Media Studies

A2 Coursework

MS3: Media
Investigation
& Production

Name: __________________________

Project:
________________________________________
___
________________________________________
___________

Whats it all about?

The MS3 Coursework brings together all elements of the course and
builds upon; the knowledge, understanding and skills youve already
gained.
It will test your understanding of the different elements of the A-level
specification.
It is designed to allow you to:
Demonstrate research skills
Demonstrate your knowledge of media concepts and apply them to
the analysis of media texts
Organise relevant information clearly and coherently using media
language and terminology as appropriate
Explore an area of contemporary media in depth
Use your research to inform a media product
Build on existing, and develop new technical & creative media
skills
Evaluate the success of your project as a whole
Choose a subject to research that you really enjoy and have an
interest in!

Media Investigation & Production

The facts:

50% of A2
25 % of A-level
Three separate components with a maximum of 100 marks.

Research
Investigation 1400-1800 words
Practical Production
3-4 pages for print. 3-4 minutes for audio visual

Evaluation
500-750 words

45
marks
45
marks
10
marks

As you can see equal weight is given to both the Research Investigation
and the Practical Production. So its vitally important that you do not
prioritise one over the other.
However, we will see they are both very closely connected.
The exam board specifies that you cannot create work based on
the same form or medium as your AS level coursework. Therefore
you will need to consider carefully which area of the media you
will focus on for this project.
Firstly, lets look at what its all about...

The Rules
So what exactly are you doing? Watch out, here comes the science bit
1.

You are required to submit an individual investigative or analytical

essay of NO MORE than 1800 words this is your Research
Investigation
The exam board get a bit funny about essays being more than this therefore,
we will stick stringently to this limit.

2.

You will select a title with a CLEARLY DEFINED FOCUS so that a

clear area for research is revealed
You will choose one of the nine options available, you will choose which texts
you study.

3. You MUST base your response on one (or more) of the following
concepts:
i. Genre
ii. Narrative Form
iii. Representation
Youll see that most of the choices are based on representation. This is
because it is quite a meaty subject. However there are plenty of academic
writings on all three of these subject areas. You just have to remember that
the key area you study will inform how you plan your...

4.

Media Products must be based on your Research Investigation.

They can be done in groups if the product is Audio Visual but MUST
be undertaken individually if they are print based.
This is included to allow you to really show off the technical skills you
developed in the AS level, and to give you the freedom to be as creative as
you can the exam board wants these to look professional remember,
however, it must be connected to the Research Investigation.

The Research Investigation

1.

At each step of your research, try to have clear objectives in mind.

Are you clear about what you are trying to get out of each piece of
research you do?

2.

Its useful to set yourself questions that you want your research to
find answers to. This should help direct you and help you to set
priorities.

3.

Make a record in the form of a log of every source you use and
every piece of research you do, because if you dont youll forget
the sources youve used.

4.

You may need both primary and secondary research in your

essay Primary research involves doing your own original work to
find out about something.

Primary Research
Your textual analysis
Emails/letters/telephone calls
Secondary research involves making use of other peoples research to
help you with your area of investigation.
Secondary Research

Books/study guides
Newspapers/magazines/journals
Video/DVD/television
Surveys/data
Websites/Radio

Example research log

Suitable for Theoretical / Academic research and also Institutional
context research:
Research Questions

Source:
If book: title/author/publisher/year
If visual: title/director/production company/year

Useful quotations including page no.

Summary of Findings and Evaluation of Source

Different Sources
Obviously, there are going to be many, many different places for you to
research. It is worth bearing in mind that there are different types of source.
Aim to cover as many of these as possible:
search engines
academic sites
media industry websites
fan/official websites
magazines
academic books
popular books
TV and Radio programes
DVDs / Videos
Questionnaires
Interviews
newspapers & news archives

The majority of your research will be from academic books, academic

websites and analysis of texts. When it comes to websites be dilligent
and be sure to scrutinise them. It is well documented that not everything on
the web is the gospel truth!
The Question of Wikipedia
Throughout this project you may hear me curse the, dubiously, good name of Wikipedia, the
online encyclopedia. Let me make the following statements:

I do not hate Wikipedia, In fact, it is one of the most valuable resources for Pub
Quizzers the world over.

