Planning - Codes and Conventions

One of the main conventions that are covered by all three examples is the placement of the Title. In each magazine the Mast head is situated in the top left corner. This is a convention that is typical of many magazine layouts. Two of my three examples include the word 'six' in their main title, such as Blackpool's "sixth sense", and St Joseph's "six". The connotations of this word link directly to 'sixth form' implying to the reader that the magazine is of an educational genre. The title 'Sixth sense' acts as a type of pun, as 'sixth' relates to the sixth form and 'sense' refers to education, but put together, they have a different meaning. On the front cover, it is also typical of all three examples to include the name of the establishing school in a tagline either underneath or above the main title.This will be a good idea to include because it gives a more professional tone to the magazine.

In the contents page it is typical to have a list of articles and their page number references, and in all of the examples the titles of the articles have been given educational puns and names that relate to sixth form. This shows that the magazine is aimed at an audience of young students.

In two of the examples, the magazines have included a 'letter from the head teacher' or 'note from the editor'. This may be quite conventional in school magazines, as it promote interactivity with the teachers at school, so would be a good aspect to include in my sixth form magazine.This also promotes a positive representation of the school, as the photo of the headteachers show them bright and smiling, and engaging with their students.

The magazines do not have a narrative because they are of an informative nature. They do not tell a story but inform the students and their parents of certain events and notifications happening at school.

The Contents pages are also quite conventional. They all include a contents title at the top of the page, with the contents list situated to the top left of the page, so this is something I shall consider using in my contents page too. Another similarity between two of the magazines is that they both include a picture of the front cover on their contents page. This helps to give the magazine a brand identity, so is something I shall definitely use in my magazine.

All the sixth form front covers have the Title coloured in white. The colour white has connotations of purity and innocence, something that is relative to children, or those at school. The majority of the colour schemes are similar, mainly white backgrounds with black font and a splash of colour here and there. This simple colour scheme keeps the magazine looking professional, therefore showing a professional representation of the school itself.