a level media essay structure

A-Level Media Studies

• Wider reading
• Media Focus
• Film studies

Tuesday 19 March 2019

Exam structure, you can find a video version of this post by clicking here. it goes through everything you need to know to get an a in any exam you sit, sample timings, component one a - 2 minutes per mark component one b - 1 minute per mark component two - 50 minutes for each industry, component 2 micro-management, intro and argument - 7  minutes text one – 19.5 minutes text two – 19.5 minutes conclusion  - 4 minutes, marks per section:, component one a - 45 marks (media language and representation. one question will be worth more marks that the other usually a 30/15 split) component one b - 45 marks (usually 25 marks for industry, 20 for audience) component two a (tv) - 30 marks component two b (magazines) - 30 marks component two b (online) - 30 marks, example question - compared with the past, david gauntlett argues that in the media today ‘we no longer get singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities.’ evaluate the validity of this claim with reference to the set editions of woman and adbusters and the historical contexts in which they were produced., step one - underline key terms, compared with the past, david gauntlett argues that in the media today ‘we no longer get singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities .’ evaluate the validity of this claim with reference to the set editions of woman and adbusters and the historical contexts in which they were produced., step two -  knee jerk reaction, knee jerk reaction: adbusters presents complex representations of gender, particularly of women, while woman magazine presents singular, stereotypical and sexist representations of women typical of the political climate of the mid-1960's, step three - plan, step four - introduction, definition argument context, defining key words, ‘representation’, ‘audience’, argument examples, ‘genre’, ‘distribution’, in what ways can newspapers incorporate viewpoints and ideologies for their audiences.

[DEFINITION] The producers of newspapers typically incorporate a range of ideological perspectives when creating newspapers. This is for several reasons, including commercial, ideological, and audience related. Ideology itself refers to the beliefs and viewpoints of the producer. Through media language, audiences are invited to explore and negotiate a range of responses. [ARGUMENT] However, typically producers will attempt to anchor these responses through techniques such as captioning. In order to explore how newspapers incorporate viewpoints and ideologies, [CONTEXT] I shall be exploring the examples of The Daily Mirror, a British tabloid newspaper catering to a working class left wing audience, and the Times, a broadsheet targeting a middle class, right wing audience. I shall also be supplementing these examples with material from The Mail Online, a particularly popular online branch of the right-wing Daily Mail that primarily targets a working-class female audience.

Step five - The paragraph structure

Point evidence argument [theory].

P - The front cover of The Times, on the other hand, demonstrates an initially oppositional ideological viewpoint. E - A mid shot double page splash wrap-around cover, saved only for the very most notable events adorns this edition. Trump gestures passively with his fist, eyes to the right of the camera, in front of the background of an American flag. The flag has clear connotations for the right wing target audience: of patriotism and of freedom and of victory. The headline, The New World is presented in a serif font, offering a sophisticated mode of address to the target middle class audience. However, the Times Does not openly ideogically support Trump in the same way that The Mirror opposes him. In an example of bias through selection, an image of Trump looking either smug or lost, depending on the negotiation of the audience is selected. His fist has symbolic connotations of power, but also functions as a proairetic code, suggesting violence ahead. This is further anchored to the sophisticated target audience through the lexis of the subheading demonstrating that Trump will send “shockwaves around the globe”. A - The negative connotations of shockwave make intertextual reference to the disaster genre once more. However, the dominant reading is hard for the audience to deduce. The Times neither endorses nor rejects Trump’s ideology. Even the pull quote on the back cover, with its repeated use of you will be so proud” can by polysemically interpreted by the target audience.

AQA Media Studies

Introduction.

Media Studies provides a great opportunity to explore and evaluate why we engage with a wide range of media texts. Representation and media form are other important aspects of the course. AQA’s course also requires you to develop the practical skills needed to create your own exciting products.

Close Study Products

To demonstrate your understanding of the key concepts in media studies, you need to analyse various media texts from a broad range of media forms, such as television, newspapers, magazines, digital media and computer games. The following guides apply the relevant theoretical frameworks to AQA's list of A-Level Close Study Products.

• AQA A-Level

Media One - Advertising and Marketing

Sephora – Black Beauty is Beauty Campaign

Score Hair Cream

Media one - music videos.

Old Town Road

Media one - newspapers.

