< Back to Subject List

Media studies requires students to become experts at applying the four areas of the media studies framework:

  • Media language
  • Media representation
  • Media audiences
  • Media industries

There is a variety of texts to study across the two years from different areas of the mass media. These include: print advertising, audio-visual advertising, music videos, newspapers (print and online), gaming, film marketing and radio.

Students will be required to develop exam skills such as discursive essay writing and evaluating theoretical approaches. They will also submit coursework, worth 30% of the overall mark.

Media Studies A Level - Years 12, 13

Year 12, Terms 1-6
12.1 MEDIA LANGUAGE: visual codes, linguistic codes, semiotics, camera methods, editing, audio codes, technical codes, genre, narrative, audience positioning, ideologies, exam skills
12.2 REPRESENTATION: how representations are constructed; stereotyping; audience positioning; post-colonial theory; feminist theory; identity theory; exam skills
12.3 INDUSTRY: the film industry; the gaming industry; the newspaper industry; the radio industry; public service broadcasting; patterns of ownership; production, distribution and circulation; economic contexts; regulatory frameworks; digital convergence; exam skills
12.4 AUDIENCE: Audience targeting; audience reception; audience interpretation; specialised audiences; theoretical approaches; exam skills
12.5 NEA; ongoing focus on exam skills and revision
12.6 NEA; ongoing focus on exam skills and revision
Year 13, Terms 1-6
13.1 NEA continued; COM 2 television in the global age - an in-depth study of set episodes from two television drama series.
13.2 COM 2 SECTION A: television in the global age - an in-depth study of set episodes from two television drama series.
COM 2 SECTION B: magazines mainstream and alternative - an in-depth study of two magazines
13.3 COM 2 SECTION C: media in the online age - an in-depth study of two online texts.
Exam skills for COM 2
13.4 Revision lessons: exam skills
13.5 Revision lessons: exam skills
13.6