A Level Media Studies

A Level Media Studies

If you’re thinking of choosing Media as one of your A Level options there are somethings you need to know:

1. This is a 2 year linear course. All your exams will happen at the end of your 2 year course.


2. You will have 2 exams.


a. Exam 1 will be on Media Language, Representation, Media Audiences + Industry. You will look at a wide range of texts and analyse them in detail.


b. Exam 2 will be on 3 key areas – Television, Magazines, Online Media. You will study 6 texts in detail for this.


3. You will also create an independent piece of coursework.


a. This will be a music video and an accompanying magazine.


b. You can choose your own song + genre, but it must match the brief assigned to you by the exam board.


4. You don’t have to have studied Media at GCSE to study it at A Level. Although this might help at the start, most students start the subject with no previous knowledge

Course Content:

Exam 1 – Media Language, Representation, Audiences + Industry

For this exam you will look at the following types of media:

1. Audio Visual Adverts
2. Print Adverts
3. Film Posters
4. Newspapers
5. Music Videos
6. Video Games
7. Radio

You will have some set texts you have to study, but there will also be unseen texts you will need to analyse in the exam

Exam 2 – Television, Magazines, Online Media:

For this exam you will look at the following texts:

TV – Life on Mars + The Bridge

Magazines – Woman’s Realm (1965) + Huck (2016)

Online Media – Zoella + Attitude

You will study some of these texts in your first year and some in your second year. You will look at all of them in detail.

Getting Ahead:


To get ahead in Media you might want to take a look at the following things:

Films/TV/Radio:

  • Black Panther (2018)
  • I, Daniel Blake (2016)
  • Life on Mars (Season 1 – 2006)
  • The Bridge (Season 3 – 2015)
  • Late Night Woman’s Hour (Radio 4 Podcast)

Books:

  • Media Theory for A Level: The Essential Revision Guide – Mark Dixon
  • Eduqas A Level Media Year 1 – Illuminate Publishing
  • Eduqas A Level Media Year 2 – Illuminate Publishing

Websites/Youtubers:  

Looking at these films/books/websites are optional, but they will give you a good grounding in what to expect from Media Studies and give you a bit of a head start on some of your set texts.

Related posts:

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  2. A Level Film Studies
  3. A Level English Language and Literature
  4. Photography Level 2 Vocational