Unit 3: Macro and Textual Analysis
Media Studies · Semester 1 Plan · Unit 3 of 6 · ← Unit 2 | Unit 4 →
Concepts: The Viewing Protocol · Technical Elements · Narrative · Representation
What this unit does
This is the first attainment band. You test narrative theory on real texts, looking for where Propp and Todorov strain — because a top-band answer discusses that strain. You sit A1 on the Wednesday of W7. The rest of the band turns analytical instinct into method: Barthes, a fixed reading order, PEEM paragraphs, Section A answer architecture, and a peer audit of every C1 blog against the same checklist used to mark A2.
Dates & span
W7–W8: Mon 2026-10-12 → Fri 10-23 — 8 teaching days (L06: 3, L07: 5).
Lessons
- L06 A1 — Timed Media Language Analysis — Propp on a trailer and Todorov across an episode with the strain log running, then the 60-minute unseen-extract sit under exam conditions; marked with WS 4.6 in the official P2 rubric language.
- L07 Reading Systematically Toward the Blog Mid-Point — Barthes’s enigma and action codes, the systematic reading order, PEEM, the CS5 blog audit, Section A architecture.
Assessment
| Item | Date | What | AO |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Wed 2026-10-14 | Timed media language analysis, unseen TV-drama extract, 60 min, exam conditions | AO1+AO2 |
| CS5 | Wed 2026-10-21 | Peer blog audit against the mid-point checklist | AO3 |
A2 is announced Mon 10-12 and is due Mon 10-26 (in Unit 4). See the full register.
Key content
- Theorists: Propp and Todorov under load; Barthes (enigma and action codes — what a text withholds and promises).
- Method: systematic reading order (same order, every time); PEEM (point, evidence, effect, meaning); Section A answer skeletons planned before writing.
- C1 milestone: bring your blog to mid-point standard — posts 1–7, dated, individual contributions labeled. The CS5 audit falls three teaching days before the A2 deadline, so you can act on its findings.