Students typically do better in the summer exams than the last set of mocks - but usually only by around a grade. This means you need to make sure you are fully prepared for these exams with the aim of achieving your target grade or just off it.
The following will help you plan your revision:
Media Paper 1
Section A will always focus on Media Language and Representations. This means the following CSPs could come up:
Advertising & Marketing
Score & Maybelline That Boss Life - Advertising index is here
Music Video
Letter to the Free & Ghost Town - Music Video index is here
Section B will always focus on Media Audiences and Industries. This means the following CSPs could come up:
Film Industry
Blinded By The Light - Film Industry index is here
Radio
BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat and War of the Worlds - Radio index is here
Newspapers (not in January mock exam - we haven't covered this yet)
The Daily Mail and The i
Unseen question
The first question in Media Paper 1 Section A will always be an unseen media product.
The second question will also relate to the unseen while also bringing in a CSP. This means it is likely the unseen product will link to advertising and marketing or music promotion.
20-mark essays
There will be TWO 20-mark essays in Paper 1 – at the end of each section. AQA states for your extended response questions:
“You will be rewarded for your ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.” This means you need to write an essay that constructs an argument that answers the question you have been given.
You can look through this AQA Specimen Paper 1 paper to familiarise yourself with the structure of the paper.
You can look through this AQA Specimen Paper 1 paper to familiarise yourself with the structure of the paper.
Media Paper 2
The first question in Media Paper 2 will always be a 9-mark question on an unseen media product.
Aside from Q1, Media Paper 2 tests your in-depth topic areas:
TV
Capital and Deutschland 83 - TV index is here
Magazines
Men’s Health and Oh Comely - Magazines index is here
Online, Social and Participatory
Teen Vogue and The Voice - OSP index is here
Videogames
Tomb Raider Anniversary, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes & The Sims FreePlay - index is here.
Indeed, the majority of Paper 2 will be THREE 25-mark essays on your in-depth topics. AQA states for your extended response questions:
“You will be rewarded for your ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.” This means plan and write an essay with a clear and convincing argument!
The structure for the 25-mark questions in Paper 2 tends to be as follows:
- Q2: evaluation of theory question
- Q3: contexts question (e.g. social and cultural contexts)
- Q4: synoptic question
Q4: Synoptic question
The final question in Paper 2 will always be the synoptic question – which requires you to demonstrate knowledge of the whole two-year course of study. AQA states:
“Question 4 is a synoptic question in which you will be rewarded for your ability to draw together different areas of knowledge and understanding from across the full course of study.”
How do we do this? Answer: Key concepts and CSPs. Try and answer the question by linking it to other key concepts (Language/Industries/ Audiences/Representations) and by mentioning other relevant CSPs that link to the question. This will demonstrate your knowledge of the whole course - but make sure you do stay focused the question!
You can look through this AQA Specimen Paper 2 paper to familiarise yourself with the structure of the paper.
You can look through this AQA Specimen Paper 2 paper to familiarise yourself with the structure of the paper.
How to revise
Revision is a very personal thing and everyone has different techniques. Here's a video on YouTube with top tips for A* A Level revision:
Personally, I strongly recommend using flash cards (they are often called record cards if you are trying to buy them online or in WHSmiths). The simple act of distilling topics into a few key words or phrases to put on the card will seriously help in remembering the key information in the final exams. I have spare flash cards in DF07 if you'd like some.
Revision example and useful resources - thank you Assia!
One of our former Year 13 Media students, Assia, very kindly shared some of her revision resources with us when she left Greenford. These are notes on CSPs which you may find useful but I'd also recommend creating your own similar resources for the CSPs to help you remember the key details. By the way, this is what an A grade student looks like! You'll need your Greenford Google login to access these:
How to plan and answer A Level Media exam questions
One of the key skills you need to practice with the mock exams is exam technique. In order to help you, these 'walk and talk' videos go through a range of different A Level Media exam questions and cover the number of marks, how long to spend on the answer and what structure or points you could make in your answer. Not all of these question types or CSPs will come up in your mock exams (some CSPs have changed) but the videos will help with exam technique and revision regardless.
Paper 1 Section A - 9 mark question on Advertising and Marketing:
Paper 1 Section A - 20 mark question on Music Video:
Paper 1 Section B - 6 mark question on Film Industry (note: different CSP to ours):
Paper 1 Section B - 9 mark question on Film Industry (note: different CSP to ours):
Paper 2 - 25 mark TV question:
Finally, revise EVERYTHING you have learned over the last 18 months for A Level Media in preparing for these exams - terminology, theory and CSPs. Good luck!
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