The Daily Mail

The Guardian Newspaper

Media one - media industries and audience.

The War of the Worlds

BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat

Blinded by the Light

Zendaya, Social Media and Celebrity Culture

The Gentlewoman Magazine

Analysis of GQ Magazine

BBC’s Capital

Deutschland 83

Media two - video games.

The Sims FreePlay

Horizon Forbidden West and Genre

Representation in Horizon Forbidden West

Unseen questions.

Past Papers and Mark Schemes

You can access various materials from the dedicated AQA assessment resources page .

Non-exam Assessment

You need to create a cross-media production which demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework. You also need to produce a Statement of Intent - a 500 word commentary on your chosen brief and how you intend to fulfill its demands.

Research and Preparation

• Statement of Intent

• Indicative Content

Assessment Objectives

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media and contexts of media and their influence on media products and processes.

AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media to:

(a) analyse media products, including in relation to their contexts and through the use of academic theories; (b) evaluate academic theories; and (c) make judgements and draw conclusions.

AO3: Create media products for an intended audience, by applying knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media to communicate meaning.

Recently Added

Rule of Thirds

The Classification of Advertisements

Narrative Functions

Key concepts.

The AIDA Principle

• Hypodermic Needle Theory

Desensitisation and the Media

Media studies.

• The Study of Signs
• Ferdinand de Saussure and Signs
• Roland Barthes
• Charles Peirce’s Sign Categories
• Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation
• Binary Opposition
• Vladimir Propp
• Tzvetan Todorov
• Quest Plots
• Barthes’ 5 Narrative Codes
• Key Concepts in Genre
• David Gauntlett and Identity
• Paul Gilroy
• Liesbet van Zoonen
• The Male Gaze
• The Bechdel Test
• bell hooks and Intersectionality
• The Cultural Industries
• Two-Step Flow Theory
• Cultivation Theory
• Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory
• Abraham Maslow
• Uses and Gratifications
• Moral Panic
• Camera Shots
• Exam Practice

Media and Film

A-level Media Studies essay writing guide

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An essay writing guide for AQA - it can be adapted for other exam boards.

Author Info

charlottebroomfield21

Download info, december 12, 2021.

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AS and A Level: Media Studies

• Media Studies

"Jurassic Shark" was broadcast as part of a series of related programs and feature films on Channel 5, which was titled the "Terrors of the Deep - Weekend". This essay will focus on the contents of the documentary

Introduction: "Jurassic Shark" was broadcast as part of a series of related programs and feature films on Channel 5, which was titled the "Terrors of the Deep - Weekend". This essay will focus on the contents of the documentary as well as its approach towards the audience. The spirit of the program: By being part of the "Terrors of the Deep - Weekend" it seems unlikely that this documentary was just aiming to attract unbiased hobby-marine-biologists. Since the film "Jaws" 1 at the latest the word shark already attracts attention on its own. So what can the viewer expect when hearing a title like "Jurassic Shark"? The close relation of the name to "Jurassic Park"2 is surely not just coincidental. The one-hour documentary's intention was to inform about the history and evolution of sharks from the Jurassic period until today. Considering this special weekend though the viewer would also be expecting something a bit more frightening than just a normal documentary. Approach: Documentaries have become very popular again over the lost couple of years. This might also be due to the fact that computers have made it possible to give a far better impression of how life may have looked like, in a time that could not be captured by photography yet. "Jurassic Shark" opens with a teaser. It shows a huge shark passing by from the screen towards the endless ocean. The viewer's position

• Word count: 1703
• Level: AS and A Level
• Subject: Media Studies

Soap is the most common form of drama on British Television: is this beneficial or detrimental to the future welfare of British drama

Soap is the most common form of drama on British Television: is this beneficial or detrimental to the future welfare of British drama? Soap opera is the most popular genre of television programming across the globe and has been the leading favourite of British television for the past forty-six years. The trend evolved from the radio soap operas of the 1930s and 1940s, surfacing first in the United States and later spreading across the world. It attracted large audiences consisting mainly of female listeners and with the growing popularity of television it soon became firmly rooted on the screen. The long running Coronation Street was the first British soap opera to make a significant impact on UK drama in 1960s. Its aim was to target mainly working class people in creating a microcosm of the working world we live in, focusing on realism as opposed to the escapism forms of the American soaps. In order to conclude on whether the dominance of this genre is beneficial or detrimental to the future welfare of British drama, I'm going to study the pros and cons of soap opera as a form of British Television. Over the years soap operas have been continuously praised and condemned by the general public and despite of its popularity the genre continues to carry the connotation of a degraded cultural form of television drama. There is the common belief that soap operas are for

• Word count: 1342

Soap opera history.

