The British GQ cover for August 2019, featuring the footballer Raheem Sterling: a monthly men's lifestyle magazine published by Condé Nast for affluent men aged roughly 20 to 44.
Media language: the masthead, the long shot of Sterling and his direct gaze, the limited colour palette, the main cover line and the layout, and how they follow the conventions of men's lifestyle covers.
Narrative and genre: the story the cover suggests and the genre conventions it uses, both of which the 2026 exam assessed and many candidates hadn't prepared.
Representation: Sterling's masculinity, ethnicity and celebrity, and how the cover positions him as a role model in the context of racism in football.
In the exam a copy of the product is provided, and it can be set for Question 1 (media language, 15 marks), for Question 2(a) (contexts, 5 marks) or for Question 2(b), where it is compared with an unseen product in the same form (representation, 25 marks).
Describe the cover precisely in your own words, quoting no more than a few words of its text.