I do NOT expect to see it as a reference in your bibliographies. When completed, this

project will constitute six months of research and independent academic study. If
either the examiner or I see Wikipedia as your supposedly thorough research then it
undermines the work you have put in.

Wikipedia is not without its uses. Many of the articles are actually derived from some
kind of academic research and Wikipedia is a place for collecting them. Use it as a
starting point to find substantiuated and academic resources- but remember to
scrutinise the external links & bibliography. Anything which cites: Heat magazine is
unlikely to be reputable.

How to lay out a bibliography

A bibliography is a detailed list at the end of your essay of all books you
have cited (quoted from) in your essay as well as books which may have
influenced your thinking on your essay.
A bibliography always contains:
Author(s)
Full title of book/article/journal
Date of publication
Publisher
Edition number
Top tip: Every time you photocopy a chapter from a book or jot down a
quotation. Write down all the above details so you wont be stuck when
you come to write your bibliography.
Examples of how to lay out your references:
Cohen, S (2002): Folk Devils and Moral Panics Third Edition: Routledge.

If you are citing an article within an edited book:

Keer, P: F For Fake? Friction over faction in Goodwin, A and Whannel, G (Ed) (1997):
Understanding Television: Routledge.

If you are citing an article from a magazine:

Mills, S: Whats the story in Balamory? Media Magazine, Issue 13 September 2005.

If you are citing from a website:

Where possible you should include the authors name and date of
publication but this is not always clear. As a minimum you should cite the
main URL address in a clearly defined section.
Internet sources:
www.bbc.co.uk (date accessed 22.10.10)

All references need to be listed in alphabetical order by authors

surname.
Top tip: Im not going to mark you down for not having the commas,
colons and brackets exactly right. You will notice there are many slight
differences between how people lay it out but follow these main rules
and your referencing will be correct.

How to footnote your references

The Harvard Referencing system is the most commonly used
referencing system. Any ideas or direct quotations taken or influenced
by other people MUST be referenced. The Harvard System requires you
to reference quotations or ideas taken from others in the main body of
your essay. For example: Television has changed the way British
families have behaved (Anderson 2009: 53). This referencing technique
can look a bit odd (Cohen, 1979: 21) and break up the flow of your
essay. A less noticeable way to reference is to use footnotes.
After you have quoted from a text or discussed a theory place the cursor
in an appropriate place1 then on the toolbar
Reference (tab)
Insert Footnote (button)

The footnote system will automatically re-number if you need to add in

additional footnotes later.

1 This is what it looks like! You need to add the authors surname, year of
publication and page number e.g. Cohen, 1979: 21

Writing the Research Investigation

You will submit multiple drafts of your Research Investigation as you go
along however it is important to know exactly what the examiner is
looking for. Here is the mark scheme to use as a guide for knowing how
good your essay is and what areas need improvement.
Level/marks

A04: Demonstrate the ability to undertake, apply and present

appropriate
research

Level 1: 0-17

Limited evidence of research. Minimal application of this research which

has been presented in an unclear and unfocused way.
Quality of written communication will be limited, frequently unclear.
Frequent errors in the use of language. Little or no evidence of ability to
structure ideas.

Level 2: 1826

At the lower end of this level, there will be evidence of basic research.
This will have been applied in a simple way. Basic ability to present
research demonstrated.
Quality of written communication will be basic but sufficiently clear to
allow communication. Frequent errors in the use of language.
Limited ability to structure ideas.

[18-22]

[23-26]

Level 3: 27-35
[27-31]

[32-35]

Level 4: 36-45

At the upper end of this level, there will be evidence of research from a
reasonable number of sources. There will be some attempt to apply this
research and present it with some coherence.
Quality of written communication will be mainly clear. Some errors in the
use of language. Some ability to structure ideas.

