AQA A Level Media Studies Paper 2 2025 Mark Scheme

Access the official AQA A-Level Media Studies Paper 2 mark scheme for the June 2025 exam series (7572/2), version 1.0 Final. This is the examiner-approved document used during live marking and standardisation to ensure consistent grading across all candidates.

The mark scheme provides detailed level descriptors, indicative content, examiner guidance, and assessment criteria for all questions across television, video games, magazines, and online media. Early pages explain AQA’s “best fit” level-of-response system, where overall answer quality determines the awarded level rather than isolated points (pages 2–3).

Question 1 (pages 4–5) analyses the *High Seas* Netflix poster using narratology. Indicative content explores narrative conflict, enigmas, storm symbolism, stereotypical gender roles, and the subversion of gender expectations through dominant female representation. The mark scheme highlights the importance of applying subject-specific terminology accurately and engaging critically with narrative codes and character types.

Question 2 (pages 6–10) evaluates post-feminist theory in relation to the video game CSPs *Horizon Forbidden West* and *The Sims FreePlay*. Indicative content explores feminism versus post-feminism, empowerment, objectification, identity politics, intersectionality, consumer culture, and Judith Butler’s ideas about gender fluidity. Specific discussion points include Aloy’s representation as a female protagonist, debates around attractiveness and objectification in gaming culture, and the role of capitalism and avatar customisation in *The Sims FreePlay*.

Question 3 (pages 11–14) analyses how audience responses to magazines are shaped by social and cultural contexts, using *GQ* and *The Gentlewoman*. Indicative content explores feminism, masculinity, class identity, cultural capital, anti-fashion aesthetics, punk culture references, and negotiated or oppositional readings from audiences. The mark scheme also discusses how audiences may resist or reinterpret intended meanings depending on their own social backgrounds.

Question 4 (pages 15–19) is the synoptic essay evaluating whether successful media products must provide opportunities for audience interactivity. The mark scheme applies this to *The Voice* and Taylor Swift’s social media presence, discussing digital convergence, fandom, branding, audience participation, prosumer culture, online engagement, and the tension between intimacy and tightly controlled celebrity branding.

The document also explains how top-level responses must draw from multiple areas of the theoretical framework, including media language, representation, industries, audiences, and media contexts. Higher-band essays are expected to sustain evaluation, support conclusions with detailed evidence, and apply media theories critically across different media forms.

Use this mark scheme to understand exactly how AQA awards marks, what examiners expect in Level 4 and Level 5 essays, and how to structure analytical responses for the 2026 A-Level Media Studies exams.

This document is for A-Level Media Studies students preparing for the 2026 exam series, especially Year 13 students and retake candidates aiming for top grades.

It is also highly valuable for teachers, tutors, and revision providers who need accurate examiner guidance, assessment criteria, and detailed insight into how analytical and synoptic essays are marked.