This document provides guidance to students on how to structure their answer for an exam question about using conventions of real media texts in their coursework productions. It recommends: 1. Splitting the answer into three stages of production - pre-production, production, and post-production - and listing examples from each stage. 2. Highlighting the key examples from each production stage that will be discussed in the essay. 3. Writing an introduction that answers the exam question, briefly outlines productions from AS and A2 years, and explains the essay structure. 4. Using PDQ paragraphs with a Point, Data, and link to the Question in analyzing examples from each production stage.

1. Exam question 1a
Learning Objective:
Understand how to structure
an answer on real media
texts.

2. Starter
Work in pairs to :
•- List conventions of magazines
•OR
- List conventions of music videos
•

3. Conventions of real media texts:
class list
Magazines Music videos

4. The stages of production work
• Your coursework (production work) can be
split into 3 simple stages:
– Pre- production (this is all your research and
planning).
– Production (this is the actual process of
photographing/ filming, etc).
– Post- production (this is everything that
happen after you’ve filmed – editing, work on
Photoshop, audience feedback, the
evaluation process).

5. Your use of the conventions of
real media texts
• Complete your sheet, with as many
examples as you can think of for each
stage of the process.

6. The question:
Explain how you have used,
developed or challenged
conventions of real media
products.

7. Marks and timing
• You only have 30 minutes to answer this
question.
• You may want to limit the examples to 3
per section (i.e. 3 examples from each box
on your sheet).
On your sheet, highlight the key examples
from each box that you will use.

8. The introduction
Your intro must have 3 sections (3 sentences):
1. Answer or give point of view to question.
2. Outline briefly what you made each year.
3. Explain to the examiner how you are
going to structure their essay.
You now have 3 minutes to write your
introduction.

9. PDQ Paragraphs
Point
- Make a clear point
Data
- Demonstrate what you mean with
detailed examples
Question
- Link what you’ve said to the question

10. Your essay plan
1) Intro
2) Examples from AS pre-production, linked to
explanation of how these were developed at
A2.
3) Examples from AS production, linked to
explanation of how these were developed at
A2.
4) Examples from AS post-production, linked to
explanation of how these were developed at
A2.
5) Conclusion – answer the question.