A-Level Media Theory Practice Test

Encoding is the production stage where creators embed meaning into a media text, shaping what the message says through signs, codes, genres, visuals, language, and ideological framing. It’s about how the text is constructed to carry a intended reading. The audience then interprets that message in the decoding phase, which can align with, negotiate, or resist the intended meaning. Reception just refers to the moment the audience receives the text, not how it was built. So encoding is the process of creating and embedding the message’s meanings for audiences.