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Media Studies
Board: AQA
What will I study? How will I be assessed?
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Media Studies explores a range of contemporary forms of mass communica on such as TV drama, music videos, video games, adver sing and film marke ng, news‐papers and magazines, and online and social media.
You will study:
The values and messages within the media. How media products are constructed and who creates them. How media is used to portray people, places and events. How audiences consume, use and respond to different media. What impact and influence they might have. The course combines theore cal explora on and analysis with prac ce and you will develop a range of technical skills throughout the course as you explore and produce your own media products.
Media One: Exam (35% of A‐level)
Ques ons will focus on Close Study Products of adver sing and marke ng, music videos, radio, newspapers, film and one unseen media product.
Media Two: Exam (35% of A‐level)
Ques ons will focus on the in‐depth Close Study Products of television, maga‐zines and online, social and par cipatory media, video games and one unseen me‐dia product. This exam calls for a synop c understanding of media.
Non‐exam assessment (NEA): Crea ng cross‐media produc on (30% of A‐level)
A choice from six annually changing briefs, set by AQA.
How does it work?
The lessons will include cri cal discus‐sions, presenta ons, annota ons and deconstruc ons of a range of media texts, theore cal explora on, debates and essay wri ng. The course shares a lot of skills with English as you explore the meaning and messages which are encoded in media products that we consume every day.
Why Media Studies?
Increasingly, our lives are becoming saturated with media as we use it as entertainment, for communica on and in order to express ourselves. This course gives you a cri cal standpoint to be able to explore the power the media can have in shaping society. It is an essay‐based subject and, because the content of A level Media Studies is firmly embedded within cultural, socio‐poli cal and economic life, it sits well alongside many subjects. Media Studies can also develop a wide range of transferable skills including analysis, visual communica on, problem solving, as well as communica‐ on, presenta on and organisa 27 onal skills.
