End of Year 1 exam : Learner Response

 1) Type up any feedback from your teacher in full (you do not need to write the mark/grade if you do not wish to).

WWW- Q2 is strong, just needs more points + examples.

EBI- Writing style: get to your point quicker, don't repeat. Focus/examples from clip 

2) Look at the mark scheme document linked above. Question 1.1 asks about mise-en-scene. What do we use to remember mise-en-scene? Give one example answer from the clip too - you'll find example answers in the mark scheme.

Mise-en-scene is shown in CLAMPS. An example of this is setting- an abandoned and isolated town

3) Question 1.2 asks about narrative features in the extract. Look at the mark scheme to pick out three possible answers for this question.

• Narrative theory: Propp – character types. Lyra and Will as heroes who the audience can

identify with and accompany on their exploration of this empty city. The audience are

clearly positioned to sympathise with Lyra and Will when they initially face the two other

children.

• The two children they are chasing initially are presumed to be villains but the dialogue in

the second half of the extract complicates this. Instead, perhaps they become donors –

giving Lyra and Will a drink and something to eat as well as important information about the

Spectres (including the danger Will may soon be in).

• Todorov (equilibrium): The empty city creates a sense of disequilibrium – that something

has gone wrong and needs to be repaired or at least understood by the characters.

• Barthes (enigma and action codes): Action codes – the music, the chase scene, the

confrontation between the children. Enigma codes: why is the city empty? Who are they

chasing? What do the Spectres look like and is Will in danger? Key lines of dialogue: “Where

are the grown-ups?”; “Since the attack, Spectres are everywhere”.

• Binary opposition: Lyra and Will are presented as binary opposites to the other two

children. The lack of grown-ups creates a sense of young/old binary opposition (particularly

as children are not in danger from Spectres).

 

4) Now focus on Question 2 - the 20 mark essay. Use the mark scheme to pick out one way Doctor Who reflects 1963 and one way His Dark Materials reflects 2020. 

• Traditionally, Doctor was a white male, most often with a younger female companion,

reflecting and reinforcing traditional gender roles of the times, with the man as powerful

and in control and the woman as helper. Women’s helper role often been to provide an

emotional, empathetic side to the programme. Reinforcing the idea that men are active,

action-centred while women are more passive, emotional and sensitive

• Changes in society, particularly advances in equality for women, have slowly been reflected

in TV drama. In 2016 it was announced that the next regeneration of Doctor Who would be

as a woman (played by Jodie Whittaker). In His Dark Materials, the protagonist and

strongest character is female (Lyra).

5) Reflect on your overall work and exam performance this year. What three things do you need to work on or revise in Media for Year 11? 

My structure and what I put in my answers. For example, writing about more scenes in the clip instead of focusing on 1 or 2 scenes. Also, I might have to write separate paragraphs in my answers so the person marking my paper can understand what I'm writing about.