By Luke kyriakdes Since their introduction back in the thirties, people have rushed home from work or hurried their chores so they are able to watch or listen to their favourite soap opera. For most families, the soap has become the focal point of their day. For some, it's to escape, when they come back from work, or have just had a bad day, they can watch someone else's problems on their favourite soap, to take their mind off real life problems. The name 'Soap Opera' originated all the way back in the thirties in America. In the early thirties, drama series were broadcasted on afternoon radio, aimed at female audiences. The shows were broadcast in between soap powder commercials - mostly sponsored by large companies such as Procter & Gamble. The first British radio soap opera began in 1942, it was called Front Line Family. From the 1950's, soaps took over television, with the very first soap launched on BBC in 1954 running until 1957. ITV launched in 1956, By 1960 it flag shipped the very first mass-watched drama, which realistically reflected real life. It is still running today. BBC finally learnt in 1984, when it launched Eastenders. Eastenders is also still running today. The soap world has witnessed a number of failures. For example, BBC launched Eldorado in 1992, with a rage of publicity. The BBC foolishly spent £2m building a village in Spain. It failed miserably

• Word count: 1379

Soap opera scheme of work.

Year 10. Soap opera scheme of work. In this essay I am going to analyse the representation of women and young people in Hollyoaks and Eastenders. The target audience of Hollyoaks are young people because there are young people in Hollyoaks. It won't be for an older audience because they will be watching other soaps like Eastenders because there are old and young people in it. Hollyoaks is on at 6:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, some people will be at work but the younger people would of come home from school a couple of hours before Hollyoaks starts. Older people will be able to watch Hollyoaks on Sunday because they might not be working on a Sunday. It's on at 12:00 so they will be able to watch it if they what to. There is a range of characters in Hollyoaks young school kids, young women and some old people. Old and young people watch Eastenders because most people would of come home work, young people would of come home from school so all ages could watch it. Eastenders starts at 8:00 and sometimes at 7:30 so old and young people have time to watch it. It is also on, on Sunday. There is a range of characters in Eastenders, there are old people like Dot and Pat, there are middle-aged women like Laura and Kat, and there are young people like Zoel and Sonya. The main ingredients of soaps are things like: affairs, murders, most people get pregnant, generally

• Word count: 661

Soap operas or 'soaps' criteria

This work is all about soap operas or `soaps'. A soap is a drama on TV which shows various aspects of family, or ordinary daily life. Soaps include aspects of family life, issues within families are greatly used parts in soaps. With family life you can see people growing up, people's attitudes towards each other changing, for better and for worse. You can see families develop, falling in love, getting married like Nat and Barry in Eastenders. You get to see what the outcome is when one partner of a relationship goes behind the back of the other one, they have an affair. Eventually the good partner finds out the there are a lot of questions, will they stay together, will they not, what about the baby if there is one. Also what about the person the partner was having an affair with, what happens when the people around them find out. There are a lot of issues that can be raised by family life and an almost endless list of situations that can be created. These family life storylines are based around real life and shows good information and hidden messages to people, especially younger people about what goes on in life. They also show a number of outcomes and resolutions to help viewers. A soap is generally set in a limited location because as they concern family life the soaps stay around the area in which the families live, the house, the work place and public places like pubs

• Word count: 3052

Television and the distortion of reality

Television and the distortion of reality TV in today's society often distorts our view of the world and its reality. This often happens when people start to relate to everything they see to be real, or "Written in Stone," as some may say. Hopefully at the end of this article you will look at television a little more unrealistic than realistic. When looking at this subject, it is easiest to break it down into six categories, which are derived from cultural critic George Gerbner's research: Sex, age, race, work, health, and crime. (Waters 166.) The most common role in the sex category is the way the family is portrayed. The perfect example is the show the Wonder Years. It is often portrayed as the way families were set up in through out the fifty's and sixties. There is the male, father, and man of the house. He is expected to be in charge. What he says goes, and everyone listens. The mother is usually known as the common housewife, not daring to get a job, because the husband is the so-called "Bread winner." Her role is to clean the house, cook all the meals, and tend after the children. Even all-major decision-making is left to the male. It's always, ask your father. The children may try to talk their way out of trouble with the mother, but very rarely with the father. They know he will get mad and say no. In the second category, age, we will consider as people over the

• Word count: 1031

Television Institutions.

