📚 AS CAIE Media: Changes and Trends for 2026 Exam | AS CAIE 媒体：2026年考试变化与趋势
The 2026 AS Media Studies examination under Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE, syllabus 9607) marks the third full cycle of the current syllabus framework introduced in 2024. While the core structure remains stable, subtle refinements in assessment style, digital submission protocols and the expected depth of cross-media analysis are emerging. This article unpacks these changes and offers an evidence-based forecast of trends for the 2026 exam, helping candidates and teachers align their preparation with the latest expectations.
2026 年剑桥国际考评 (CAIE，教学大纲 9607) 的 AS 媒体研究考试是自 2024 年启用现行大纲以来的第三个完整周期。虽然核心结构保持稳定，但在评估风格、数字提交协议以及跨媒体分析的预期深度等方面正出现细微调整。本文剖析这些变化，并对 2026 年考试趋势进行有理有据的预测，帮助考生和教师让备考与最新要求保持一致。
1. Understanding the Current Syllabus Framework | 了解现行大纲框架
Since 2024, CAIE AS Media Studies (9607) has operated under a two-component structure that will remain unchanged through 2026. Component 1 is the Foundation Portfolio, a non-exam assessment (coursework) carrying 50% of the AS marks. Component 2 is Media Texts and Contexts, a written examination that accounts for the remaining 50%. The examination lasts 1 hour 45 minutes and features both unseen analysis and extended essay responses on pre-set topics.
自 2024 年起，CAIE AS 媒体研究 (9607) 采用双组成部分结构，该结构将持续沿用至 2026 年。第一部分为基础作品集，属于非考试评估（课程作业），占 AS 总分的 50%。第二部分为媒体文本与语境，是书面考试，同样占 50%。考试时长为 1 小时 45 分钟，包含对陌生文本的分析题和基于预设话题的延展性论述题。
This stable framework ensures that the fundamental knowledge domains—media language, representation, audience, and industry—are assessed through both practical production and theoretical analysis. For 2026, the stability itself is a trend: candidates can rely on past papers from 2024 and 2025 for exam practice, but they must also be aware of evolving question styles.
这一稳定的框架确保了媒体语言、再现、受众和产业等基础知识领域通过实践创作与理论分析得到评估。对 2026 年来说，这种稳定性本身就是一种趋势：考生可借助 2024 年和 2025 年的真题进行练习，但也必须留意不断演变的考题风格。
2. Component 1 Foundation Portfolio Adjustments | 基础作品集调整
The Foundation Portfolio briefs are refreshed annually, and the 2026 cycle will likely see a continued push toward digital convergence and participatory culture. Candidates must create a cross-media production that demonstrates awareness of how media products converge across platforms. The statement of intent, research dossier and creative critical reflection must all be digitally curated within an e-portfolio, emphasising multimedia evidence and scannable hyperlinked content.
基础作品集的题目要求每年都会更新，2026 年周期很可能会继续推进数字融合与参与式文化。考生必须创作一件跨媒体作品，展现对媒体产品跨平台融合的认知。意图声明、研究档案和创意批判反思都必须以电子作品集的形式进行数字化策展，强调多媒体证据和可浏览的超链接内容。
Furthermore, teacher guidance from CAIE indicates a tighter tolerance for group work documentation; each candidate's individual contribution must be clearly labelled and supported by dated milestones. Centres are encouraged to use metadata and version histories to authenticate individual work, preparing for a potential increase in malpractice audits in 2026.
此外，CAIE 的教师指南显示，对小组协作记录的审核将更加严格；每位考生的个人贡献必须清晰标注，并附有注明日期的阶段性证据。鼓励考点使用元数据和版本历史来认证个人作品，为 2026 年可能增加的舞弊审计做好准备。
3. Updated Focus on Cross-Media Convergence | 跨媒体融合的最新聚焦
Cross-media convergence is no longer a peripheral topic; it has become a central assessment criterion in both components. For 2026, candidates must evidence how a narrative or brand identity travels across, for example, a TV drama, its official website, a TikTok campaign and a print companion. The exam board is rewarding students who can analyse transmedia storytelling using frameworks from Jenkins and other contemporary media theorists.
跨媒体融合已不再是一个边缘话题，而是两个组成部分中核心的评估标准。到 2026 年，考生必须用实例说明某一叙事或品牌身份如何在电视剧、官网、TikTok 宣传和纸质周边等渠道间流动。考评局会奖励那些能够运用 Jenkins 等当代媒体理论家框架分析跨媒介叙事的考生。
In the Foundation Portfolio, the expectation has shifted from simply creating a blog and a video to designing an integrated media ecosystem. Teachers should guide students to consider interactive story worlds, user-generated content and second-screen experiences. Sample briefs released by CAIE for 2025 already hint at this direction, and 2026 will confirm it as a firm trend.
