Creating a media product (NEA) overview: the brief, statement of intent and production - AQA GCSE Media Studies

The non-exam assessment (NEA) is the practical part of AQA GCSE Media Studies (specification 8572). You create a media product in response to an AQA-set brief, applying the theoretical framework. It is worth 30% of the grade, is marked by your school and moderated by AQA, and is not examined in the written papers. This page is the overview and links to the detailed dot-point page.

What the NEA covers

The NEA is a single practical component studied as an overview.

• The non-exam assessment overview. The AQA briefs, the statement of intent, applying the framework to a production, and how the NEA is marked and moderated.

The two parts of the NEA

1. Statement of intent. A written plan explaining how the product will apply media language, representation, industry conventions and audience targeting.
2. Media product. An original product made for an intended audience in response to one of the five AQA briefs.

The skill the NEA rewards

The NEA rewards the deliberate application of the theoretical framework to your own production, not just a polished design. Every choice should be purposeful and justified by the intended audience and the brief. The same analytical skills you use on set products now guide your own creative decisions.

Key terms to master

Learn these precisely: non-exam assessment, statement of intent, brief, intended audience, codes and conventions and moderation. These recur across the NEA.

How to approach the NEA

1. Choose a brief that suits you. Pick a form and audience you can resource and produce well.
2. Plan with the framework. Write a statement of intent that applies media language, representation, industries and audience.
3. Produce deliberately. Apply the codes and conventions of the form with the audience in mind.
4. Test yourself. Use the NEA quiz to check your recall of how the NEA works.

For the official specification

AQA publishes the full specification (8572), the NEA briefs and guidance at aqa.org.uk. Always work from the current specification and AQA's own NEA briefs, because the briefs change each year.