At the lower end of this level, candidates will undertake sound and
relevant research from a range of appropriate sources. This research will
be applied in a sound way and presented with supporting points.
Quality of written communication will be sound and clear.
Reasonable level of accuracy. Sound ability to structure ideas.
At the upper end of this level, the research will be good, covering a good
range of sources and will be applied in a detailed way. It will be
presented appropriately with good references.
Quality of written communication will be good. Good level of accuracy.
Good ability to structure ideas.

Research will be excellent, covering a wide range of sources. These will

be analysed and applied in a sophisticated way and presented a logical
and coherent manner, supported by a range of sophisticated points.

Quality of written communication will be sophisticated. A high degree of

accuracy. Sophisticated ability to structure ideas effectively.

The Production
Although you will be writing an essay at a very high standard you are
also expected to create a media product which not only, reflects the level
of research you have done into your chosen topic (whether that is Genre,
Narrative or Representation), but also showcases high quality production
values in terms of technical ability and creativity.
This must be RELEVANT to your essay & NOT SLAPDASH!
There are some choices that need to be made:
Audio Visual work can be done in groups and needs to be
approximately 3-4 minutes long.
Print based work must be done individually and must be 3-4
pages.
A combination of Audio Visual & Print based materials can be
completed but the same rules apply. i.e. Print based must be
individual, AV - can be group.
IMPORTANT: If you are completing any group work you must have a
clearly defined role. You will also need to agree as a group on a medium
from the start and have relevant individual research investigation titles.

HINT: Although you are only going to be marked on your final product do
not underestimate the importance of pre-production work. Write scripts,
plan shoots meticulously, draw storyboards this will save time and
effort. The better prepared you are at every stage, the more creative you
can be when you get there!

Considerations for your Production

The mark scheme for the production focuses on both: Your technical &
creative skills AND your ability to link the product to the Research
Investigation.
Level/marks

AO3: Demonstrate the ability to plan and construct media products

using appropriate technical and creative skills.

Level 1: 0-17

Limited ability to plan and construct media products. Technical and

creative skills will also be limited. Limited ability to use the research
investigation to inform the product.
Quality of written communication (where appropriate) will be limited,
frequently unclear. Frequent errors in the use of language. Little or no
evidence of ability to structure ideas.

Level 2: 1826

Basic ability to plan and construct media products. Technical and

creative skills demonstrated will also be basic. Basic ability to use the
research investigation to inform the product.
Quality of written communication (where appropriate) will be basic but
sufficiently clear to allow communication. Frequent errors in the use of
language. Limited ability to structure ideas

[18-21]

[22-26]

Level 3: 27-35
[27-30]

At the upper end of this level, there will be some ability to plan and
construct media products. Some technical and creative skills will also
be demonstrated. Some ability to use the research investigation to
inform the product.
Quality of written communication (where appropriate) will be mainly clear.
Some errors in the use of language. Some ability to structure ideas.

Sound ability to plan and construct media products. Technical and

creative skills demonstrated will also be sound. Sound ability to use the
research investigation to inform the product.
Quality of written communication (where appropriate) will be sound and
clear. Reasonable level of accuracy. Sound ability to structure ideas.
At the upper end of this level, there will be a good ability to plan and
construct media products. Good technical and creative skills will also be
demonstrated. Good ability to use the research investigation to inform

[31-35]

Level 4: 36-45

the product.
Quality of written communication (where appropriate) will be good.
Good level of accuracy. Good ability to structure ideas.

Excellent ability to plan and construct media products. Sophisticated

technical and creative skills will also be demonstrated. Sophisticated
ability to use the research investigation to inform the product.
Quality of written communication (where appropriate) will be
sophisticated. A high degree of accuracy. Sophisticated ability to
structure ideas effectively.

