Specification: AQA-GCSE-Media-Studies
The AQA GCSE Media Studies specification covers 1 topic with 0 learning objectives (AQA-GCSE-Media-Studies). Use the topic browser below to explore subtopics, exam tips, common mistakes, and key terminology for each area of the course.
This subject will help you develop key knowledge and skills required for exam success.
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The AQA GCSE Media Studies course invites you to explore the influential role media plays in our daily lives. You will develop a critical understanding of how media products are constructed, how they represent the world, and how audiences interact with them. Through examining a diverse range of media forms—including television, film, advertising, magazines, newspapers, online and social media, music videos, and video games—you will learn to apply analytical frameworks and key theoretical concepts.
Central to the specification are in-depth studies of selected Close Study Products (CSPs) that reflect both historical and contemporary media. You will evaluate how media language, representation, industries, and audiences shape meaning, while also considering the social, cultural, historical, and political contexts that influence production and reception. This critical lens will empower you to question the media you consume every day.
The course also includes a practical non-exam assessment (NEA), where you will create your own media production in response to a set brief. This hands-on experience allows you to showcase your creative and technical skills—whether in print, moving image, or digital formats—while applying your knowledge of media conventions and audience targeting. By the end, you will be a more informed, analytical, and creative media consumer and producer.
The qualification is assessed through two written exams and one non-exam assessment (NEA). Paper 1 (Exploring the Media) and Paper 2 (Media Forms and Products) are each 1 hour 30 minutes, worth 90 marks, and account for 35% of the final grade each. The NEA is a practical production task, marked out of 60, contributing the remaining 30%. Total marks available across all components are 240.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of: • the theoretical framework of media • contexts of media and their influence on media products and processes
Analyse media products using the theoretical framework of media, including in relation to their contexts, to make judgements and draw conclusions
Create media products for an intended audience, by applying knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media to communicate meaning
Demonstrates comprehensive and accurate knowledge
Applies knowledge effectively to new contexts
Develops sophisticated analytical arguments
Give a single fact or term
Name, select, or recognise
Set out main features briefly
Give an account of what something is like or what happens
Give reasons with developed cause→effect chains
State similarities AND differences (both required)
Examine in detail showing cause→effect→consequence chains
Weigh up BOTH sides, reach JUSTIFIED conclusion
Make judgments about importance with justification
Show formula→substitution→calculation→answer with units
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