Eduqas A Level Media Studies 2027: What You Need to Know for Components 1 and 2
If you’re sitting Eduqas A Level Media Studies in 2027, understanding exactly what appears in Components 1 and 2 is an important first step towards effective revision. Together, these two exams make up 70% of the qualification, with the remaining 30% coming from the non-examined cross-media production. Here’s a straightforward guide to what you need to know.
Component 1: Media Products, Industries and Audiences
Component 1 is a 2-hour 15-minute exam worth 35% of the A Level. It is divided into two sections.
Section A: Media Language and Representation
Section A focuses on analysing how media products communicate meanings and construct representations. You study advertising, music videos and newspapers.
The advertising set products include the classic Tide print advert, the Kiss of the Vampire film poster and Channel 4’s Super. Human. Paralympics campaign.
These products allow you to explore issues including gender, disability, stereotypes, consumerism and changing social attitudes.
You will also study two music videos. Centres choose one video from each of two groups. Options include Beyoncé’s Formation, Janelle Monáe’s Turntables, Alicia Keys’ Underdog, Vance Joy’s Riptide, Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under and Tom Grennan’s Little Bit of Love.
For the 2027 examination, the newspaper set products are the Daily Mirror and The Times from 1 February 2022, focusing on coverage of the Partygate controversy.
Section A also requires you to analyse unseen media products, so practising unfamiliar print and audiovisual texts is essential.
Section B: Media Industries and Audiences
Section B moves from analysing media texts to understanding how media businesses operate and how audiences consume their products.
The areas include film, newspapers, radio, advertising and video games.
For film, you study Black Panther alongside I, Daniel Blake. This provides an excellent comparison between a huge Hollywood franchise film and independent British cinema.
The radio options is Woman’s Hour, while video-game study focuses on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, with one particular game studied in greater depth. Important topics include ownership, regulation, funding, distribution, marketing, technological change, globalisation and audience behaviour.
The BBFC Deep Dive (short mark question only)
Component 2: Media Forms and Products in Depth
Component 2 is a 2-hour 30-minute exam worth another 35%.
The key difference is depth. You study media language, representation, industries and audiences together, while also considering social, cultural, historical, political and economic contexts.
Section A: Television in the Global Age
You study one pair of television programmes. Peaky Blinders and The Bridge.
You need to understand television language, genre and narrative alongside representation, broadcasters, streaming, international distribution and global audiences.
Section B: Magazines
You also study one pair of magazines: Vogue and The Big Issue.
These pairings allow you to compare older and contemporary media as well as mainstream commercial publishing with alternative media.
Representation is particularly important here. Think about how magazines construct ideas about gender, class, ethnicity and identity, as well as how they target particular audiences.
Section C: Media in the Online Age
Finally, you study two online media products. You study Zoe Sugg alongside Attitude.
This section explores influencers, YouTube, websites, social media, identity, self representation, participatory culture, digital business models and the changing relationship between media producers and audiences.
The Big Picture
A useful way to remember the difference is:
Component 1 = breadth. Component 2 = depth.
Component 1 tests your ability to analyse media products and understand industries and audiences across many different media forms. Component 2 asks you to investigate fewer products in much greater detail. Whichever component you are revising, don’t simply memorise facts about the set products. Successful answers connect specific examples, media theory, contexts and the question being asked. That combination is what turns Media Studies knowledge into strong exam analysis.
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