Projects
These are the nine projects to choose from, choose wisely because
youll be studying this for the next ten months think about what texts
you might use as case studies and consider whether you would be able
to make the product.
Individual
Print Based
Projects:
Video Games investigating genre, narrative &
Independent
postmodernism
Research
Game covers and Gaming magazine style reviews of new
Media Product
game
Independent
Representation of gender in womens magazines
Research
Cover and inside pages of a typical womens magazine
Media Product
Independent Representing fear moral panics in the press and online
Research Creation of a moral panic in a newspaper and/or online news
Media Product site

Group Projects: Audio Visual

Independent
Research
Media Product
Independent
Research
Media Product
Independent
Research
Media Product

Investigating narrative in music videos

Creation of a music video
Documentary Genre/Narrative/Realism
A trailer or opening sequence from a documentary
Alternative narrative structures in film
Trailer or opening of a film using unusual narrative devices

Individual
Print Based or Audio Visual
Projects:
Independent
Research
Media Product
Independent
Research
Media Product
Independent
Research
Media Product

Representation of homosexuality in film

DVD cover & magazine review or film trailer with gay
protagonist
Genre and the social realist film
DVD cover & magazine review or film trailer for social realist
movie
The evolution of the sitcom genre
Teaser campaign & review or sequence from new sitcom

The Evaluation
Once you have completed the Research Investigation and made your
Production you must evaluate & analyse the links between the two. It
must be written well and show you understand what you are talking
about!
Level/marks

AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding when analysing media

products and processes and evaluating their own practical work, to
show how meanings and responses are created

Level 1: 1-3

Limited ability to apply knowledge and understanding when evaluating

the production. Limited reference to degree to which research informs
production.
Quality of written communication will be limited, frequently unclear.
Frequent errors in the use of language. Little or no evidence of ability to
structure ideas.

Level 2: 4-5

Basic ability to apply knowledge and understanding when evaluating the

production. Basic reference to degree to which research informs
production.
Quality of written communication will be basic but sufficiently clear to
allow communication. Frequent errors in the use of language.
Limited ability to structure ideas.

[4]

[5]

Level 3: 6-7

Some ability to apply knowledge and understanding when evaluating the

production. Some reference to degree to which research informs
production.
Quality of written communication will be mainly clear. Some errors in the
use of language. Some ability to structure ideas
Sound ability to apply knowledge and understanding when evaluating the

[6]

[7]

Level 4: 8-10

production. Sound reference to degree to which research informs

production.
Quality of written communication will be sound and clear.
Reasonable level of accuracy. Sound ability to structure ideas.
Good ability to apply knowledge and understanding when evaluating the
production. Good reference to degree to which research informs
production.
Quality of written communication will be good. Good level of accuracy.
Good ability to structure ideas.

Excellent ability to apply knowledge and understanding when evaluating

the production. Sophisticated reference to degree to which research
informs production.
Quality of written communication will be sophisticated. A high degree of
accuracy. Sophisticated ability to structure ideas effectively. #

As you can see this is only worth ten marks.

MS3 Proposal Form

Name:
Individual
Research
Title:
Aims:
Research
Methods:
Primary
Texts:
(Which
texts will
form the
basis of
your
textual

analysis?)

Product:

AV/Print based (circle)

Group members (if applicable):

Production piece(s):

Possible
Constrain
ts/Difficult
ies

When you have an idea fill in this sheet and submit it to me for consideration.

A final word
This project is an excellent opportunity to do very well in your A2 media
studies.
It is also a chance to become an expert in a subject that you are
interested in.
And obviously, you will be practising skills that you will need for the rest of
this course, your other A-level courses, as well as any work you may do
after you have left college.
Make the most of it!

Research thoroughly and do not underestimate the usefulness of talking

through, and keeping me updated with what you have achieved at regular
intervals.
Two last points:
Firstly: The research essay and the media product are worth equal marks
and must be connected if you lose sight of this at any point, you will not
fulfil the potential this project has to offer your final Media Studies grade.
Secondly: Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated at any stage of the project.
Any text or sentiment copied without being attributed is plagiarism. You
are cheating others as well as yourselves and if the exam board finds any
then there could be quite serious implications.
This is not intended to scare anyone but simply raise awareness of the
issue. Any doubts, ASK SOMEONE!