FOA Reflection

For my FOA, and perhaps for the first time in the DP program, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I had always taken an interest in analysing the same thing from different countries. It amazed me how advertisements for the same product that I saw while travelling were so different to those at home. So, for my FOA I decided to examine advertisement from different regions. I decided to focus particularly on the different relationships that are valued in the countries. I chose to look at Coca Cola advertisements from Germany, India and the Middle East. The learning outcome I focused on the most was the way mass media uses language and image to inform or persuade. Since I was looking at advertisements, there were a lot of techniques of persuasion in order to sell the product. I examined how different advertisements attempt to inform or appeal to the consumer, within the context of their society. I did this by analysing the different marketing techniques and appeals that each advertisement uses. I focused on how these techniques differ or agree between the different ads. By comparing and contrasting these ideas, I could identify which was the most prominent and effective. Overall, I felt like the presentation was successful for my first attempt at such an assessment. I felt like my topic was well chosen and that I could discuss it in the needed depth. I felt very happy with the ads that I picked and the way that I could compare them. In terms of the actual presentation, I felt like I could have practiced more in order to be more confident while presenting. I often repeated some ideas as a result of worry and that might have made it less effective. However, overall I believe it can be considered a success with minor errors. By looking at the criteria, I notice strengths and weakness in the content of my presentation. In terms of the knowledge and understanding, I felt I was quite strong. However when it came to language, my chose ads were quite limited in their use of language however I attempted to make the best possible use of what I had. In general, it was organised and made sense in terms of diction. From completing this activity, I could see my strengths and weaknesses in an oral based assessment. Therefore I can work on the aspects that I found difficult and improve them for the next assessment. This includes practicing more beforehand in order to be more confident on the day of presentation. Also, I would focus on picking ads with more use of language so that I can discuss this more in depth. I would still focus on picking a strong topic, which I feel was a strong point of this assessment. To conclude, I will definitely be working harder on this task next time, however I still feel like I worked hard and I am proud of the effort I put in.