Media texts — AS & A Level Media Studies (9607) questions by topic
Media texts questions give you an extract from a television drama, such as The Deceived, Roar or The Rig, and ask you to analyse how it constructs meaning and represents individuals, groups, events or places through technical elements including camera shots, angles, movement and composition. Analyse is the sole command word tested, so every mark depends on connecting a specific technical choice to the meaning or representation it creates.
Each response is a single 25-mark essay, and this page draws on 11 real questions from papers set between 2023 and 2025. Drafting full analyses and submitting them for instant marking is useful for checking whether you are applying media terminology accurately to the specific extract, since the scheme rewards precise technical language over general impressions of a scene.
What examiners look for
- A recurring criticism is applying Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory superficially, missing the chance to expand it via the female gaze or its application to a modern text.
- Examiners note some candidates focused more on narrative devices such as enigma codes or suspense than on developing analysis of representation, which the question specifically asked for.
- Reports flag missed opportunities to identify how parallel narratives used binary opposition to generate meaning.
- Strong answers evidenced a thorough understanding of language and representation, using a range of accurate media terminology and making effective comments about gender, class or ethnicity stereotypes and dynamics.
- The best responses used relevant media theories effectively and made appropriate, specific comments about the representation of both people and places, such as a dystopian setting.
May–June 2025, Paper 21
Analyse how the extract from The Man Who Fell to Earth constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 22
Analyse how the extract from Roar constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 23
Analyse how the extract from The Rig constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 21
Analyse how the extract from Your Honor constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 22
Analyse how the extract from Servant constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 23
Analyse how the extract from Servant constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals / groups / events / places, through the following technical…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 02
Analyse how the extract from Severance constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 21
Analyse how the extract from What/If constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 22
Analyse how the extract from The One constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 23
Analyse how the extract from The One constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements: -…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 02
Analyse how the extract from The Deceived constructs meaning, including the specific representations of individuals/groups/events/places, through the following technical elements:…
Answer this question and get it marked →Other AS & A Level Media Studies topics
- Media debates (30)
- Media contexts (14)
- Media ecology (10)