This Communication Studies IA sample is to be used as a guide to CAPE level (grade 12) students. The theme of this internal assessment is Social Media and Beauty.

1. Caribbean Examination Council | Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination
Communication Studies | Internal Assessment
Name: Nyah Johnson
School: Immaculate Conception High School
Registration Number: Centre Number: 100051
Teacher:
Territory: Jamaica
Date: May/June 2020
Theme: Social Media and Beauty

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Table of Contents
General Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...3
Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………….…4
Reflective Piece…………………………………………………………………………………...5-7
Language Analysis………………………………………………………………………………..8-9

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General Introduction
“Young women take external concepts of the European model of beauty, and use it to devalue
themselves.” - Hon. Lisa Hanna
The Minister of Youth and Culture of Jamaica reinforces how youth perceive the European
phenotype with the desired traits of beauty, which is perpetuated on social media. The theme
“Beauty and Social Media” has been chosen to highlight the issue of the misguided concepts of
beauty held by young Jamaicans in order to effect change.
This research consists of an exposition and reflection. The exposition will explore the negative
psychological effects of upholding the European standard of beauty. The reflection consists of a
poem, which depicts a teenage girl who struggles with self-worth but is guided by her mother to
define beauty in her terms, thus aiding in reinforcing the purpose of this research.
As a student of Information Technology, I was prompted to explore this theme as media and the way
people use it are studied. Furthermore, I hope to pursue a career in makeup artistry and may encounter
youths with low self-confidence due to beauty standards seen on social media. Therefore, this
research would be beneficial as I obtain information needed to resolve issues such as self-
depreciation, lack of confidence, or depression that misguided youths, including myself, have
encountered.

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Preface
The theme of my reflection is youth and beauty. The reason for the selection of this theme is that the
debate surrounding beauty standards is an on-going issue in my community and I aspire to sensitize
my community to, as well as alleviate, the social issue of colorism within it.
My reflection is a poem, titled “Uniquely Made” that speaks about a young girl growing up in
Jamaica. The girl finds her own perception of beauty, with the assistance of her mother though her
environment is discriminatory towards her ethnicity. The purpose of the reflection is to enlighten the
audience that society or their environment does not have to influence their standard of beauty.
Additionally, the reflective piece serves to provide encouragement to youths in similar
circumstances.
Furthermore, the target audience of this reflective piece is youths, particularly teenage girls as they
are the ones who mostly struggle with and are aware of beauty standards and perceptions. Social
media often demonstrates to girls how they should appear to be considered beautiful.
Lastly, to engage the audience, the poem will be presented as a Youtube video. This medium would
be employed, as many teenage girls utilise Youtube daily for recreational purposes.

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The Reflection | ‘Uniquely Made’
As a young girl growing up in Jamaica, my mother always told me
there is beauty, not in the colour of your skin,
nor in the texture of your hair,
but true beauty comes from within
that beauty is more than physical appearance,
beauty is about the pureness of your heart
and the kindness in your soul
but others will never truly understand your real beauty.
I have never understood these words because,
As a young girl growing up in Jamaica, I have always heard in school
that brown is beauty, and black is corruption
that my hair is not ‘good’ just because it was not straight,
and my nose was ‘too broad’, and my lips were ‘too big’,
But Marcus Garvey said,
“The black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness”.
And yet I am still ashamed of how I was made.
Why do the features of my face make me beautiful?
I ask my mother every night,
the cracks in my voice, revealing my bottled emotions.
As a young girl growing up in Jamaica, I often ask my mother
Why is black skin associated with ugly?
Why is everyone around me eager to purchase these skin lighteners and creams?
Why are my schoolmates relentlessly telling me
to straighten the curls out of my hair?
wi not all uniquely made?
As a young girl grown in Jamaica,
I often gaze at myself in the mirror,
not remembering the words of my mother,
but asking why was I born in this skin.
So pent up with emotions, my closest friends could see the despair on my face,

