A2 Edexcel Gov and Pol Unit 4C - Governing the USA

For those sitting the exam this exam on Thurs 16th June what specific topics have you revised and what types of concepts do you think will come up on the paper?
:smile:

Reply 1

sam693

I'm revising President + Congress and Supreme Court fully. Then revising federalism in less depth, enough for a short question, and also going over the constitution amendment procedure. Hoping that gets me through it ok :smile:

Reply 2

Ghana-Gooner

OP

1

ahhh okay so i'm guessing you've revised advantages/consequences of federalism and how its changed since the 1960's?
Also for what have you revised in terms of the Supreme Court? I've done the appointment process but that's about it really :/
What about the President topic too? Sorry alot of questions lol :smile:

Reply 3

LadyLondoner

8

Helloo, I'm revising, congress, supreme court and constitution! Good luck guys!

Reply 4

sam693

Original post by Ghana-Gooner

ahhh okay so i'm guessing you've revised advantages/consequences of federalism and how its changed since the 1960's?
Also for what have you revised in terms of the Supreme Court? I've done the appointment process but that's about it really :/
What about the President topic too? Sorry alot of questions lol :smile:

For federalism I've just learnt about the different types and then the impact that new federalism has had on these, how power is beginning to return to states etc, including a few examples. Hoping for a short question just about the different types or the impact of new fed :smile:

For Supreme Court yeah I've done the appointment process, and how it is becoming politicised, eg how nominations have been rejected for being too political etc. I'm also just going over the main cases of the court and the political impact that they have had, eg on slavery, segregation etc. And then the limitations to the courts power, just so that if there is a long question on how powerful the court is i'll know enough to answer it.

I've kind of revised President and Congress as one topic, as thats how we were taught it. President wise i've done the constitutional powers, how he can be more powerful in foreign policy, and what factors affect his power, such as personality, the state of the parties etc.

If you have any more questions just ask, typing up will help me remember stuff :smile:

Reply 5

Debbay16

I've done all 4 topics in depth apart form President, I need to hash out the VP. i should also brush up on the federalism argument...how did you guys find monday's paper, and is it just me or does anyone else feel that unit 4 is much harder lol.

Reply 6

k15h91

Original post by Debbay16

I've done all 4 topics in depth apart form President, I need to hash out the VP. i should also brush up on the federalism argument...how did you guys find monday's paper, and is it just me or does anyone else feel that unit 4 is much harder lol.

Until Monday, I thought Unit 3 was harder - slightly regret that sentiment now.

A nice question on whether SCJs are politicians in disguise would be helpful... not looking forward to this though :|

Reply 7

Debbay16

Original post by k15h91

Until Monday, I thought Unit 3 was harder - slightly regret that sentiment now.

A nice question on whether SCJs are politicians in disguise would be helpful... not looking forward to this though :|

this paper was interesting to say the least!

Reply 8

Katie-

Thought yesterdays paper was really hard in comparison to previous years papers we have looked at. What does everyone else think?

Reply 9

sam693

Short questions seemed mostly ok, long questions weren't exactly great though...finding it hard to tell how well I've done!

Reply 10

Silence_seeker

1

Original post by sam693

Short questions seemed mostly ok, long questions weren't exactly great though...finding it hard to tell how well I've done!

I did this paper in Jan 11 but can you tell me what the 45 marks questions were? I'm quite interested to know

Reply 11

Katie-

The 45 mark questions were on the constitutional checks and balances on the executive, there was also one on the SC, but I can't remember the third 45 mark question.

Reply 12

timsquirrell

Original post by Silence_seeker

I did this paper in Jan 11 but can you tell me what the 45 marks questions were? I'm quite interested to know

Paraphrasing:

'The role of Supreme Court justices is to establish the meaning of the Constitution and its amendments as they were originally established, and then to uphold them.' Discuss.

I don't remember the other ones!

Reply 13

sam693

Original post by Silence_seeker

I did this paper in Jan 11 but can you tell me what the 45 marks questions were? I'm quite interested to know

The first one was something like discuss the view that the supreme court justices should interpret the constitution to its original meaning in 1787...well words to that effect.

The second one (that I did) was to what extent does the system of checks and balances provide an obstacle to effective government..

The third one was something like "Congressmen are out of touch with citizens. Discuss"

Just incase you're interested, the SQ's were (roughly):

Assess the constraints on the Presidents role of commander-in-chief
Explain why many bills fail to get passed in congress
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the constitution amendment process
To what extent is it true that Supreme Court Justices reflect the views of the President that nominated them?
How much of a power are executive orders for the President

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 14

Silence_seeker

1

Original post by sam693

The first one was something like discuss the view that the supreme court justices should interpret the constitution to its original meaning in 1787...well words to that effect.

The second one (that I did) was to what extent does the system of checks and balances provide an obstacle to effective government..

The third one was something like "Congressmen are out of touch with citizens. Discuss"

Just incase you're interested, the SQ's were (roughly):

Assess the constraints on the Presidents role of commander-in-chief
Explain why many bills fail to get passed in congress
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the constitution amendment process
To what extent is it true that Supreme Court Justices reflect the views of the President that nominated them?
How much of a power are executive orders for the President

Very interesting to see, I'm glad that I did it in January since the paper was much more straight forward in my opinion. Did you do unit 3 in Jan? I looked through that paper and found it quite tough, the paper in June that I sat was much easier. Hope we all get A's in the end :smile:

Reply 15

TheBlackMonster

2

I swear I nearly cried when I saw this year's questions

I thought the questions in January 2011 was as hard as it was going to get but my god, this year had NO questions that came up in previous years questions which made it unpredictable and you didn't know how they would mark it or what points to bring up.

I have no idea how I did, I think I did poorly though

Reply 16

Crimsonchilli

12

45 marker I did on effective government was not great. 15 markers were okay..All in all a pretty hard paper I thought especially compared to previous years, and most I have talked to agree. Hoping for low grade boundaries !

Reply 17

TheBlackMonster

2

it feels like they gave us guinea pig questions, all of them were new which pissed me off

Reply 18

HarriettieT

Bill of Rights is rumoured... I'm hoping for Supreme Court though...!

Reply 19

HarriettieT

Original post by Ghana-Gooner

For those sitting the exam this exam on Thurs 16th June what specific topics have you revised and what types of concepts do you think will come up on the paper?
:smile:

Predicted 15 Marks are;

Bill of Rights
Federalism, as a Constitutional Power
Role of the President (Constitutional Power)
Leislative Process in Congress
Supreme Court (Judical Restraint/ Activism)

But the guesses for the long answer on Tuesdays paper were way out- apart from the ideological differences between the parties in Congress an' that... So yeah..?!

A2 Edexcel Gov and Pol Unit 4C - Governing the USA

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