At a glance
Pairs · five class periods · one analysis of about 600 words plus one media text you make · assessed on Thinking, Application, and Communication
The task
Take apart a media text that works on you, then make one of your own using the same techniques deliberately.
Part one: the analysis
Choose one text: an advertisement, a trailer, a documentary segment, a front page, or a piece of political communication. Not one you find stupid — one that works.
Answer, with evidence from the text itself:
- Who made it, and what did they want to happen?
- Who is the intended audience, and how can you tell from the text rather than from a guess?
- What is the stated message, and what is the implied one?
- Which four techniques carry it? Name them from Media Forms and Techniques and say what each does.
- What is left out?
Part two: the text you make
A poster, a thirty-second video, a front page, or a social card — using at least three of the techniques you identified, aimed at an audience you name. It may sell, argue, warn, or persuade; it may not lie.
Attach a 150-word note: your audience, your three techniques, and the one choice you are least sure about.
How it is marked
| Category | What I am looking for |
|---|---|
| Thinking | The analysis reads the text rather than describing it; the “left out” answer is specific |
| Application | The made text uses its techniques on purpose, and the note shows you know which |
| Communication | Both parts are clear, and the made text works on its intended audience |
The ethics line
You may persuade. You may not fabricate: no invented statistics, no invented quotations, no real person made to appear to say something they did not. The whole point of learning these techniques is knowing what it means to use them — see Who Is This For.
Curriculum connection
D1.1
explain how media texts, including increasingly complex texts, are created to suit particular purposes and audiences (e.g., magazines include content and advertisements to appeal to specific demographic groups; trailers or posters for actionadventure movies feature scenes and artefacts that appeal to a predominantly male audience)
Link to original
D2.2
identify conventions and/or techniques used in a variety of media forms and explain how they convey meaning and influence their audience (e.g., the use of visual irony in political cartoons; the use of symbols as well as words to convey health and safety warnings on a range of product packages)
Link to original
D3.1
describe the topic, purpose, and audience for
Link to original
D3.2
select a media form to suit the topic, purpose, and audience for a media text they plan to create, and explain why it is an appropriate choice (e.g., explain why a posting on a videosharing website would be the best way to promote a new song)
Link to original
D3.3
identify a variety of conventions and/or techniques appropriate to a media form they plan to use, and explain how these will help them communicate specific aspects of their intended meaning (e.g., product packaging conventions/ techniques: illustrations and familiar or easy-tointerpret symbols and icons to assist in product identification)
Link to original
D3.4
produce media texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques (e.g., a sports magazine cover for a teenage audience; posters promoting their independent reading selections for display in the school library; a commercial promoting the contributions of Aboriginal people)
Link to original
D4.1
describe a variety of strategies they used in interpreting and creating media texts, explain which ones they found most helpful, and identify appropriate steps they can take to improve as media interpreters and producers (e.g., explain how a checklist helped them focus their efforts during production of a media text; use a checklist to assess their strengths as media creators and to identify areas for improvement; identify alternative production strategies they might find useful in the future)
Link to original
D4.2
identify a variety of their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing and explain how the skills help them interpret and produce media texts (e.g., the ability to understand how rhyme and symbols enhance meaning in a poem can help them create a powerful song lyric)
Link to original