在基础作品集中，期待已从简单地制作一个博客和一个视频，转变为设计一个整合的媒体生态系统。教师应引导学生考虑交互式故事世界、用户原创内容和第二屏体验。CAIE 发布的 2025 年样本命题已暗示了这一方向，2026 年将确认为稳固趋势。
4. Evolving Media Theories and Contexts | 媒介理论与语境的演变
The 2026 syllabus continues to list the same core theorists—Barthes, Todorov, Neale, Levi-Strauss, Hall, Butler, Gauntlett, and others—but the expected level of application is deepening. In Component 2, top-band answers go beyond simple theory labeling and must weave theory into a critical argument about shifting social, cultural, and political contexts. Candidates who discuss post-colonial readings, intersectional representation, and algorithmic culture will align with evolving examiner expectations.
2026 年大纲仍然列出了相同的核心理论家——巴特、托多罗夫、尼尔、列维-斯特劳斯、霍尔、巴特勒、冈特利特等，但预期的应用深度在增加。在第二部分中，高分答案超越了简单的理论贴标签，必须将理论融入对不断变化的社会、文化和政治语境的批判性论证。能讨论后殖民解读、交叉性再现和算法文化的考生，将顺应不断变化的考官期望。
Additionally, the concept of 'audience' is now scrutinised through a data-driven lens. Students are expected to understand algorithmic curation and personalised media feeds, linking them to theories of active/passive spectatorship. This is a clear trend for 2026: contextualise every theory within the digital moment.
此外，“受众”概念现在通过数据驱动的视角被审视。学生应理解算法策展和个性化媒体推送，并将其与主动/被动观众理论相联系。这是 2026 年一个明确的趋势：将每一种理论都置于数字时代语境之中。
5. Assessment Objective Weighting Trends | 评估目标权重趋势
The weighting of Assessment Objectives (AOs) has remained constant since 2024, yet the way they are operationalised in mark schemes continues to mature. The table below summarises the AS weightings, which are not expected to change numerically in 2026, but will be applied with greater rigour.
自 2024 年起，评估目标 (AO) 的权重一直保持不变，然而它们在评分方案中的运作方式正变得更加成熟。下表总结了 AS 权重，预计 2026 年数值不会变化，但应用将更为严格。
| Assessment Objective | AS Weighting | Trend for 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| AO1: Knowledge and understanding | 20% | Stable, but broader range of media institutions required |
| AO2: Application and analysis | 30% | Increasing emphasis on comparative analysis of unseen texts |
| AO3: Research and planning | 20% | Deeper primary research with audience data expected |
| AO4: Production skills | 30% | Cross-media proficiency and technical refinement rewarded |
The trend for AO2 is especially significant: examiners now craft questions that directly compare two contrasting media texts from different genres or eras, forcing candidates to construct a nuanced analytical comparative framework. For AO3, the research phase of the portfolio must include quantified audience survey data and market analysis, moving beyond simple focus groups.
AO2 的趋势尤为显著：考官现在会命题直接比较两个来自不同体裁或时代且具有对比性的媒体文本，迫使考生构建细致的分析比较框架。对于 AO3，作品集的研究阶段必须包含量化的受众调查数据和市场分析，而不仅仅是简单的焦点小组访谈。
6. Digital Portfolio Submission and Authentication | 数字作品集提交与认证
As of the 2025 exam cycle, all Foundation Portfolios must be submitted through the CAIE digital submission portal using labelled PDFs and embedded media files. In 2026, further authentication features may be piloted, including candidate declaration codes and random metadata checks. Teachers are advised to maintain a submission timeline with dated screen captures and drafts to pre-empt any authenticity challenges.
从 2025 年考试周期起，所有基础作品集都必须通过 CAIE 数字提交门户，以带有标签的 PDF 和嵌入的媒体文件形式提交。2026 年可能会试点进一步的认证功能，包括考生声明码和随机元数据检查。建议教师保留带有日期截图和草稿的提交时间线，以预先应对任何真实性质疑。
Centres should also anticipate a crackdown on AI-generated content. While AI tools are permitted for idea generation, the creative output and critical commentary must be demonstrably the candidate's own. Any evidence of large language model outputs without critical transformation will be flagged as malpractice. This is part of a broader global trend in coursework authentication.
各考点还应预见到对 AI 生成内容的打击。虽然 AI 工具可用于创意构思，但创作产出和批判性评论必须能够证明是考生本人的。任何未经批判性转化的大型语言模型输出痕迹都将被标记为舞弊。这是课程作业认证领域更广泛的全球趋势的一部分。
7. Globalisation and Case Study Requirements | 全球化与案例研究要求
The 2026 exam will continue to expect candidates to engage with media products beyond their immediate cultural context. In Component 2, case studies drawn from Global South media industries, non-Western streaming platforms, and diasporic audiences are increasingly represented in mark scheme exemplars. This reflects CAIE's commitment to de-westernising the Media Studies curriculum.
