3.8 Non-exam assessment (NEA)

The NEA element requires students to:

apply their knowledge and understanding of media language and representations to create a media product using one of the following forms:
- television
- music video
- radio
- newspapers
- magazines
- advertising/marketing
- online, social and participatory media
- video games

use media language in a single media form to express and communicate meaning to an intended audience.

The briefs

To complete the NEA, students must independently create a media product in response to a brief set by AQA. AQA will release five briefs on 1 March in the year preceding the exam via Secure Key Materials. These briefs will change annually. The briefs will be linked to the GCSE Media Studies CSPs. AQA will specify the media form and the intended audience for the media product. The media product that is devised and realised by the student must communicate meaning to a specified audience and must draw on what they know and understand about the theoretical framework of media language and representation. Students will submit:

a Statement of Intent on the form supplied with the NEA brief
a media product.

The Marking criteria detail what students will be expected to demonstrate and provide evidence of when completing the NEA task. Additional, task-specific indicative content will be issued with each of the briefs Please refer to Non-exam assessment administration for more information about the instructions for conducting the NEA.

The Statement of Intent

Students must complete a Statement of Intent that outlines their aims for their media product. This must be submitted to AQA with the media product.

This Statement of Intent should be a maximum of 300 words long and it should be submitted to the teacher no later than 1 April in the year of assessment. The template for the Statement of Intent will be supplied by AQA in the NEA Student Booklet along with the briefs.

Size and duration of products

Each brief will specify the required length, amount or duration of the media product that must be created.

Unassessed participants

Students must complete an individual media production. Students may, however, use unassessed participants to:

appear in their media products
operate equipment under the direction of the assessed student.

All unassessed participants involved in the products must be listed on the Candidate Record Form. Assessed students can only be credited for work they have undertaken themselves or has been completed under their direction. Students and teachers will be required to sign the Candidate Record Form to confirm that this is the case.

Credit can only be given for contributions made by unassessed participants under the clear direction of the assessed student. Details of what each of the unassessed participants contributed to the product and how the assessed student directed that contribution should be listed on the Candidate Record Form.

Time spent on NEA

There is no limit to the amount of time that students can spend on their NEA but we recommend they spend around 30 hours on the physical creation of their products. It should be noted that excessive time spent on this component in the classroom could be detrimental to the overall attainment of the students. Teachers should strike a balance between the completion of the NEA and preparation for the examined components. Additionally, demonstration of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework is key to success in the NEA so time spent teaching the framework will inform the NEA products.

Use of non-original material

With the exception of musical performances, students should not use any non-original material in their media products. All images, footage and text is to be created by the student. If a student does use any non-original images, footage or text, they should be aware that their marks will be limited by the marking criteria (see Guidance on applying the marking criteria). They must acknowledge any non-original material on the Candidate Record Form.

Students do not have to write and record their own musical performances, either to use as part of a soundtrack or in a music video. Musical tracks that they use should be acknowledged on the Candidate Record Form.

Websites and video games

For briefs where website or video game creation is required, students do not need to be able to code. Students can use website design apps, online templates and game design software. Students are responsible for the design of the website or game and the content (such as language, images, audio-visual material) must be created by the student. Students must acknowledge any software or templates which have been used on the appropriate Candidate Record Form.

Marking criteria

Guidance on applying the marking criteria

Level of response marking instructions are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level.

Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s media product, review the product and annotate it and/or make notes on it to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the marking criteria.

Start at the lowest level of the marking criteria and use it as a ladder to see whether the product meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s product for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the product.

You can compare your student’s product with the standardisation examples to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse.

When assigning a level you should look at the overall quality of the product. If the product covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the product to help decide the mark within the level, ie if the product is predominantly level 3 with a small amount of level 4 material it would be placed in level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the level 4 content.

No marks will be awarded for an answer containing nothing worthy of credit.

If a student only submits a Statement of Intent with no accompanying media product then this should be awarded a mark of zero.

If a student creates an audio-visual product that is longer than the stipulated duration then you should only mark the work that falls within the time limit.

If a student creates a print or online product that exceeds the stipulated length or amount then you should mark all of the pages and only give credit for the best pages up to the number of pages stipulated in the brief.

If a product is shorter than the stipulated size or duration then no penalty is to be applied as the work is likely to be self-penalising – particularly in relation to the Production: Effectiveness in communicating meaning to an audience section.

If a student has used any non-original images, footage or text, or has failed to clearly demonstrate how they directed the activity of any unassessed participants in the media product then they should not be awarded marks above Level 2 in the Production: Effectiveness in communicating meaning to an audience section of the marking criteria.

Statement of intent

In this section students will be awarded marks for their response to the brief and their ability to communicate their knowledge and understanding of language and representation to the reader.

