). Also, see Mr Babu in the Media Suite who has an extensive range of media books that you can borrow - many of those in the library are also there.

• Check through all the media- and film-related books. Then photocopy some of the relevant pages and highlight and annotate the essential details you expect to include. Or you can make notes/copy out quotes that might be relevant for your essay

• Post up at least TEN books you've started researching in a posting entitled: 'Bibliography: Books'. For each one write a brief summary about how it will be useful - be specific! Make sure you include all the required information in the correct way (and this includes keeping a record of page references)...

Author Surname, Author First Name (year of publication): Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.eg...Craig, Steve (1992) : Men, Masculinity and the Media. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.



If you can add more now then please do - you'll have to in the future.

Over the weekend it's also advisable to go to Ealing libraries (Ealing Broadway, Greenford, etc.) to see what they've got. Also, you could visit larger bookshops (e.g. Waterstones in Ealing, Foyles at Westfield) and see what they have on offer.

Make sure that you bring all the photocopied/highlighted/annotated research to the lesson on the deadline day!