Exam-style questions by topic — AQA GCSE Media Studies
One verified question for each of 32 topics. These are written for this specification and checked by MasteryMind. They are not past-paper questions, and they are not from AQA.
Media language
A magazine cover places a famous actor in the centre of the page, uses a bold serif masthead and prints the headline in red capitals. Which explanation best shows how these conventions communicate meaning to readers?
Practise Media languageForms of media language
In a model of communication, what is the role of the sender?
Practise Forms of media languageChoice of media language
A television presenter looks straight into the camera and says, ‘You won’t believe what happens next.’ Which mode of address is being used?
Practise Choice of media languageTheories of narrative
In narrative theory, what is the resolution of a story?
Practise Theories of narrativeTechnology and media products
A streaming company invests in faster servers and better recommendation software after rival platforms begin attracting more subscribers. Which force driving technological change does this situation best illustrate?
Practise Technology and media productsCodes and conventions
A film studio notices that western films have become less popular and begins releasing westerns that mix in science-fiction elements such as futuristic technology. Which explanation best accounts for this change?
Practise Codes and conventionsMedia representations
A news report about a political protest uses high-angle shots and dramatic background music. How does this portray the event?
Practise Media representationsRe-presentation
A soap opera uses ordinary kitchens, everyday speech and storylines about bills and family arguments. Which feature most helps this representation feel realistic to audiences?
Practise Re-presentationAudience interpretation
A television drama shows a wealthy family losing its business and moving to a small flat. A working-class viewer says the drama is right to show money worries seriously, but that the family's quick recovery is unrealistic compared with her own experience. Which explanation of her response fits decoding theory best?
Practise Audience interpretationTheoretical perspectives on gender
A newspaper claims that women are naturally better at caring work. Which response best shows a social constructionalist critique of this claim?
Practise Theoretical perspectives on genderChoice of media producers
A charity advert uses close-ups of a child's face, slow piano music and direct address to the viewer. What is the most likely reason a producer would combine these techniques?
Practise Choice of media producersRepresentation of reality
A news website reports a protest, using the word 'thugs' in its headline and showing only the most violent moments of the event. Which statement best explains how this reporting creates bias?
Practise Representation of realityStereotypes
A media producer claims that a stereotype is simply an accurate reflection of reality because audiences recognise it instantly. Which criticism of this claim is most consistent with how stereotypes become established?
Practise StereotypesMisrepresentation
What does it mean when a media representation is described as biased?
Practise MisrepresentationViewpoints
A student uploads a video to a social media platform in which they present a version of their own identity to an audience. Which term best describes the student's role in this act of media production?
Practise ViewpointsMedia industries
A record label decides to release a new album only as a digital download and streaming release, with no CD or vinyl edition. What is the most direct effect of this distribution decision on how listeners access the album?
Practise Media industriesThe nature of media production
A single vlogger films, edits and uploads videos using their own equipment and publishes them on their own channel. Which description best fits this example of media production?
Practise The nature of media productionProduction processes
Why might a media production company prefer to use a flexible, project-based workforce rather than maintaining a large permanent staff?
Practise Production processesOwnership
A newspaper group buys a television production company and a podcast network. Which outcome is the most likely commercial reason for this diversification?
Practise OwnershipConvergence
A media company owns a television channel and a newspaper. It runs the same major news story across both. What is the most likely benefit of this cross media ownership for the company?
Practise ConvergenceFunding models
In the UK, which funding model raises money from households that watch or record live television as it is broadcast?
Practise Funding modelsCommercial industries
Two countries sign a trade agreement that lowers barriers to importing each other's television programmes. What is the most likely effect on media trade between them?
Practise Commercial industriesRegulation
A retailer in the UK sells a boxed console game that has been rated PEGI 18 to a 14-year-old customer. What is the legal position for the retailer?
Practise RegulationMedia audiences
In a television drama, a character looks straight into the camera and speaks to the viewer about the events of the story. Which effect is this technique most likely to have on the audience?
Practise Media audiencesTheoretical perspectives on audiences
A viewer enjoys a soap opera's dramatic storylines but argues that its portrayal of a particular community is unfair. Which type of audience response does this illustrate?
Practise Theoretical perspectives on audiencesRange of audiences
A commercial television channel makes most of its money by selling advertising space. Why does the channel work hard to build a large, clearly defined audience?
Practise Range of audiencesTargeting
A small film distributor with a tiny budget stages a surprising public stunt to attract attention to a release. Which marketing approach does this describe?
Practise TargetingCategorisation
A radio station segments listeners by age and by region, then finds that its 18-24 group and its 45-54 group both live mainly in the same region. Why does this finding matter when the station plans its schedule?
Practise CategorisationMedia technologies
A media researcher counts how many times each of 200 teenagers opens a short-video app in one week and reports the totals as numbers and percentages. Which type of research data has the researcher collected?
Practise Media technologiesInterpretations
A documentary about climate protest is watched by a teenage environmental activist and by a retired oil industry worker. The activist sees the protesters as heroic, while the oil worker sees them as a threat to jobs. Which explanation best accounts for their different interpretations?
Practise InterpretationsMedia practices
Which term describes the active community of enthusiasts who discuss, celebrate and create content around a media text they enjoy?
Practise Media practicesSocial, cultural and political significance
A 16-year-old watches the same football analysis videos every week before his team's matches. He does not play football himself and says he rarely learns anything new from the videos. He then uses the points they raise in a group chat, where he and his classmates debate which players should be picked. What audience need is this use of media most directly fulfilling?
Practise Social, cultural and political significance
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