2026 年考试将继续期待考生接触超出其直接文化语境的媒体产品。在第二部分中，取自全球南方媒体产业、非西方流媒体平台和离散受众的案例研究越来越多地出现在评分示例中。这反映了 CAIE 对媒体研究课程去西方化的承诺。
For the portfolio, candidates who incorporate transnational intertextuality or target a bilingual audience are viewed favourably. The trend is clear: a narrow focus on Hollywood or UK media alone will limit access to the top band. Teachers should enrich their resource banks with media texts from Latin America, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East throughout the course.
对于作品集，能融入跨国互文性或面向双语受众的考生会被看好。趋势很清晰：仅狭隘地关注好莱坞或英国媒体将限制获得最高分数段。教师应在整个课程中充实资源库，纳入来自拉丁美洲、非洲、南亚和中东的媒体文本。
8. Refined Mark Scheme Expectations for 2026 | 2026年评分标准细化预期
Examiner reports from 2024 and 2025 consistently highlight the need for 'critical distance' when discussing representation. For 2026, candidates must move beyond describing whether a representation is 'positive' or 'negative' and instead evaluate the ideological implications, the production context, and the audience's polysemic readings. The mark scheme's top descriptor for AO2 now frequently includes the phrase 'evaluates the complex interplay between text, audience and context'.
2024 年和 2025 年的考官报告持续强调在讨论再现时需要“批判性距离”。到 2026 年，考生必须超越描述某再现是“积极”还是“消极”，转而评估其意识形态含义、生产语境和受众的多义解读。评分方案中 AO2 的最高级别描述现在常常包含“评估文本、受众和语境之间复杂的相互作用”这一表述。
In the portfolio, the evaluation section is now expected to integrate audience feedback data with a genuine rethink of production choices. A simple 'what I would change' paragraph is insufficient; high-achieving candidates must propose alternative creative strategies and justify them through audience reception theory. This mirrors the shift toward reflective practitioner models in media education.
在作品集中，评价部分现在预期要将受众反馈数据与对创作选择的真正反思结合起来。仅仅一段“我会改变什么”是不够的；高分考生必须提出替代性创意策略，并通过受众接受理论加以论证。这反映了媒体教育向反思性实践者模式的转变。
9. Trends in Exam Question Styling | 考题风格趋势
While the Component 2 paper retains its general structure, the 2024 and 2025 papers reveal a pattern that is likely to intensify in 2026. Unseen textual analysis questions now routinely pair a print text with a moving image extract, or an online page with a legacy broadcast clip. Candidates must analyse both independently and then draw connections of convergence and divergence. Command terms include 'critically examine', 'to what extent', and 'comparative evaluation'.
尽管第二部分试卷保持了其总体结构，但 2024 年和 2025 年的试卷揭示了一种可能在 2026 年强化的模式。对陌生文本的分析题现在通常会将一个印刷文本与一个动态影像片段搭配，或将一个网页与一个传统广播片段搭配。考生必须分别进行分析，然后建立融合与分化的联系。指令词包括“批判性审视”、“在多大程度上”和“比较性评价”。
In the essay section, case study questions are moving away from generic 'analyse the representation of gender' toward intersectional and platform-specific prompts, for instance: 'Explore how social media platforms have reshaped the politics of representation in the 2020s.' Candidates must reference named theorists and specific contemporary examples to reach the top band. This rewards breadth of independent research.
在论述题部分，案例研究型题目正从笼统的“分析性别再现”转向交叉性和特定平台的提示，例如：“探索社交媒体平台如何重塑了 2020 年代的再现政治。”考生必须引用指名道姓的理论家和具体的当代案例才能进入最高分数段。这奖励了独立研究的广度。
10. Recommended Preparation Strategies | 备考策略建议
To excel in the 2026 AS Media exam, candidates should build a dynamic media diary that captures screen captures, hyperlinks and technical codes from a diverse weekly diet of media texts. Active theory application should be practised through short timed writing exercises that use the language of exam command terms. Crucially, portfolio production must begin early, with a sprint phase of research and audience analysis well before the production deadline.
要在 2026 年 AS 媒体考试中脱颖而出，考生应建立一个动态媒体日记，收集每周多样媒体文本的屏幕截图、超链接和技术代码。应通过限定时间的短篇写作练习来练习积极主动的理论应用，使用考试指令词的语言。关键的是，作品集制作必须尽早开始，在制作截止日之前就进行研究和受众分析的冲刺阶段。
Teachers are encouraged to keep a master spreadsheet of global case studies tagged by industry, audience and theoretical framework. Mock exams should mirror the predicted intensified comparison style, and peer assessment against the detailed mark scheme will sharpen students' understanding of the subtle differences between levels. The 2026 exam rewards not just knowledge, but metacognitive awareness of how media study arguments are constructed.
鼓励教师维护一个按产业、受众和理论框架标记的全球案例研究总表。模拟考试应模拟预测中的强化比较风格，而依据详细评分方案进行的同伴互评将增强学生对分数层级间细微差异的理解。2026 年考试奖励的不仅是知识，还有对媒体研究论证如何构建的元认知意识。
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