The document provides guidance on answering exam questions about reflecting on skills development and the use of conventions in media texts. It emphasizes analyzing influences on work from AS to A2 levels, conventions that were adopted or rejected, and how skills developed over time with examples. The advice is to name specific media examples reviewed, how they influenced work, and how the use of conventions like genre, format and institutions improved. Key concepts like genre, narrative and audience are to be applied in analyzing selected conventions.

1. Question 1a general points
What does the question assess?
• What did you do?
• How did you do it?
• How did your skills develop?
• All supported with examples. . .
• Focused on the relevant area
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

2. Reflect on your selection and
rejection of real media
conventions
What can you remember? Write a list, for each
project, of. . .
a.Conventions you saw in your research and
conformed to
b.Conventions you saw and consciously challenged
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

3. Sample question
Describe how your analysis of the
conventions of real media texts
informed your own creative media
practice. Refer to a range of examples
in your answer to show how your skills
developed over time.
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

4. Advice from the OCR chief
examiner
‘You need to do more than just say ‘I
looked on YouTube’ for conventions of
real media, but actually name specific
videos you looked at, what you gained
from them and how they influenced
your work.’
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

5. Read through the examples for this
question (you also have examples for some
other questions).
Find/highlight evidence in each example of the following:
•Explanation of influences on AS work
•Explanation of influences on A2 work
•Judgment on best/most effective
•Ideas on conventions that were rejected
•Reasons why and effect
•Links to genre
•Links to audience
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

6. There is more than one type of
‘convention’ involved. . .
• Institutional conventions, e.g. what you would expect a media
product from a certain type of organisation to be like/include.
• Format conventions, e.g. what elements you would expect a film
opening, music video, poster or digipak to include
• Genre conventions, e.g. what kind of narrative, characters,
setting and location, iconography, style (camerawork, mise-en-
scene, editing and sound) you would expect from a product in
that genre.
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

7. What did you do?
• Institutional conventions – did you identify any of these in your
research? How did you use them within your productions? Did
this improve?
• Format conventions – how did you establish what these were?
How did you go about using them and making sure an audience
could recognise your product? Did this improve?
• Genre conventions – ‘Genre is a product of instances of
repetition and difference’ (S. Neale). How did you select what
to repeat? What did you decide to keep ‘different’? Did this
develop or change? How did the change improve the work?
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.

8. Relevant key concepts and theories –
how are they applied in the example
• Genre: How could your selection of
iconography prove Buscombe’s idea?
• Narrative: Did your thriller use
Todorov/Propp? Goodwin/Vernallis?
• Audience: How would audiences gain
gratification from your use of
conventions?
LO: To analyse and reflect on our methods in a particular
skill area.