COM3702/001/1/2022

Tutorial Letter 001/1/2022

Media Studies: Policy, Management and

Media Representation
COM3702

Semester 1
Assessment One Guidelines

Department of Communication Science

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please register on myUnisa, activate your myLife e-mail account and make sure that
you have regular access to the myUnisa module website, as well as your COM3702-
2022-S1 group website.

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 CONTENTS
Page

1 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Assessment criteria....................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Assessment plan .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Assessment numbers ................................................................................................................... 4
1.3.1 General assessment numbers ...................................................................................................... 4
1.3.2 Unique assessment numbers ........................................................................................................ 5
1.4 Assessment due dates .................................................................................................................. 5
1.5 Submission of assessments.......................................................................................................... 5
1.6 The assessment ........................................................................................................................... 6
1.9 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 10

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 COM3702/001/3/2021

Dear Student

1 ASSESSMENT
The purpose of this guideline document is to inform you of the assessment requirements for
module COM3702 for Semester One, including due dates for assessments. This document
also includes the content for Assessment One and guidelines for this assessment.

Information on the remaining assessments will be uploaded on myUnisa and shared through a
comprehensive Tutorial Letter 001 also shared via myUnisa, under additional resources.

1.1 Assessment criteria

The following assessment criteria are applicable for this module:

• You are able to describe and explain developments in the media based on your own
examples and against the background of your theoretical knowledge of the media and
media issues.

• You are able to critique media policy against the background of your theoretical knowledge
of the media and media issues.

• You provide evidence to suggest that you think independently about media matters and
are able to substantiate your views/opinions.

• You are able to compare and critically evaluate various viewpoints about media matters
and compare them with your own views.

• You communicate ideas about media matters logically and provide supporting evidence
consistently.

• You provide evidence to suggest that you look beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries
for solutions to media issues.

• You conceptualise answers to media research questions in terms of the relevant theory.

• You explain concepts related to critical media issues in terms of the relevant theory.

• You explain relevant research approaches to questions and issues.

• Your assessments are well-written, well-structured and presented in an imaginative and

visually attractive manner.

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1.2 Assessment plan
Assessments form part of the learning in this module. As you complete the assessments, study
the reading texts, discuss the work with fellow students, do research, you will be actively
engaged in learning. The assessment criteria for each assessment will provide you with
guidelines regarding what is required of you in the various activities.

If you submit Assessment 01 (which takes the form of a mini-portfolio) on time, it will be
returned to you with personalised comments from the marker. However, generalised comments
on the compulsory assessments will be sent to all students registered for this module in follow-
up tutorial letters (i.e. Tutorial Letter 201 and 202).

1.3 Assessment numbers

1.3.1 General assessment numbers
Assessment 01

This is a compulsory written assessment that you need to submit to gain admission to the
examination, which takes the form of a mini-portfolio in the case of this module. Your
feedback on this assessment is crucial when prepari n g your examination portfolio. This
assessment will count 10% towards your final assessment mark.

Assessment 02

This assessment consists of 50 multiple-choice questions that you will complete and submit
online via myUnisa. To complete this assessment, you will need to read all the relevant study
units. This assessment will count 10% towards your final assessment mark.

Assessment 03
Examination portfolio

In this module, you will not write a formal examination at the end of the semester. Instead,
you will be required to submit a portfolio of activities you have done during the semester
based on the assessments. This is referred to as an “examination portfolio” or a “non-venue-
based examination”. You must submit your portfolio for examination purposes either before or
on the due date.

As indicated earlier, to be permitted to submit the examination portfolio (Assessment 03), you
will need to submit compulsory Assessment 01. The examination portfolio will be the final
portfolio, determining whether you pass or fail this module. Assessment 03 will be regarded as
an examination, although you can complete it at home. The examination portfolio will count 80%
towards your final assessment mark. You will need to obtain a subminimum of 40% for the
examination portfolio to pass the module. Some of the questions in Assessment 01 will be
included in the examination portfolio; this will allow you to work through the feedback given on
your previous assessment and make the necessary improvements to your original answer.

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You will be required to submit several compulsory activities for the examination portfolio. Your
examination portfolio will also have to include a declaration page (at the beginning of your
examination portfolio). Failure to do so will result in your assessment being awarded 0%.
You will also need to include a table of contents and the list of sources consulted (at the end of
your portfolio), indicating all the sources you referred to in the entire portfolio. Use the mark
allocation as an indication of how much information to include in each answer or part of your
essay. Include all advertisements or newspaper articles you have based your answers on in
your portfolio in the form of addendums. When submitting your examination portfolio, ensure
that all the components are condensed into a single file (preferably a PDF file).

