Communication media — four choosing axes
Pick a medium on audience reach, update frequency, interactivity and internet need. A newsletter is periodic text and images, fixed once sent, low interactivity. A poster is one static page read at a glance from a distance: large font, little text. A website is always available, updatable, wide-reaching. A presentation runs at a set time to a set audience. Audio is sound only, usable while doing another task; video shows a process step by step.
Media streaming — on demand, data still arriving
Streaming plays content on demand as data continues to be received, buffering so playback starts almost immediately; it needs a continuous internet connection and saves no complete copy by default. Downloading transfers the whole file first, then plays it offline from permanent storage. If a stream's connection is interrupted or too slow, playback pauses ("buffering") or drops to a lower quality — the file is not deleted or corrupted.
Mobile communication — cellular vs internet
SMS is a short, character-limited text on the cellular network, so any handset with signal works without a data plan. A voice call is also cellular, so it works where internet coverage is poor. VoIP sends voice as data packets over the internet, needing a connection plus VoIP software. A video call adds live video, so it needs a camera and a faster, more stable connection than voice-only VoIP. Accessing the internet uses mobile data or wifi.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Streaming ≠ repeating the word "streaming"
Echoing the stem's own word back, or naming a streaming-service brand, scores zero — neither describes the mechanism. The mark scheme wants: content played on demand while data continues to be received, over a continuous internet connection, with no full copy saved first. Give the mechanism, never the brand and never the stem word.
s23 P11 Q12 — candidates repeated "streaming" or gave brand names
An ePublication is not social media
It is a digital book, magazine or newsletter — not social media, and not "internet only": many are read offline once obtained. Unlike a printed publication it can carry video, audio, animation and hyperlinks as well as static text and images. Designing one for a young audience means media-based content and bright colours — "fun colours" is too vague to score.
s23 P12 Q14a / w23 P11 Q6c — e-publication features and designing for a young audience
A PDF is harder to edit, not uneditable
"Cannot be edited" scores nothing. The correct statement is that a PDF is only harder to edit than the original source document, because the format is designed to hold formatting fixed — and it needs PDF reader or editor software to open or change it. Write harder-to-edit plus reader software, not impossible-to-edit.
w23 P11 Q6a / s23 P13 Q3 — "cannot be edited" was not accepted
Presentation vs website: compare both
A multimedia presentation is shown to a set audience at a set time; a website is available at any time to a wider audience, needs an internet connection to view, and can keep being updated after publication. Candidates describe one side only. Also read who created each — an organisation keeping public information current, or one presenter preparing one occasion.
w22 P11 Q10b — compare availability, and read who created each
ePublication ≠ website
An ePublication is a single finished digital publication, opened through reader software and often readable offline once obtained. A website is continuously online, generally needs a connection to view, and can keep being updated after publication. Treating them as the same thing loses the availability and updating marks in any compare question.
SMS and phone calls need no internet
SMS and a traditional voice call travel over the cellular network, so signal alone is enough — no data connection is needed. VoIP and video calls travel over the internet and need wifi or mobile data plus software. Swapping the two requirements — saying VoIP works without internet, or that SMS needs it — loses the network-requirement mark.
Name it, then say how it works
Give the specific medium or method — media streaming, ePublication, poster, SMS, VoIP call — then its mechanism or network requirement. "Communication" or "technology" earns nothing, and neither does the medium's name on its own.
"Explain/describe" needs a because
A bare statement is not an explanation. Finish the sentence with the reason: "a website reaches more parents because it is not tied to one occasion". The reason carries the mark, not the label.
Advantage questions need a comparative
"Good quality" is a benefit and fails; "better quality than…" is an advantage and scores. Use than / unlike / more widely available. Never rule two columns of advantages and disadvantages — a split list prevents a real comparison and caps the marks.
Never name a brand or app
Examiners give no credit for a trade name — a streaming service, a video-calling app or a messaging app. Use the generic term instead: media streaming, video-calling software, VoIP, SMS.
Communication media
| Medium | Characteristic | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Newsletter | Printed/emailed periodic document, fixed once sent | A known, existing audience wanting regular updates |
| Poster | Single static page, read quickly, large font/images | A passing or general audience, short message |
| Website | Online, always available, updatable at any time, wide reach | Ongoing, searchable, current information |
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