1. Learning Objectives:
• Understand how to approach a question
on research and planning.
• Understand what is required in section 1.
• Consider appropriate examples to use in
section 1.
• Further our understanding of the mark
scheme.

2. Research and planning:
Sample questions
• How did your Research and Planning inform
your production?
• Describe how you developed research and
planning skills for media production and evaluate
how these skills contributed to creative decision
making.
• Describe the ways in which your production work
was informed by research into real media texts
and how your ability to use such research for
production developed over time.

3. How to structure a research and
planning answer
• Research and planning does not fit so well
with the 3 – part plan, as it takes place
during pre- production.
• However, the effects of research and
planning are relevant throughout.

4. How to structure a research and
planning answer
• Pre- production – what research was
carried out and why
• Production – how your planning informed
the production
• Post- production – how research
(including audience feedback) and
planning (i.e. storyboards, sketches)
impacted on the process of editing, etc.

5. Homework
for Tuesday 24th April
• Plan and complete the following question:
Describe the ways in which your
production work was informed by
research into real media texts and how
your ability to use such research for
production developed over time.

6. Marking sample answers
In your pair:
• Read the answer.
• Highlight any positive aspects of the
introduction. Annotate with an explanation of
what you have highlighted.
• Highlight any negative, again annotating with an
explanation.
• Continue for the rest of the answer.
• Now look at the mark scheme. Try to come to a
judgement about what grade you would award.
Be specific – a mark out of 10 each for EAA and
EG, and a mark out of 5 for T.

7. Sample A -
Examiner’s Comments
1a) The candidate writes clearly about how they
researched audience demographics, conventions and
existing market trends. They discuss their research into
Kerrang, NME and Q with specific examples of how this
research informed what they did. They accompany this
with evaluative views, with hindsight, on how they might
have made more of a semiotic approach. Professional
practice is discussed in terms of audience research and
industry research extends into an email interview with a
newspaper editor. However no detail is offered on how
this informed production so the mark for examples and e/
a/a is lowered accordingly. Skills development is a
constant theme of the answer.

8. Sample answer A
Qu. 1a)
• EAA 8
• EG 8
• T3
• (19)

9. Sample answer B
Qu. 1a)
• EAA 8
• EG 7
• T3
• (18)

10. Sample answer D
Qu. 1a)
• EAA 8
• EG 8
• T4
• (20)

11. Sample answer C
Qu. 1a)
• EAA 8
• EG 8
• T4
• (20)

12. Checklist
• Now you have seen what achieves good
marks, create a checklist of what to do for
question 1a.