1.3.2 Unique assessment numbers

The unique assessment numbers are given in the table that follows below.

1.4 Assessment due dates

Submit all assessments either before or on their respective due dates. No extensions will be
granted. Portfolio assessments that are received after the due date will be returned to you
unmarked, and you will forfeit the marks. Therefore, it is imperati ve that you plan carefully
and submit your assessments in time for marking.

Assessment numbers Due date Semester One

Assessment 01 25 March 2022 521741

Assessment 02 04 April 2022 861314
Assessment 03 27 May 2022 861461
Examination portfolio

If you see an assessment submission status on myUnisa reflected as Not yet open, do not
worry; the system is designed to allow the submission of assessments during a specific period.
The myUnisa assessment submission system for Assessments 01 and 03 will only open one
week before the respective due dates. This is done intentionally to give you more time to
engage with your learning activities. It would be best if you took the time to reflect on what you
have learnt before rushing to submit your assessment. It would help if you used all the time
available to complete your assessments to achieve the prescribed learning outcomes.

1.5 Submission of assessments

You must submit your examination portfolio (Assessment 03) electronically via myUnisa. This
also applies to Assessment 01, which must also be submitted via myUnisa to ensure that you
receive your feedback in time. You will need to have received your marked Assessment 01
back in time to prepare for the examination portfolio. You are not allowed to submit
assessments via e-mail. For detailed information on and requirements for submitting your
assessments, see the Study @ Unisa brochure.

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Submitting your portfolio examination via myUnisa

When you submit your examination portfolio, first make sure that your cover page, it is a must
that a fully completed declaration is included. Failure to adhere will result in you being
awarded 0% for the assessment. You also need to include a list of sources consulted, and
the addenda are all included in a single file. (We do not accept zipped files.) The system will
give you only one opportunity to submit your examination portfolio, so you need to ensure that
your portfolio is correct and complete before submitting it. We will not be held liable for any
incomplete or incorrect portfolio assessment that you submit. Again, the incorrect
assessment will be awarded 0% for the assessment. Online submissions are accepted in
PDF files only. Do not exit the window until the final screen, which confirms that your
assessment has been submitted successfully, appears. You also need to take a screenshot
of the confirmation page as proof that you have submitted your assessment.

1.6 The assessment

ASSESSMENT 01

CLOSING DATE 25 MARCH 2022

UNIQUE ASSESSMENT NUMBER 521741

Please note:

The submission system/portal will open one week before the due date and close at 23:59 on the
due date.

1. INTRODUCTION [5]
In your introduction, you will need to tell us what you will do in this assessment. Write in the third
person, not in the first person. More guidelines on how to write an introduction are posted on
myUnisa under the “additional resources” tab.

2. MEDIA POLICY AND REGULATION [20]

2.1 The nature of media and communications policy

Write a detailed discussion that looks at the three (3) phases of paradigms in communication
policy:

2.1.1 Emerging communications industry policy. (6)

2.1.2 Public service media policy. (6)

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2.1.3 New communications policy. (8)

Each phase of paradigms in communications policy should be accompanied by a minimum of

one example that demonstrates your understanding of that paradigm phase. If you do not
include examples, the student will forfeit some marks.

3. REPRESENTATION [15]

3.1 Representation defined

To answer the questions in this section, you will need to do the following:

You need to read the relevant theory relating to semiotics and representation in your prescribed
book.

You will be required to find a suitable advertisement with a clear picture/s depicted in the advert
and written text to use as a practical example.

You will cite the practical examples from an advertisement you selected. Please remember to
reference all the sources you have used correctly, following the guidelines in Tutorial Letter
CMNALLE/301.

After that, answer the following questions:

3.1.1. Define and explain semiotics and link the definition to your selected advertisement. (3)

3.1.2. Explain the concept of myth as per Roland Barthes and integrate practical examples from
the advert to put forward your discussion/explanations. (6)

3.1.3. Provide a discussion on the notion of anchorage (define, explain and reference in-text)
and after that, explain how the polysemic meaning is explained in your selected advert
via picture and text provided. (6)

3.2 Gender and the media [20]

In this question, drawing on examples of a music video in which men are sexually objectified,
you need to write an essay that critically discusses gender and the media by focusing on the
power the media has in socialising individuals.