When we home from school, work or aver fining we switch on the television to watch a particular programme. We have certain expectations that the programme will start and finish at a specific time. We see television as it is a normal part of everyday life. Like reading a newspaper, shopping or going to school. One of the biggest channels is BBC. BBC is funded through the licence fee. Everyone in England how has TV must pay for this licence. This licence pays for the programmes on the BBC and on the radio stations owned by the BBC (radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5). There are no adverts on the BBC or these radio stations. It is a non-commercial (not there to make a profit) stations whereas ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are commercial stations (there to make profit). Channel ITV, channel 4 and channel 5 are been owned by large moneymaking organisations whose aim is to make profit for their shareholders. So they charging advertisers large sums of promote their products on these stations (usually six minutes of adverts per hour). SKY and cable have no restrictions on how many adverts they show in any hours, therefore, have far more adverts as this means more profit for theme. Most of the channels complement with each other, for example on Thursday the 20 of April on ITV there is Emmerdaleand at 7.00o'clock and on BBC1 there is watchdog with Anne Robinson at 7.00. Then at on 7.30 on BBC1

• Word count: 715

Television is the scapegoat for society's ills." Discuss.

Television is the scapegoat for society's ills." Discuss. In the past few decades, the cultural and moral values of our society have been decaying rapidly, partly due to the unhealthy competition in society that had arisen together with the insatiable demand for wealth. In fact, this decay is taking place so rapidly that people are desperately searching for the root of the problem. Naturally, the various groups of citizens in this society would be less than willing to put the blame on themselves and as a result, television, a form of mass media whose popularity has rise so alarmingly in the past few years, has conveniently been made a scapegoat for our own mistakes and problems. Unfortunately, it is undeniable that in a small way, television has contributed to some of the problems in our society. In a bid to boost ratings, producers have added much violence and sex to programmes to make them exciting. As a result, minors have been exposed to the wrong ideas. Besides, some programmes are so "exciting" that people spend too much time watching television, neglecting their work or studies. The promotion of sexual liberalization has also destroyed the conservative cultures of >numerous nations. Hence, many people have blamed their problems on television. However, television is merely a tool of mass communication. The actual masterminds behind the popularity and content of

• Word count: 510

Television show volume vs. commercial volume.

Television Show Volume vs. Commercial Volume Have you ever flipped through channels on a television and decided to watch a commercial? If you have, you probably decided to watch the commercial because something grabbed your attention. The attention grabber was probably the audio level. Sound waves are usually the only attention grabber of commercials. Most commercials do sound louder than television shows. Television sound waves give many interpretations to the brain. As television sound waves contact ear drums, the ear drums move and convert the energy of sound waves into electrical surges that are sent to the brain. The stronger the sound waves are, the louder it sounds. However, the brain does interpret sounds in different ways. This means that some waves may seem to have a sound louder than others, even if the loud and soft sounds have the same volume (Hislop, 2001). A way to measure loudness of sound is by using the decibel. It is one tenth of a bel (named after Alexander Bell). However, the larger unit, bel, is rarely used. The decibel uses many different scales to measure sound. One scale, the dBFS, uses zero as the highest sound that can be reached. The dB stands for decibel and the FS stands for full scale. The dBFS uses negatives to describe sound. The farther away a sound from zero in negatives, the lower the sound is. For example, if a sound was

