A Level Summary   The AQA Specification

Introduction

The mass media is one of the world-changing phenomena of the last 100 years. In Britain it is almost impossible to avoid: TV or radio in every room in the house, home computers connected to the Internet, magazines and newspapers on the doormat, posters on the local bus shelter advertising the latest movies at the local multiplex... I could go on and on.

Today it is easy to argue that the mass media not only reflect our attitudes and values, they also help to shape them. How they do that, why they do that, and the effect that has on individuals, communities and cultures, are issues at the heart of Media Studies.

In Media Studies we assess and analyse a range of different media products, across the worlds of radio, TV, film, new media and print. We investigate the larger businesses responsible for giving us our daily media fix, and the nature of media consumption by different audiences.

We also learn how the media tries to manipulate its audience through the use of particular kinds of language, and we learn to use those tools for ourselves in producing our own original media products. Media Studies is part sociology, part psychology, with a smattering of art, economics, politics and business studies thrown in for good measure.

A Level Media Studies is not a course designed to prepare you for a career in film-making, any more than English prepares you for a career as a novelist. Only talent and determination will win you that prize. It is a fascinating subject, however, and a lot of fun.

Course structure: AS Level

A Level Media Studies comes in two parts. The AS Level year is worth 50% of the final grade, with the A2 Level year making up the other half. In the outline below, where the specification offers choice, the options we follow at Sandringham are highlighted in bold.

Each course contains three modules:
 

AS Level: Module 1 - Reading the Media

Introduces students to a conceptual framework for reading and understanding media texts. Students will learn to:

• understand Media Studies Key Concepts
• understand the relationship between these concepts
• apply these concepts to a range of media texts
• evaluate media texts using the Key Concepts

AS Level: Module 2 -
Textual Topics in Contemporary Media

Students apply the key concepts to a a more detailed study of two of the following contemporary media topics:

• Film and Broadcast Fiction
• Documentary
• Advertising and Marketing
• British Newspapers

AS Level: Module 3 - Practical Production

Students will produce a piece of practical coursework with accompanying written materials. They will demonstrate both practical skills and an ability to apply relevant key concepts to media production.

A2 Level: Module 4 -
Texts & Contexts in the Media

Using a range of contemporary and historical media texts as a basis, students will study two from a choice of four media topics:

• Representations (Law enforcers and Youth)
• Media Audiences
• Genre (Horror or Disaster)
• Production of News

A2 Level: Module 5 - Independent Study

Students will write a 3000-word extended essay, based on either:

• a contemporary media text or texts, or
• a topic or issue arising out of, or suggested by, a contemporary media text or texts.

The Independent Study should be investigative or research-based. It should seek, for example, to answer a question, clarify an issue, or test a hypothesis.

A2 Level: Module 6 -
Comparative Critical Analysis

Students develop their understanding of the connections between the different elements of Media Study and the contexts of production. This is demonstrated through the
comparative analysis of two different, unseen media texts.

MediaEdu The new Media Know-All - a terrific site for revision, full of resources produced by teachers from across the country. MediaKnow-All An excellent web-guide to Media Studies produced by another Media Studies teacher. Media History timeline Every major event in the development of the media, 3500BC to present day!

IN THIS AUTUMN'S MEDIA MAGAZINE...

Broadcast Fiction Fantasy and the Police: Ashes to Ashes

Media in context When subversion becomes the mainstream

Audience Torchwood: The Doctor Who spin-off and its fans Theories of fandom, and the power of audience Cults and the film industry

Media skills Analysing media texts

And much more!

Available now in the Sandringham Library, Subscribe through school for £10 (pay to Sandringham School), or... Subscribe to your home address for £12.95