After having had my media essay peer-marked by my classmates, I came to find out that I had missed out on many areas which need to be covered in order for me to achieve a top grade. Having handed in a piece of work which was graded as a B -, I realised that there many areas in which I need to improve on in order to achieve a better grade.
Targets…
My main target is to improve the level of my written work, in order to achieve a grade which will reflect my skills of writing an essay which highlights a critical perspective in relation to the representations and reinforcement of negative stereotypes surrounding ethnic minorities.
I also intend to ensure that my essay follows on in a logical order where each paragraph is linked to the one above and in turn will carry out more research into my primary text in order for my essay to be representative of the reinforcement of negative ethnic minority stereotypes within the contemporary media landscape.
Next Steps…
In relation to my essay, the next steps will mainly focus on things of which I need to include within the areas of which are discussed within it.
M.I.G.R.A.I.N. = In relation to this key area, my next steps are to discuss about genre and narrative and to see how the representations of ethnic minorities may be reinforced through negative stereotypes within the media, possibly within a certain genre of film or television programme. I will also need to use more media language in order to show that I am able to implicate more knowledge of my chosen area within my essay.
S.H.E.P. = My next steps within this area are to expand my view on economical issues surrounding ethnic minorities. For example, I would need to discuss how there may have been an increase or decrease in the development of jobs or school applications surrounding people of colour. I will also need to make improvements in relation to my discussion about politics and will need to do this within my essay by discussing how the Government set up programs such as the “Stop and Search Surge” which in turn could cause Black and Asian people to feel more discriminated against than necessary, as these will be the people who are more likely to be stopped on street if others believe that they are carrying some type of weapon.
Critical Debates = I feel that this area needs to contain more information which will flow, which in turn will allow my essay to be provided with a sufficient structure to it. In relation to this, I will need to refer to moral panics by linking them to how people are likely to interpret the stereotypes cast upon ethnic minorities. I would be able to link this to the social effects as moral panics may have been set up within society as a result of people believing that they are being threatened by the ethnic minorities and as a result of there being an instigation that negative stereotypes are being reinforced as a result of the representation, I will be able to say how this could cause there to be a creation of a moral panic.
Media Theories = In regards to this, I feel that I need to refer to more media theories such as semiotics and audience theories in order to show that some stereotypical representations of ethnic minorities could mean something different to which it may definitely mean. I will also need to discuss more about audience theories such as the hypodermic needle in order to show that the development of people’s own views, opinions and ideas will sometimes be controlled by the media.
Footnotes and Bibliography = In terms of this, I must ensure that any information of which I have acquired is in the correct format in order to show that I know how to lay out my research in terms of its presentation and consistency.
As a result of me now knowing where I have gone wrong, I am now able to know how to make it right and intend to do this by carrying out my next steps in order to achieve my targets which in turn will help me to achieve a grade A on my essay.