• Word count: 1263

Television Violence and the Effects on Children

Television Violence and the Effects on Children Television Violence: Effects, and Solutions Allison Thornton University of Lethbridge April 1, 2002 "Every television show is educational. The lessons taught can vary infinitely." (Spicer). What lesson is violent television teaching our children? It is a sad reflection on today's media when children are hurt because other children are reenacting what they have seen on television. The cases in the news are many, the boy who thinking he was a "Power Ranger" and seriously injuring a friend. More recently the Taber, Alberta and Littleton, Colorado shootings, where the perpetrators at Colombine mimicked a scene from a movie, and with Taber mimicking the Colombine incident. This essay will cover three major effects of television violence on children and what can be done to protect children from television violence. The Issue "Media are means. We aim, through media, to indulge and serve our hungers by inviting images and sounds into our lives, making them come and go with ease in a never-ending quest for stimulus and sensation." (MacIntyre, 2002) Television can influence you everyday to buy certain products by advertisements, and influences your beliefs by the dramas, documentaries and newscasts. The concern is that Television can influence your actions after you walk away from the television. This makes the effect of violent

• Word count: 3699

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• Advertisements 461
• Internet 257
• Newspapers & Magazines 490
• Television 407
• Fewer than 1000 998
• 1000-1999 1217
• 2000-2999 407

Teacher Reviews

• 1 review 44
• 1 or more reviews 44

Peer Reviews

• 1 or more reviews 4

Programmes & Qualifications

Cambridge international as & a level media studies (9607).

• Syllabus overview

Cambridge International AS and A Level Media Studies offers learners the chance to develop an understanding and appreciation of the place of media in our everyday lives. The syllabus enables learners to take a hands-on approach to the subject. 

Through the coursework components - the Foundation Portfolio for AS Level and the Advanced Portfolio for A Level - they create their own media products from planning through to execution. Learners also consider and analyse examples from existing media, examining production processes and technologies and the effects they achieve.

The syllabus year refers to the year in which the examination will be taken.

• -->2021 - 2023 Syllabus update (PDF, 166KB)
• -->2024-2026 Syllabus update (PDF, 139KB)

Syllabus support

• -->Support for Media Studies (PDF, 613KB)

Syllabus updates

We have updated this media studies syllabus as part of a wider review of Cambridge International AS & A Level and made some changes in line with the feedback we received from teachers, subject expert panels and universities. The updated syllabus is for examination in 2022, 2022 and 2023.

How has the syllabus changed?

• We have added a subject content section to make it clearer what needs to be taught. This details skills and understanding relevant to the whole course, as well as showing what should be studied at AS Level and at A Level.
• Representation.
• We have added a list of command words and their meanings to help learners know what’s expected of them in the exam.

How has the assessment changed?

• The assessment objectives (AOs) have been revised and updated and the weightings changed.

Component: 1 Foundation Portfolio:

• The number of marks available in Component 1 has changed to 50 marks.
• Collaborative work has been removed: creative critical reflection must be produced and presented individually.

Component 2: Media texts and contexts:

• The number of marks available in Component 2 has changed to 50 marks.
• In Section A of Component 2 the TV Drama is no longer limited to being American.

Component 3: Advanced Portfolio:

• The number of marks available in Component 3 has changed to 50 marks.
• The Creative critical reflection section has been replaced with an essay of around 1000 words (including guiding questions) focusing on evaluation of the Component 3 process and outcome.

Component 4: Critical Perspectives:

• The number of marks available in Component 4 has changed to 60 marks.
• Section A is no longer an evaluation of the candidate’s own work in the Foundation Portfolio and the Advanced Portfolio. Candidates must now answer two questions from a choice of three focusing on media regulation, postmodern media and power and the media.
• Section B is synoptic and now includes one compulsory question.

When do these changes take place?

The updated syllabus is for examination in June and November 2021, 2022 and 2023. Please see the 2021-2023 syllabus above for full details.

Coming soon

We are developing a wide range of support to help you plan and teach the 2021-2023 syllabus.

Look out for suggested resources and a coursework handbook that will be available from April 2019 onwards through School Support Hub .

Endorsed resources – coming soon

Enable learners to develop a critical understanding of international media as they approach the Cambridge International AS & A Level Media Studies syllabus (9607). Students engage with key topics, from production processes to media regulation, while developing critical thinking and analytical skills. Unpack the pedagogy and get a comprehensive understanding of the assessment through the robust support in the digital teacher’s resource, with a particular focus on guidance for skills development, project-based learning, and differentiation.

Read more on the Cambridge University Press website

Important notices

From 2020, we are changing our policy on the resubmission of moderated coursework. You will no longer be able to resubmit moderated coursework for a future series. Find out how this will impact Cambridge International AS and A Level Media Studies (9607)

For some subjects, we publish grade descriptions to help understand the level of performance candidates’ grades represent.

