December Mock Exam

 

1) Type up any feedback on your paper (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). If you only have marks and a grade on the paper, write a WWW/Next Steps yourself based on your scores.

14/84 Grade 2

2) Use the mark scheme for this Paper 2 mock (posted on GC) to read the answers AQA were looking for. First, write down a definition and example of non-diegetic sound (Q1.1 and 1.2). 

all sounds generated within the world of the drama

any example of dialogue from the extract such as ‘When Lyra says, “So you’re a

kitchen boy then?”

3) Next, identify three points you could have made in Q1.3 - camerawork and the extract. Look for the indicative content in the mark scheme - these are the suggested answers from AQA.

The opening shot in the extract focuses on the omelette in Will’s hand – almost a

close-up – with handheld camera movement following the plate to the table. This

focus on the food Will has cooked seems to establish him as the less dominant

person in the relationship. The medium shot of Lyra suspiciously looking at the food

reinforces this power imbalance in their relationship.

• Camera angle is used in an interesting way in the extract. Will is often shown from a

low angle which should suggest power or dominance. However, his expression and

body language is very timid so in fact seems to further emphasise Lyra’s confidence.

When Lyra is sitting at the table, the camera is deliberately placed at Lyra’s level so

she is not presented as weak or vulnerable.

• The wide shot and slow dolly/tracking through the open doors shows both characters

together sitting at the table. This deliberately places both characters in the same

frame as the conversation becomes more friendly and less guarded. The

camerawork is communicating the growing friendship between Lyra and Will and

helps to foreshadow the suggestion (in the very next shot) from Will that they team

up and work together. The slow dolly/track at this point signals to the audience that

something important is happening; their relationship is changing. It works in a similar

way to a zoom.

4) Now look at Q1.4 in the mark scheme - pick out two points from the mark scheme that you could have included in your answer.

Non-verbal communication

• Will’s expression and body language is very timid which subverts masculine

stereotypes. In contrast, Lyra’s movements and expressions exude confidence. This

can be seen in the extract both outside at the table and later when discussing which

beds they will take.

Mise-en-scene

• Lyra’s costume subverts feminine stereotypes. It is blue, practical and does not

emphasise her figure or draw attention. It helps to establish Lyra as a practical,

confident character who is used to surviving on her own.

• The way Lyra first investigates and then eats the omelette also subverts feminine

stereotypes. Her interaction with props in the scene deliberately subvert ideas of

being ‘ladylike’ or feminine.

Characters

• Will and Lyra are clearly directed in this extract to subvert traditional gender

stereotypes with Will cooking the food, dealing with domestic matters such as

sleeping arrangements and acting in a timid and submissive way.

• However, there is perhaps one exception to this when Will suggests that they work

together. Lyra is shown responding with a slight smile that suggests she is in favour

of them teaming up and perhaps therefore removes a little of her independence.

5) Look at Q2 - the 20-mark essay on representations of age and social and cultural contexts. Pick out three points from the mark scheme that you didn't include in your answer.

Although the idea of ‘teenage’ was not new, teenagers as a distinct category

developed rapidly in the post-war years and was well established by 1963. The idea

of the ‘generation gap’ as a social issue was still new and much-discussed.

• Media representations of teens/young adults usually identify this group by their

attitudes, behaviour, language, clothing and music. There are many negative

stereotypes of teenagers in television drama in which characteristics such as

laziness, anti-social behaviour, inability to concentrate and self-indulgence are

portrayed as ‘typical’.

• There are also positive representations of teens in which attributes such as freedom,

independence, creativity and social awareness are likely to be emphasised. Some

frequently represented characteristics of teenagers may be seen as positive by

younger audiences but as negative by older audiences. These include

rebelliousness, openness to change, liberal values on matters such as sexuality and

a much stronger commitment to friendship groups than to family or country.

• Dominant cultural values of the early 1960s placed a strong emphasis on ‘tradition’.

This meant that there was an expectation that young people would conform to social

norms and show obedience, deference and respect to figures of authority including

parents and teachers. Media representations which challenged or subverted these

cultural codes would have been shocking to a 1963 television audience.

• A notable difference between the two CSPs can be found in the approaches to

diversity. There is no evidence of diversity at all in DW (unless you count the

presence of aliens). The teens and younger characters in HDM are drawn from a

more diverse background with Will being mixed race.

• Susan is a stereotypical loner. Although she claims to like the school, she is not

seen to engage with other pupils and they laugh at her mistakes (eg re decimal

currency).

• As with many modern representations of teenagers, HDM suggests stronger ties to

friends than to families. Lyra’s attitude towards her friends in contrast to her mother

Mrs Coulter is a good example of this. Older characters are viewed with suspicion.

• The use of spectres in HDM also drives a strong dividing line between younger

characters and adults – with the two girls that Will and Lyra run into saying ‘We’re

OK on our own, aren’t we’.

• Susan is clearly in touch with popular culture. As a stereotypical teenager, she is

engrossed in pop music on her radio and her modern clothes differentiate her from

the teachers. In spite of her intellectual superiority, she is polite and deferential to

her teachers. She is not afraid, though, to challenge her ‘grandfather’, the Doctor, in

order to defend Barbara and Ian.

Adults such as the teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright (DW), and Mrs Coulter or

Lee Scoresby (HDM).

• In HDM it is the teens/young adults who lead the way in driving the narrative

forward. The adults tend to accept their more peripheral roles or discuss the

prophecy that revolves around Lyra. The teens are proactive, and the adults react.

Older adults such as The Doctor (DW)

• Doctor Who has status and authority; he expects and commands deference.

However, the audience are positioned to view him as a villain for much of this

episode.

• The Doctor is tetchy and patronising. Unlike Susan, he is dismissive and

disrespectful towards the teachers because of their intellectual inferiority. His

clothing signals that he is eccentric; it is more suggestive of the 1890s than the

1960s. Although a non-human, he appears to have very traditional and patriarchal

values. He refers to the ‘savage minds’ of American Indians (native Americans).

• Many of the Doctor’s characteristics are stereotypical features of old age:

6) Turning your attention to Section B, write a definition and example of user-generated content - use the mark scheme to check it.

7) Look at Q4 - the 20-mark essay on the power of influencers. Pick out three points from the mark scheme that you didn't include in your own answer. 

8) Now look at Q5 - the 20-mark essay on regulation and the internet. Again, pick out three points from the mark scheme that you didn't include in your own answer.

9) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = low, 10 = high), how much revision and preparation did you do for your Media mock exam? Be honest here - it's a good chance to think about how to approach the next set of mock exams.

10) List three key things you want to revise before the next mock exams in February (e.g. particular CSPs, terminology, exam technique etc.)