As media studies preliminary task

1. AS Media Studies

2. They made the title big and bold so that it will stand out and attract
people’s attention.
The magazine is colourful so that it
persuades parents and carers to
buy it. Whereas if the magazine was
dull, grey and boring it would be
less likely to attract customers’
attention.
It has a free giveaway of a 10 page
healthy cooking guide which is most
likely aimed at parents that enjoy
cooking, this would most probably be a
guide that they would want. This also
gives them a chance to cook their
children healthy meals.
It has a happy pupil on the
magazine to show parents that
students enjoy being at the school
and have a good time, this would
also attract the attention of
newcomers which would start
secondary school, so that they are
reassured that they will feel
comfortable with the environment
that they’re in.
It shows that students do well
in school with the good grades
that they achieve, proving that
the teaching is exceptional.
The magazine gives advice to
parents on how they could help
their children deal with teenage
stress, this is important because
not many people know how their
child would transition into
becoming a young adult with all
the work they have to do in
school.
There is a strap/sell line to persuade
people to buy the magazine, and it is
trying to say that their magazine is
unique, therefore more preferable
than the others.
It tells you the price, issue and
sell date, so that people are
aware of exactly how much
they have to pay, and it is fairly
cheap.

3. Evaluation
• The bright colours used project the magazine in a positive
light, showing that the school is also a positive environment to
be in.
• The free giveaway encourages more people to buy the
magazine, especially because it is also being sold for a
reasonable price.
• However, the magazine does look slightly simple and basic,
and probably wouldn’t appeal to students. Therefore, they
could make the headline look more exciting by including a
free giveaway that a student would most likely want. This
encourages more people to want to buy the magazine rather
than just to read it.

4. The magazine is sold for a really
good price, so parents are most
likely to buy the magazine.
The magazine includes images from their
school prom, which is definitely
something the students would be
interested in, most likely the girls,
because there is a picture of them on the
magazine.
There is a debate on whether or not to keep
school uniform, which is something that the
students usually complain about in all
schools because they want to dress in their
own causal clothing, so students would be
very interested in reading about it.
Everyone loves junk food, so
I’m sure the students would
want read about what the
canteen has to offer, especially
if there is a page in the
magazine where they could
write about why they want
doughnuts in their canteen.
Students would want to read the exam
tips, on how to deal with revising, and
cope with stress.

5. What do you expect to see in a school magazine?
Sport results lllll
Reviews of new music
Reviews of new films
Editorial ll
Articles about school life llll
Upcoming events lllllll
A message from the head lll
How much do you expect a school magazine to cost?
Free lllllllllllllllll
50p lll
How often should a school magazine be published?
Daily l
Weekly llllll
Monthly lllllllllllll

6. Task 3
Initial Thoughts
What is successful? What has the student done well?
- The masthead is very bold and stands out which
would attract the attention of possible customers.
All the subtitles are in a column which makes the
writing easier to read and the subtitles aren’t
overlapping on his face so the image is clear.
What could be improved?
- The front cover is dull and grey which is boring and
isn’t aesthetically pleasing therefore wouldn’t
attract the attention of potential customers. The
front cover is also very basic which comes across as
though it is uninspired. It doesn’t have any
interesting sub headings therefore might not appeal
to school students.
Do you think you are able to produce similar work?
- Yes, I think I could do better.

7. Initial Thoughts
What is successful? What has the student done well?
- The page is full of cheerful students implying that
they enjoy school which could attract the
attention of parents that are deciding to send their
children to that particular school. The contents
page has a heading to talk about future plans for
the school which would most likely appeal to all.
What could be improved?
- The colour of the contents page is grey and really
contrasts with children smiling which could imply
that they were forced to look happy. Therefore it
should be made brighter to compliment the image
they used for the contents page.
Do you think you are able to produce similar work?
- Yes, I think I could do better.

8. What have I learnt?
• The preliminary task has helped me understand specifically what an
audience would expect to be in a school magazine, and that it
should appeal to both students and parents so that more people
would want to purchase it.
• I have learnt the key concepts that are needed for a front cover and
contents page of a school magazine. It must be appealing to the eye
with fair and neutral colours rather than dull so that it would attract
potential customers’ attention.
• The front cover must include some interesting sub-headings so that
it would engage students’ attention so that they are interested in
reading it.
• I have learnt how to create a front cover and contents page on
publisher and how to format it according to my preference.