This document provides guidance for students on evaluating a coursework product by answering 7 questions on a blog. It emphasizes creatively using the blog format to structure the evaluation, with examples like embedding presentations, images, videos and audio. High-quality evaluations clearly address each question, show understanding of issues like audience and technology, and demonstrate learning throughout the project. Students must obtain audience feedback and comment on how their work developed from preliminary tasks.

1. Evaluation
Lesson Objectives: To be able to evaluate your
coursework product.

2. Evaluation
 Your evaluation is presented on your blog.
 You need to answer 7 set questions.
 The examiner is looking for you to make creative
use of the possibilities of the blog format.

3. Level 4 16–20 marks
 Excellent skill in the use of appropriate digital
technology or ICT in the evaluation.
 Excellent understanding of issues around
audience, institution, technology, representation,
forms and conventions in relation to production.
 Excellent ability to refer to the choices made and
outcomes.
 Excellent understanding of their development
from preliminary to full task.
 Excellent ability to communicate

4. Examiner’s Feedback
 The best work clearly addresses the seven set
questions and offers a range of tasks to
challenge the candidates. The evaluation should
be seen as quite a big component, as it is worth
20 marks; where a significant chunk of time is
devoted to the tasks and preparation throughout
the project for the areas to be addressed has
taken place, this tends to yield dividends. Where
the evaluation appears to have been offered as
a ‘bolt-on’ component, responses were often
very rushed and lacked any kind of depth or skill.

5. Examiner’s Feedback
 The seven questions must be explicitly used to
structure the evaluation and this element should be
seen as an opportunity for some creative critical
reflection.
 The specification states clearly that it should not be
seen as an essay and that responses should make
creative use of the media in which they are
produced.
 The best work demonstrated a broad capability for
employing different digital media in the
presentation of their evaluations, with specific detail
and references presented in varied and lively ways.

6. Key Points
 Address the 7 questions clearly.
 The evaluation is not an essay.
 You must make effective use of the blog format.

7. How can you use the blog
format creatively?
 Use a range of different media and presentation
methods to address the questions the questions.
 The could include:
 Images
 Embedding presentations or using prezzi
 Links
 Videos
 audio

8. The 7 Questions
 You must address each of the following questions individually in your
evaluation:
1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media products?
2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?
3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and
why?
4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
5) How did you attract/address your audience?
6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product

9. The 7 Questions
 1) Conventions – how have you followed the conventions
of music magazines?
 2) Representation – how have you represented social
groups?
 3) Institutions – what type of company would produce
and distribute your product? Why?
 4) Who is your target audience?
 5) How have you appealed to this target audience?
 6) Technology – what technologies have you used?
 7) How have your progressed from your preliminary task?

10. Resources
 Your handbook contains more information about
how to complete the evaluation. Resources for
this topic are available on the blog
 mediastudiesnwcc.blogspot.com
 Click on the AS Media Foundation Portfolio link at
the top of the page to access all resources for
this unit.

11. Audience Feedback
 As part of your evaluation you need to obtain audience
feedback on your finished product.
 This should include a completed survey on your finished
product. Use social networking sites like facebook and
twitter to encourage people to respond.
 You can also use the comment facility of your blog to
allow people to give you feedback on your finished
product on your blog.
 You should also complete a focus group with members of
your target audience to get detailed feedback on your
finished product. Filming or producing an audio
recording of this will help you to achieve a Level 4 for
your evaluation.

12. Question 1 - Conventions
 In what ways does your media product use, develop or
challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 You need to identify what the conventions of music
magazines are you. You should think about this in relation
to conventions of layout, font styles, images, mode of
address, and content.
 Summarise this information. You may want to use
powerpoint, or a website like prezzi to do this. You could
even export your presentation as a movie which you can
upload to your blog.
 You can present this information in any suitable format –
make sure you are being creative, and making the most
of opportunities to use a range of media technology.

13. Question 1 - Conventions
 You will then need to explain how you used these
conventions in your own magazine.
 Identify specific examples from your magazine.
 Compare your finished magazines to real
magazines.
 Make sure you are being creative in how you
present this part of the question. Make sure you
use images to support the points you make.
 Consider using presentations, or a video or audio
guide to your magzazine.

14. Approaching Question 1
 You need to show you understand the conventions
of music magazines, and how you have used them
in your own product.
 You also need to show the ability to use media
technologies creatively in your response.
 Your completed response to the question must be
uploaded to your blog. A written blog entry is not
acceptable.
 Before you begin working on answering this
question think about how you can use media
technologies such as the blog format, images,
.video, audio, presentations, etc. to good effect