Media Studies Scholarship on the NCEA website
The examination will take the form of three essay questions.
Candidates will be required to answer any two of the three questions.
Each question will provide candidates with a choice of brief quotations and/or statements. For each question candidates will be required to choose and respond to ONE of the quotations/statements provided.
Question One will focus on the relationship between media and wider society.
Question Two will focus on the development of a medium and/or the factors that shape a media industry.
Question Three will focus on general conclusions drawn from the close reading of media texts.
For all questions, candidates will be expected to demonstrate wide and/or close reading and personal perceptive understanding of at least one medium/media industry and its context, illustrated by reference to specific media texts and other relevant evidence.
Candidates may not use the same material to answer more than one question.
Each question will require candidates to address the quotation in their analysis.
Essays will be marked on the basis of each of the following:
- 0-8 mark scale for subject knowledge.
- 0-8 mark scale for higher-level critical thinking and organisation / presentation abilities such as integration, analysis, synthesis, logical argument expected in a structured response.
Scholarship: Media Studies Performance Standard
Outcome description
The student will, through the analysis of texts and contexts, demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject.
Outstanding Performance - Performance Descriptor 1
The student will demonstrate:
- strong analytical skills
- knowledge of a diversity of media texts and contexts
- independence and originality of thought
- ability to integrate and synthesise
Performance Descriptor 2
The student will demonstrate:
- strong analytical skills
- knowledge of a diversity of media texts and contexts
Performance Descriptor 3
The student will demonstrate:
- analytical skills
- some knowledge of a diversity of media texts and contexts
Performance Descriptor 4
The student will demonstrate:
- some analytical skills
- some knowledge of a diversity of media texts and contexts
Explanatory Notes
- This scholarship standard is related to the Level 3 Media Studies achievement standards and reflects current secondary and tertiary practice in Media Studies.
- Thorough implies evidence of both breadth and depth.
- Texts and contexts are both important to Media Studies. While the ability to read texts closely is an essential skill, it is equally important to have a critical understanding of the social, cultural, technological, industrial, economic and political contexts in which texts are produced, circulated or consumed. The term context can refer to such things as: technology and the way it is used; the structure and ownership of the media industry; production processes (including the student’s own production experiences); media history, current trends; media representations; media theories, political, legislative, economic and commercial contexts; social contexts and functions; values, attitudes and ideologies; aesthetics; audiences, etc.
- Analytical skills are shown through such things as critical thinking, considering different perspectives, examining in detail, developing a coherent argument, astute selection and use of evidence, deriving generalisations from examples, the ability to apply the main concepts of Media Studies in appropriate ways, an ability to draw well-supported and thoughtful conclusions, demonstration of insight etc.
- Diversity of media texts refers to both the type and range of texts. Text types could include primary texts; eg films, documentaries, newspaper articles, and secondary texts such as critiques, commentary, reference material. Text range could include works by a specific director, texts from or about a specific medium or a number of different media. Texts could also include the student’s own works.
- Independence and originality of thought refer to evidence that students can confidently think for themselves, consider a problem from a range of different angles, and come up with fresh ideas.
- Ability to integrate and synthesise implies an aptitude for seeing ‘the big picture’. The student is able to connect and combine different elements in a coherent way, to produce an overarching view.