Level	Marks	Description
5	9–10	An outstanding, detailed statement that refers directly and effectively to the intended uses of media language and representations. The intentions outlined in the statement are consistently appropriate to the brief and target the intended audience in a clear and direct way. Excellent evidence of the application of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media through extensive and sustained use of relevant and accurate subject specific terminology.
4	7–8	A detailed statement that demonstrates the intended uses of media language and representations. The intentions outlined in the statement are almost always appropriate to the brief and target the intended audience. Good evidence of the application of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media through frequent use of relevant and accurate subject specific terminology.
3	5–6	A clear statement that demonstrates some intended uses of media language and some intended aspects of representation. The intentions outlined in the statement are generally appropriate to the brief and target the intended audience in a satisfactory way. Satisfactory evidence of the application of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media through some use of relevant and accurate subject specific terminology.
2	3–4	The statement makes occasional reference to intended uses of media language and/or occasional intended aspects of representation. The intentions outlined in the statement are inconsistently appropriate to the brief and only sometimes target the intended audience. Basic evidence of the application of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media through very little use of relevant and accurate subject specific terminology.
1	1–2	A statement has been submitted. The intentions outlined in the statement are unlikely to be appropriate to the brief and have minimal sense of the intended audience. Minimal evidence of the application of knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media in which any attempt to use subject specific terminology is likely to be inaccurate.
	0	Nothing worthy of credit.

Production: Media Language

In this section students will be rewarded for the degree of expertise they demonstrate in using media language within the chosen media form.

Level	Marks	Description
5	13–15	Excellent application of knowledge and understanding of media language, demonstrated by the consistently appropriate and effective selection and combination of elements to communicate very clear meanings throughout the product. An excellent and compelling product that constructs very effective narratives and shows deliberate control of connotations and clearly and purposefully constructs points of view.
4	10–12	Good application of knowledge and understanding of media language, demonstrated by the frequently appropriate and effective selection and combination of elements to communicate clear meanings throughout the product. A good product that constructs effective narratives and shows some deliberate control of connotations though this may not be throughout and constructs points of view.
3	7–9	Satisfactory application of knowledge and understanding of media language, demonstrated by the generally appropriate but inconsistently effective selection and combination of straightforward elements to communicate generally clear meanings throughout the product. A satisfactory product that constructs suitable narratives and shows occasional control of connotations but rarely constructs points of view.
2	4–6	Basic application of knowledge and understanding of media language, demonstrated by the occasionally appropriate selection and combination of simple elements to communicate basic meanings. A basic product that constructs simple narratives and shows little awareness of connotations.
1	1–3	Minimal application of knowledge and understanding of media language, demonstrated by little appropriate selection and combination of very simple elements to communicate very limited meanings. A minimal product that shows little awareness of narrative.
	0	Nothing worthy of credit.

Production: Representation

In this section students will be rewarded for their ability to understand and create representations in the chosen media form.

Level	Marks	Description
5	13–15	Excellent application of knowledge and understanding of media representations, demonstrated by the consistently effective use or subversion of stereotypes and/or stereotypical representations that are highly appropriate to the audience, form and genre. Excellent use of media representations to communicate clear and highly appropriate meanings throughout.
4	10–12	Good application of knowledge and understanding of media representations, demonstrated by the frequently effective use or subversion of stereotypes and/or stereotypical representations that are appropriate to the audience, form and genre. Good use of media representations to communicate appropriate meanings throughout.
3	7–9	Satisfactory application of knowledge and understanding of media representations, demonstrated by the sometimes effective use or subversion of stereotypes and/or stereotypical representations that are generally appropriate to the audience, form and genre though there are likely to be some inconsistencies. Satisfactory use of media representations to communicate generally appropriate meanings though this is unlikely to be throughout the product.
2	4–6	Basic application of knowledge and understanding of media representations, demonstrated by the rarely effective use of stereotypes and/or stereotypical representations that are only occasionally appropriate to the audience, form and genre. Basic use of media representations to communicate only occasionally appropriate meanings.
1	1–3	Minimal application of knowledge and understanding of media representations, demonstrated by a lack of appropriate use of stereotypes and/or stereotypical representations that are very rarely appropriate to the audience, form or genre. Minimal use of media representations to communicate very little discernible meaning.
	0	Nothing worthy of credit.

Production: Effectiveness in communicating meaning to an audience

In this section students will be rewarded for how well their media product communicates meanings and whether or not they have met the requirements stipulated in the brief. Teachers/assessors are to use their professional judgement rather than looking for evidence of testing the product on a live audience.

Level	Marks	Description
5	17–20	An excellent product that would successfully engage the designated audience by employing a consistently effective and appropriate mode of address throughout. An excellent product that extensively uses highly relevant codes and conventions of the form and genre consistently. Meets all the requirements of the brief and completes all of the tasks fully.
4	13–16	A good product that would interest the designated audience by employing a frequently effective and appropriate mode of address throughout. A good product that uses generally relevant codes and conventions of the form and genre. Meets almost all the requirements of the brief and almost all of the tasks are completed.
3	9–12	A satisfactory product that would be of some interest to the designated audience by employing a sometimes effective and appropriate mode of address throughout. A satisfactory product that uses codes and conventions of the form and genre inconsistently. Meets the main requirements of the brief and most of the tasks are completed but some of the details are missing.
2	5–8	A basic product that would only be of occasional interest to the designated audience by employing a mode of address that is only occasionally effective or appropriate. A basic product that uses codes and conventions of the form and genre inconsistently. Meets some of the requirements of the brief but only a few of the tasks have been completed and it may fall below the specified length/duration.
1	1–4	A minimal product that would be unlikely to interest the designated audience and has little sense of mode of address. A minimal product that only very rarely uses codes and conventions of the form and genre. Meets very few of the requirements of the brief and it is likely to fall well below the specified length/duration. For marks towards the top of this band this must be, at least, a recognisable media product.
	0	Nothing worthy of credit.

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