Exams, Essays and Short Answer Questions

The AS and A Level Exams 

There are two 90 minute papers at the end of the AS year, and three two hour papers at the end of the A Level Year. Remember that if you do the AS qualification, your grades don’t count towards the A level, you are reassessed in a slightly different format on all of the first year material, along with all of the second year material as part of the A level exams at the end of the two years of study. 

Exam Papers for AS and A Level Sociology – this link just takes you to the AQA web site’s assessment page – you should definitely check out the exam papers, and practice them!

AQA A Level Sociology – The Three Exam Papers

AQA Paper 1 – Education with Theory and Methods – hints and tips for answering the six questions on this 2 hour exam paper. 

AQA Paper 2 – Topics in Sociology – hints and tips for answering the 6 (optional) questions on this two hour exam paper 

How I would’ve answered the families and households section of A level sociology paper 2 (AQA, 2017)

AQA Paper 3 – Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods –

You might find my cheesy exam guide for the AS sociology exam useful….

 

Assessment Objectives in AS and A Level Sociology – It’s useful to know how the marks are distributed in the exam – there are complex question by question breakdowns on the specification, but to simplify it – Knowledge and Understanding (of concepts, theories, research) is worth about 50% of the marks in the exam, the other 50% are for Application, Analysis and Evaluation. 

Essays and Essay Plans

This will gradually be populated with more and more essays, please check back for more!

Assess the Marxist View of the Role of Education in Society sociology-of-education-cover(20)

Evaluate the view that differences in educational achievement between social groups are the result of factors and processes within schools (30)

Assess the extent to which it is home based factors, rather than in-school factors which explain social class differences in educational achievement (20)

Research Methods in Context – essay template (20)

Assess the Strengths of Using Participant Observation in Social Research (16)

Evaluate the view that the main aim of the family is to meet the needs of capitalism (20)

Assess the reasons for the long term increase in the divorce rate (20)

Evaluate the Contribution of Consensus Theory to Our Understanding of Crime and Deviance (30)

Assess sociological perspectives on prison as a form of punishment (30)

Extended Paragraphs 

An essay typically consists of a number of paragraphs, and the general paragraph structure in a sociology essay is to make a point, explain it, expand on it, and then analyse/ evaluate it. The points you make will obviously depend on the question you’re being asked, and you’re generally looking to make from 3-5 points in each essay. At least one of these, ideally two should go into some depth, and the paragraphs below have been written to show you how deep you could go into analysing and evaluating just one point within an essay. 

An Evaluation of Zero Tolerance Policing – This is an overkill paragraph demonstrating different aspects of ZTP with 6 evaluation points. You might discuss ZTP in response to a question about Realism in general, right realism specifically, policies of crime control, or the role of the police in reducing crime.

 10 Mark Questions 

Outline and explain two ways in which changes to gender roles have affected diversity of family structures (10)

Outline and analyse two reasons for the formation of subcultures (10)

Outline and analyse some of the ways crime has changed in postmodern society (10)

A Suggested Revision Strategy for A Level Sociology

As I see it – Revision Should be done in Three Stages

Stage One – Planning and Preparation – START FEB HALF TERM (or earlier)

Stage Two – Doing and Learning Summary Revision Notes – Start in Easter Vacation

Stage Three – Reviewing and Hench Exam Practice – Starts Mid-April

Of course there’s no reason why you can’t mix it up and/ or get ahead – these are just suggestions. The more the merrier when it comes to revision. NB don’t forget to eat and sleep. 

  1. Planning/ Preparation for revision
  • Know What you Need to know – Keep in mind the main topics and sub topics (know what you need to know) – Ideally stick an A3 copy of the course structure on your wall – keep referring back to it
  • Know how you are assessed – Stick an A3 copy of the two exam papers on the wall – keep referring back to them
  • Do an overview of a revision timetable – allow enough time to cover every topic at least three times (not including the last week of the exam when you should be constantly reviewing everything)
  1. Make your own detailed revision notes and memorise them

Construct Summary Revision Notes for each Sub-Topic write 1-2 pages of revision notes covering the following:

  • Intro Blurb – roughly what is it about?
  • 3-5 Key points about the sub-topic
  • Overall evaluation points – NB these will overlap with other sub-topics!)
  • Key concepts/ evidence/ sociologists highlighted
  1. Exam practice
  • Test yourself on short answer questions
  • Plan essays using the ‘Intro – PEEC*4 – Overall Evaluations – Conclusion’ structure
  • Write essays under timed conditions
  • Also look at actual exam papers which will ask you questions which cover two or more topics.

 

 

 

 

Advertisements