We paused the publication of grade descriptions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary changes to the awarding standard in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

As the awarding standard has now returned to the pre-pandemic standard, we are working to produce up-to-date grade descriptions for most of our general qualifications. These will be based on the awarding standards in place from June 2023 onwards.

Check the Submit for Assessment page and the samples database for information and guidance on submitting moderated and examined work using Submit for Assessment.

School Support Hub

Teachers at registered Cambridge schools can unlock over 30 000 teaching and learning resources to help plan and deliver Cambridge programmes and qualifications, including Schemes of work, Example candidate responses, Past papers, Specimen paper answers, as well as digital and multimedia resources.

Schemes of work

Example responses, past papers, specimen paper answers.

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• Past papers, examiner reports and specimen papers
• Published resources

Media Studies A-Level Past Papers

This section includes recent A-Level Media Studies past papers from AQA, Eduqas, OCR, CIE and WJEC. If you are not sure which exam board you are studying ask your teacher. Past papers are a fantastic way to prepare for an exam as you can practise the questions in your own time. You can download each of the exam board's papers by clicking the links below.

• AQA A-Level Media Studies Past Papers
• CIE A-Level Media Studies Past Papers
• Eduqas A-Level Media Studies Past Papers
• OCR A-Level Media Studies Past Papers
• WJEC A-Level Media Studies Past Papers

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A-level Media Studies

• Specification
• Teaching resources
• Assessment resources
• Introduction
• Specification at a glance
• Close study products (CSPs)
• Contexts of the media
• Extended response and synopticity

Media language

• Media representation
• Media industries
• Media audiences
• Non-exam assessment (NEA)
• Scheme of assessment
• Non-exam assessment administration
• General administration

In this section students will develop their knowledge and understanding of:

• how the different modes and language associated with different media forms communicate multiple meanings
• how the combination of elements of media language influence meaning
• how developing technologies affect media language
• the codes and conventions of media forms and products, including the processes through which media language develops as genre
• the dynamic and historically relative nature of genre
• the processes through which meanings are established through intertextuality
• how audiences respond to and interpret the above aspects of media language
• how genre conventions are socially and historically relative, dynamic and can be used in a hybrid way
• the significance of challenging and/or subverting genre conventions
• the significance of the varieties of ways in which intertextuality can be used in the media
• the way media language incorporates viewpoints and ideologies.

Enabling ideas to support the study of media language

The content below identifies the enabling theories, key ideas and terms that constitute key theoretical aspects of media language. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the following theoretical aspects.

• Dominant signifier
• Signification
• Connotation

Narratology

• Narrative Codes
• Quest narrative
• 'Character types'
• Masterplot.
• Narrative structure
• Equilibrium
• New equilibrium.

Genre theory as summarised by Neale

• Conventions and rules
• Genres of order and integration
• 'Genre as cultural category'.

Structuralism

• Binary oppositions
• Cultural codes
• Ideological reading
• Deconstruction.

Postmodernism

• Intertextuality
• Hyperreality.

A Level Media Studies

Cohort 2020 – 2022

Essay Plans – Ecology

These are as many of the essay plans that we can muster….there are comments from teachers in the margins as to what might be improved so make sure you take those on board. A couple are duplicated.

You should be able to prep for the TAG and the exam much more easily now.  Also, make sure you read the exemplars in the classroom revision post – they are different case studies, theories etc (as there are no set texts, theories for this section) but you will see how other students have structured their essays.

There is also an essay structure suggestion in classroom.

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Media Topic Essays for AQA A-Level Sociology

in Worked Answers

A set of 10 exemplar Topic Essays for The Media.

Available for immediate download after checkout

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This set of 10 essays demonstrates how to write a top mark band response to a range of questions for The Media topic, covering the entire specification.

Each essay has been written and checked by our experienced team of examiners and detailed examiner commentary has been provided on every essay.

The tutor2u Topic Essays are also structured and written using techniques explored in our tutor2u Webinars and YouTube videos, and have been produced in a word count that is achievable in the exam!

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As and a level media studies - h009, h409.

We currently have two versions of A Level Media Studies specifications available so please make sure you use the right one. The most recent version of the specifications has new set media products and applies to students who will be assessed from 2025 onwards.

For more information please read our update here .

