Conventions Analysis

Header - used to explain very briefly what the magazine is about, this header says that it is an 'exclusive guide', meaning that you can not get such anywhere else. The header also says 'hip, hop and happening', using alliteration for excellent effectiveness, making the magazine sound more appealing the audience, using representation to construct versions of people in word format. The last thing included in the header is the date, which simply timestamps the magazine, showing what time it was published.

Mast Head - used to attract the audience and give them a sense of what the magazine is about, in this case the magazine is about college life and the mast head is 'college' which is very simple, yet it does still do what it is meant to. The audience of the magazine would be college students, so this would attract the target audience and hopefully make them want to buy the magazine. It is in a large, bold font so it is easily recognisable and will appeal to the audience.

Main Image - it is centered on the magazine cover so that it is the main focus and therefore directly attracts the audience, and he is looking at the audience through direct mode of address. The person in the image is obviously a student, just like the target audience of the magazine. You can tell by the age and how he is dressed, as well as the fact that he is carrying some books, showing that he is a student at the college and looks well educated values his studies. He facial expression shows that he is displaying a general positive attitude. The clothes that he is wearing are the sort of clothes that you would expect a teen to wear in college, a smart but casual look so that he doesn't look messy, yet he isn't dressed up. The person in the main image will have similar values and attitudes as the target audience, and he is represented just like the target audience.

Plug - used to advertise something that is related to the audience, in this case it is a plug for a paint-balling event. Students are the sort of people you would expect to see going paint-balling so the plug is very effective in that they relate to the audience and what they could be interested in. The plug itself is printed on a splat of a paint-ball which grabs attention and someone may want to purchase the magazine so that they can learn more about the event. 

Feature Stories - these are used as examples of the type of information that is included in the magazine. If a student was to see the cover of the magazine then they may be interested in what could be included inside, so they'll hopefully purchase the magazine and then read more. All of the feature stories are put in a bold font which makes them stand out and appeal to the audience.

Main Feature - this is the main subject/article in the magazine. Similarly to the feature stores, if someone sees the front cover of the magazine and is interested in reading more about the story then they would purchase the magazine. The main feature in any magazine will be directed at its audience. In this case the main feature talks about 'Dancehall's Bright Future', the sort of language that you would expect to see in a college magazine, talking about the future and achieving. The text is in a large and clear font, which is easy to read, like all the of text in the cover, and it all follows the colour scheme of black, green, grey and white, which is highly effective.

Barcode/price - simply used to tell the audience the price of the magazine and a barcode that is used to scan the product at a store when it is sold. You would expect to this all magazines, just like you would expect to see it on everything, as it is a necessity for it to be bought and sold.