WJECAS/A Level15 resources

WJEC AS/A Level Media Studies Past Papers & Mark Schemes

Free WJEC A Level Media Studies papers & mark schemes. Units covering media investigation and media in the global age. 23 resources.

📅Summer series📄15 resources availableFree to download

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Summer 2023

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AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Past Paper – Summer 2023

Past Paper
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AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Past Paper – Summer 2023

Past Paper

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Mark Scheme – Summer 2023

Mark Scheme

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Mark Scheme – Summer 2023

Mark Scheme

Summer 2022

3 files
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AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Past Paper – Summer 2022

Past Paper

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Mark Scheme – Summer 2022

Mark Scheme

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Mark Scheme – Summer 2022

Mark Scheme

Summer 2019

6 files

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Mark Scheme – Summer 2019

Mark Scheme

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Mark Scheme – Summer 2019

Mark Scheme
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AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Past Paper – Summer 2019

Past Paper
📄

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Past Paper – Summer 2019

Past Paper

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Mark Scheme – Summer 2019

Mark Scheme

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 3: Written: Media in the Global Age – Mark Scheme – Summer 2019

Mark Scheme

Summer 2018

2 files

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Mark Scheme – Summer 2018

Mark Scheme
📄

AS/A Level Media Studies – Unit 1: Written: Investigating the Media – Past Paper – Summer 2018

Past Paper

Investigating Media and Understanding Global Media Landscapes with WJEC

WJEC AS/A Level Media Studies equips candidates with the analytical frameworks needed to decode media texts across print, broadcast, digital, and social platforms. The qualification combines theoretical study with practical production, ensuring candidates engage with media as both consumers and creators. Unit 1 — Investigating the Media (AS, 2 hours 15 minutes, 30% of A Level) — assesses the ability to analyse media products using key theoretical frameworks: media language, representation, audience, and industry. Candidates study set products spanning advertising, music video, newspapers, and online media, applying semiotic analysis, narrative theory, and genre conventions. Unit 2 — Creating a Media Production (AS/A2, NEA, 30%) — requires candidates to produce a cross-media product (for example, a print magazine and associated website, or a music video and social media campaign) accompanied by a reflective statement. Unit 3 — Media in the Global Age (A2, 2 hours 30 minutes, 40%) — examines the impact of globalisation, convergence, and digital technology on media industries and audiences. Candidates analyse set products from television, film, and digital media, evaluating how ownership, regulation, and cultural context shape production and consumption. The 23 resources provide papers and mark schemes for the two written units.

Exam Paper Structure

Unit 1No calculator

Investigating the Media

2 hours 15 minutes🎯 Varies marks📊 30% of grade
Media language and semiotic analysisRepresentation of social groupsAudience theory and positioningIndustry: production and distribution
Unit 2No calculator

Creating a Media Production

NEA🎯 Varies marks📊 30% of grade
Cross-media productionApplication of media conventionsReflective statement
Unit 3No calculator

Media in the Global Age

2 hours 30 minutes🎯 Varies marks📊 40% of grade
Globalisation and media convergenceMedia ownership and regulationDigital media and participatory cultureSet product analysis in global context

Key Information

Exam BoardWJEC
Specification CodeEduqas (WJEC) Media Studies
QualificationAS/A Level
Grading ScaleA*–E (A Level), A–E (AS)
Assessment Type2 written exams + 1 production NEA
TiersNo tiers
Number Of Papers3 units (2 examined + 1 NEA)
Exam DurationUnit 1: 2 hrs 15 min; Unit 3: 2 hrs 30 min
Total MarksVaries by pathway
Calculator StatusNot required
Available SessionsSummer series
Total Resources23

Key Topics in Media Studies

Topics you need to know

Semiotic analysis and media languageRepresentation: gender, ethnicity, age, and classAudience theory: uses and gratifications, encoding/decodingMedia industry: ownership, regulation, and globalisationGenre theory and narrative structuresDigital media, convergence, and participatory cultureAdvertising, news, music video, and online mediaCross-media production techniques

Exam Command Words

Command wordWhat the examiner expects
AnalyseExamine how media language constructs meaning in a set product
EvaluateAssess the impact of industry factors or audience positioning
ExploreInvestigate how a media concept applies across different products
CompareIdentify connections and contrasts between media products or approaches
DiscussConsider different theoretical perspectives on a media issue

Typical Grade Boundaries

GradeApproximate mark needed
A*78–88%
A68–77%
B57–67%
C46–56%
D35–45%
E24–34%

⚠️ Typical A Level boundaries across all three units. Boundaries vary by session.

Applying Theoretical Frameworks to Set Products in WJEC Media Studies

WJEC Media Studies is structured around four key theoretical frameworks: media language, representation, audience, and industry. For every set product you study, prepare notes organised under these four headings. When analysing an advertisement, for example, identify the semiotic codes (language), assess how social groups are depicted (representation), consider how the target audience is positioned (audience), and examine the commercial context of its production (industry). Unit 3’s global media questions demand awareness of industry structures. Know the major media conglomerates, understand vertical and horizontal integration, and be able to discuss how ownership patterns affect content diversity. When the question addresses digital media, discuss convergence (how platforms merge previously separate media forms), participatory culture, and the regulatory challenges posed by social media. Named theorists strengthen analytical responses significantly. Reference Barthes (semiotics), Lévi-Strauss (binary oppositions), Propp (narrative functions), Hall (encoding/decoding), Van Zoonen (feminist media theory), and Curran and Seaton (media ownership). Apply these theories to specific set products rather than presenting them in isolation — theory should illuminate analysis, not substitute for it.

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