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 "Songs by men that objectify women are a mainstay of popular music genres from hip-hop, to country,
to rock and pop. The definition of objectification can be hard to pin down, but you know it when you
hear it, and you hear it a lot. It can range from the subtle, say the way The Beach Boys' "California
Girls" fetishises women from a particular state in the union, to the more obvious "Baby Got Back," in
which Sir Mix-A-Lot airs his fixation on a certain (arguably fascinating) body part. On its own, in
perfect laboratory conditions, lyrical statements of thirst made by men and addressed to women aren't
necessarily harmful. The case can be made that "Baby Got Back" is commendable for the way it
dismisses Eurocentric beauty standards. Of course, no song floats in a vacuum; they all exist in a
world where the music industry is still largely run by men and where it's a lot more common, and
socially acceptable, to hear a woman on the radio objectify herself than for her to objectify a man.

In this atmosphere, songs that turn the tables and express female sexual interest in men can be
refreshing antidotes to the toxic levels of testosterone in pop culture. More than that, they can be
glorious, rebellious, liberating and even healing. Thankfully, there is a vibrant, if underappreciated,
tradition of such songs. From pointed rejoinders to the ever-present stream of male opinions about
women, their bodies and behavior to simple slices of the heterosexual (or pansexual) female id, we can
only begin to survey this canon here. The songs on this list are about more than evening the score. In
each of these, there is a woman asserting her right to say not just "yes" or "no," but "how about it?"
That's powerful. On its surface, women singing about what they love about men might not seem like
the most feminist thing in the world, but it really can be. Besides, everyone wants to be told when they
look good, right?" Paste magazine (Bryan, B, 07 February, 2017).
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/valentine-s-day/17-songs-by-women-that-objectify-men/ [Accessed on 07
July 2021].

Your essay will need to critically discuss the media’s representation of gender, focusing on the
media's power in socialising individuals.

Before starting the introduction of the essay, on the first page of the essay, list the following:

• The name/title of the music video

• The name of the artist
• Where you found the video (source)
• The lyrics of the song (if available)

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• Leave a line open and start the essay's discussion – see Karam in Fourie
(2018:305-307; 316-318; 324-326) for the necessary theoretical material.

Focus on the following:

• Give an introduction where you introduce your topic provide detail for what you will
argue in this essay. In this introduction, you will also need to introduce gender and
popular music.

• The body of the essay needs to discuss gender and the media (define gender,
femininity and masculinity as binary opposites). Critically discuss the power of the
media, hegemony, stereotypes of how men and women are represented in the
media, men as dominant and females as conventional.

• In addition, the body of the essay focus on gender and popular music. Discuss the
video of your choice and link it to the theory. Give as many as possible examples
from the video of your choice.

• Reflect on your own experience of listening/watching the music video as well as how
"express female sexual interest in men" and women are "asserting her rights."

• Give a conclusion in which you reiterate what you have argued in your essay and
exhibit how you have done this by summarising the main points discussed in your
essay.

Remember the following:

Do not use headings in the essay.
Your discussion should not be more than three typed pages.
You will receive zero marks if your discussion is not based on a music video.
Please attach the lyrics to your chosen music video as an addendum.
Source the video in the essay and the List of Sources Consulted.

4. CONCLUSION [5]

In your conclusion, you have to exhibit that you consulted your tutorial letter CMNALLE/301 for
guidelines on how to write a conclusion as well as other guidelines available under Additional
Resources on myUnisa.

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SELF-ASSESSMENT AND SELF-REFLECTION [5]

Attach this as an addendum, in which you answer the following questions:

1. What have you learnt (what knowledge have you gained) through completing the
assignment task?
2. What skills, abilities and orientations (attitudes and values) have you acquired?
3. Which strengths could you apply in your future life and work environments?
4. What shortcomings do you need to overcome in future?
5. To what extent have you achieved the learning outcomes formulated for each study unit?
Specify the learning outcomes you have achieved.

TECHNICAL PRESENTATION [5]

Refer to Tutorial Letter CMNALLE/301 for guidelines on the technical presentation of your
assessments, and ensure that you have met the criteria in Addendum A.

Subtotal: 75

TOTAL: 75 x 1.3 = 100

1.9 Conclusion
For all other information regarding the module COM 3702, you should refer to Tutorial letter
101/2021. Alternatively, contact the team for clarity.
We wish you all the best with your studies; please note that you are welcome to contact us for
any clarification, such as module content queries. Our lecturer allocation of sections can be
found in the 101/2021 and our contact details.
Good luck and be safe!
Regards
Mr M Mntungwa
mntunml@unisa.ac.za
Module coordinator: COM3702

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