About the exam

Exam question:

- Discuss contemporary representations of a nation, region or social group in the media using specific textual examples from at least 2 media to support your answer. (50)

- How far does the representation of a particular social group change over time? Refer to at least 2 media in your answer. (50)

Here is the examiner's feedback from the Summer 2015 series of exams:

Media and collective identity was by far the most popular topic with youth, gender and British Muslims dominating answers. The best answers were able to discuss and apply concepts such as mediation, stereotyping, gate keeping, construction, masculinity and femininity. A number of candidates referred to hegemony but a few found it difficult to articulate the theory and so their argument became convoluted and difficult to follow. For youth, Quadrophenia was the most popular historical example and Fish Tank the contemporary example. Weaker candidates tended to describe scenes and state that this is a negative representation, stronger candidates were able to discuss the nuances of the films, offering a far more complex discussion of media construction of collective identity. Whilst some candidates over-relied on two contrasting or historically distanced texts, others were trying to work with too many and subsequently the scrabble to include all of the texts studied meant that academic theory was overlooked and arguments were not fully explored, so there is a balance to strike for this topic. 

General advice for section B is consistent with previous sessions – answers should be balanced, academically informed, current and forward thinking and, wherever possible, a sense of candidates’ reflecting on their own media culture should emerge in their writing.

Looking at the examiner's feedback from the Summer 2015 series of exams has enabled me to understand what it is they are looking for and how I can improve within my research and work.