Our A Level in Media Studies encourages students to study the media in an academic context and apply the knowledge and understanding gained to their own media productions. They develop critical thinking skills as they study the media in both global and historical contexts.

Specification code: H409 Qualification number: 603/2339/5 This qualification is available in English only First teaching 2023, first assessment 2025

Our AS Level in Media Studies introduces students to the influence of the media today, both nationally and globally. They study the impact of the media on society, culture, politics and the economy, and apply their theoretical knowledge and understanding in the production of their own media product.

Specification code: H009 Qualification number: 603/1943/4 This qualification is available in English only

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AS/A Level Media Studies

For help with e-submission process click here.

Amended question numbering in exam paper and separate answer booklet provided – see Sample Assessment Materials for AS and A level , and Answer Booklet in the Sample Assessment Materials tab below.

Please see our  e-Submissions centre guidance , Media Studies NEA e-Submission Guide , email:  [email protected] , or phone  029 2240 4310 .

Apply now and join our team of examiners.

*Subject dependent, based on marking a full allocation and completion of training (which we pay you to attend).

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The Eduqas AS & A level in media studies offers learners the opportunity to develop a thorough and in depth understanding of key issues, using a comprehensive theoretical framework and a variety of advanced theoretical approaches and theories to support critical exploration and reflection, analysis and debate. The study of a wide range of rich and stimulating media products is central to the specification, offering opportunities for detailed analysis of how the media communicate meanings in a variety of forms. Learners will work from the product outwards to debate key critical questions related to the social, cultural, political and economic role of the media. Through studying media products holistically in relation to all areas of the theoretical framework, learners will engage with the dynamic relationships between media products, media industries and audiences. Learners will also consider established media forms alongside more contemporary forms, developing an awareness of emerging and evolving media.

Although the primary emphasis in this specification is on the contemporary media, learners will explore how the products relate to their wider historical contexts. Learners will also extend their experience of the media through the study of products with which they may be less familiar, including those produced by or for a minority group, non-mainstream and non-English language products. This specification aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the transnational nature of the media, considering the effect of different national contexts on representations in media products, the global reach of media industries, and the targeting of audiences on a national and global scale.

Choice and flexibility are a vital part of the specification, enabling teachers to select the most appropriate, relevant and engaging products for their learners to study in Component 2.

This specification also recognises the fundamental relationship between theoretical understanding and practical work, providing learners with exciting opportunities to develop media production skills in different forms, apply their knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework to media forms and products, and become creators of meaning themselves. Learners will be offered a choice of briefs and forms within which to work, enabling them to explore and pursue their own media interests.

The Eduqas AS & A level in Media Studies offers a broad, engaging and stimulating course of study which enables learners to:

• Demonstrate skills of enquiry, critical thinking, decision-making and analysis
• Demonstrate a critical approach to media issues
• Demonstrate appreciation and critical understanding of the media and their role both historically and currently in society, culture, politics and the economy
• Develop an understanding of the dynamic and changing relationships between media forms, products, industries and audiences
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the global nature of the media
• Apply theoretical knowledge and specialist subject specific terminology to analyse and compare media products and the contexts in which they are produced and consumed
• Make informed arguments, reach substantiated judgements and draw conclusions about media issues
• Engage in critical debate about academic theories used in media studies
• Appreciate how theoretical understanding supports practice and practice supports theoretical understanding
• Demonstrate sophisticated practical skills by providing opportunities for creative media production.

Any requirements set for entry to a course following this specification are at the discretion of centres. It is reasonable to assume that many learners will have achieved qualifications equivalent to Level 2 at KS4. Skills in literacy and analysis will provide a good basis for progression to this Level 3 qualification. Some learners will have already gained knowledge, understanding, and skills through their study of GCSE media studies .

Why choose Eduqas?

• A choice of options for production
• A choice of options for the set products/texts
• Topics and products/texts chosen to appeal to students
• Creative work which is central to the course
• Unlimited access to free resources
• Face-to-face professional learning courses
• Uniform design across GCSE, AS and A level to allow for coherent progression
• Flexibility for teachers to choose relevant and appropriate texts/products
• Direct access to Subject specialists
• Support from our  Regional Representatives

Important information, past papers, marking schemes, entry/amendment uploads & make post-results enquiries.

Grade boundaries are the minimum number of marks needed to achieve each grade.

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