OCR GCSE Media Studies exam skills overview quiz quiz

Write a balanced, two-sided essay reaching a judgement

Compare the same feature directly across two set products

Reach an overall judgement weighing both sides of an argument

Name something accurately, a short AO1 task

Name a single feature of the product only, with no further explanation

List the equipment and software the producer used to make the product

Break a product down and explain how it creates meaning (mainly AO2)

Give a one-sided personal opinion about whether the product is any good

A one-sided description of the product that argues only a single point of view

Only the naming of features, with no analysis of the meaning that they create

A list of separate points with no conclusion and no overall judgement at the end

A balanced, two-sided answer reaching a judgement, marked by levels of response

Write exactly the same amount for every question, no matter how many marks each one is worth

Always write as much as you possibly can for every single question, regardless of the actual mark tariff

Match the depth to the marks: a focused point for a few marks, a developed response for a high tariff

Ignore the marks completely and just write until you feel you have said enough on the topic

It does not matter at all, because examiners only ever look at the individual points you actually make

Only spelling and punctuation matter in an extended answer, not the order of the points

Because a longer answer is always a better answer, whatever order the points are written in

Extended answers are marked by levels of response, which reward a developed, structured argument

Describe one product fully and then describe the other, as two separate accounts

Ignore one product entirely and write everything about the other product instead

Compare the same feature across both products directly, explaining similarities and differences

List the features of each product one after the other side by side, with no actual comparison drawn between them

Name as many media theorists as you possibly can in the answer, since each name you drop in earns you extra marks

Never mention any theory at all, because theory is not rewarded anywhere at GCSE level

Let theory replace analysis, so quoting a theorist counts instead of analysing the product

Theory must serve the argument: apply an idea to a specific feature and explain the effect, do not just name it

It does not matter at all, since plain everyday words score exactly the same marks

Because the longer and more complicated the words you use are, the more marks you score

It signals control and lets you make points precisely to support analysis

It replaces the need for examples, so terminology can be used instead of set products

1 hour with no viewing time, so you write for the whole hour straight through

2 hours of writing only, with the screened extract shown shortly before the exam begins

45 minutes in total, with 15 minutes of viewing time and 30 minutes of writing

1 hour 45 minutes, including 30 minutes of viewing time for the screened extract

Watch the extract passively, just following the story without making any notes at all

Ignore the extract entirely and spend the whole viewing time planning your written answers

Watch the extract actively for codes and detail and make notes to anchor your answers

Only read through the questions during the viewing time and watch the extract afterwards

Spend all of your available time on the very first question and write as much as you possibly can on it before you move on

Write continuously until you completely run out of time, without ever checking the clock or the marks available

Ignore the short questions altogether so you can give every spare minute to the long extended answers instead

Roughly a minute per mark, dividing time between sections in proportion to marks and protecting the high-tariff questions