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“Yuh okay? Is what happen to yuh?” they asked, slowly
The tears began to flow as I slouched,
my emotions breaking free as I bawled.
As a young girl grown in Jamaica, shouldn’t I already know myself?
shouldn’t I be comfortable in the skin I was born in?
I’ve scrubbed my skin until I appeared red,
in a vain attempt to rid myself of my melanin.
I thought to myself, preparing to answer my friend,
“weh it mean fi be beautiful inna this country?”
“light skin and tall hair? all tings weh mi nuh have?”
I took a breath of air, slowly letting out,
“nothing”
She hugged me, reminding me to be strong,
reminding me that she will always be a listening ear.
I went home that night, racking up enough courage,
to tell my friend how I truly felt about myself.
“true mi black, mi ugly?”
As a young girl grown in Jamaica, I felt anxiety,
asking my own friend to validate my own self-worth and beauty.
My hand shook at my ear as I held up the cell phone,
Tears flowing like a river as she said,
“People dem opinion of you nuh matter, everyone is uniquely made.”
I reflected on her words that night, looking at myself in the mirror
and every night I reminded myself,
that everyone is made differently
That as a young girl grown in Jamaica,
no one around me is made the same.
I placed my hand on my cheek,
admiring the suppleness of my black skin,
the words of my mother resonated in me again,
‘there is beauty, not in the colour of your skin,
nor in the texture of your hair,

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but true beauty comes from within
that beauty is more than physical appearance
beauty is about the pureness of your heart
and the kindness in your soul’.
I went to my mother and asked her,
“why do you always remind me about beauty?”
She looked at me as she described her childhood,
that her parents were old-fashioned and reminded her,
that adhering to the rules of whites,
would make her superior to her own race.
They straightened her hair, encouraged skin lighteners,
and sent her to private schools, so that she could not interact,
with the people of her own ethnic background.
Tears formed in my eyes as she told me,
“I vowed to myself, to never let my own daughter
feel uncomfortable in her own skin, to embrace herself,
whether black, white or mixed.
I promised myself to make my child feel beautiful, even though my own parents made me feel
restrained to the colour of my skin”
As a young girl grown in Jamaica, I finally realized,
that my beauty should not be perceived by others,
but I should perceive my own beauty, and I am beautiful.
My beauty cannot be defined in a dictionary,
nor can be told to me by anyone else, but myself.
I tightly hugged my mother for her encouraging words,
and through reflection and meditation.
As a young girl grown in Jamaica, I finally knew myself.
I am me, I am uniquely made.

8. 8
Language Analysis
The title of the reflective piece is “Uniquely Made”, a poem in first-person narration. The theme of
the poem is youth and beauty and it speaks of a girl who finds her beauty with the assistance of her
mother, highlighting the message that beauty should be dependent on a person’s own standard and
definition. The linguistic features used are dialectal variations and communicative behaviours.
Firstly, a linguistic feature employed in the reflective piece is dialectal variations. Creole has been
utilised by the narrator. For instance, when speaking to her friends about her self-esteem, she
enquired, “true mi black, mi ugly?” The narrator decided to utilise non-standard English as she is
from a Caribbean country, therefore it is her native dialect. Additionally, the speaker is
communicating with her school friend, and hence is more comfortable with creole.
Furthermore, standard English was employed by the mother. For example, when the narrator admires
herself, she resonates on the words of her mother “there is beauty, not in the colour of your skin”. It
is also revealed that the mother grew up not exposed to creole as her parents frowned on it. Therefore,
standard English would be more familiar to the mother.
Moreover, another linguistic feature conveyed in the poem is communicative behaviours. Vocalics
was employed by the narrator. For example, “the cracks in my voice, revealing my bottled emotions”,
indicating the dejection and shame the narrator felt when suffering from self-doubt. Vocalics was
used to enhance the emotions felt by the narrator. Also, haptics was utilised by the narrator, for
instance, “I tightly hugged my mother for her encouraging words”, indicating the contentment the
narrator felt once she discovered her beauty. Haptics may have been utilized to also enhance the
emotional mood of the poem.

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In conclusion, “Uniquely Made” reveals to the readers that beauty should be a personal definition.
The linguistic features utilised in the poem are dialectal variation being creole and standard English.
Also, communicative behaviours such as vocalics and haptics were utilised. Finally, the features
have been employed in the poem to enhance its elements and intention.