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Unit 4: Crime and Deviance - Please Help

Hello, I am taking Unit 4 Crime and Deviance In june and really worried :frown:

There is too much content and i dont know how to Struture or write the 21mark and 33mark essays can someone please help!!!

When on this site i seem to notice that everyone uses a different book, does anyone use this book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Level-Sociology-A2-AQA/dp/0007288441/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1334393473&sr=8-4

Thanks

Reply 1

C3S

I've never seen that book before, I use the one that's written by the examiners.

I'm the same as you, rather worried at the amount of topics to learn for this paper. Religion is going fine, but Crime doesn't seem so fun. We didn't even really go over theories yet :/

If you're worried about structure or the like, I strongly recommend this book, it's the revision version of my textbook, and it has many example questions, how to do them, structure, etc. It's a very good investment and the AS version really helped a year ago: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Succeed-A2-Sociology-Complete-Specification/dp/0954007980/ref=pd_sxp_f_pt

Besides that, it you want to go over questions or topics, that's fine. I find that can be rather helpful to revise!

Reply 2

krisshP

Original post by C3S

I've never seen that book before, I use the one that's written by the examiners.

I'm the same as you, rather worried at the amount of topics to learn for this paper
Besides that, it you want to go over questions or topics, that's fine. I find that can be rather helpful to revise!

Thank You, My book is rubbish :frown:

if you ever see it , youll understand why...

If you dont mind could you go over Mertons Strain Theory. i dont quite get the 5 responses

Also, How many pages would bee good for a 21/33 mark question? and is it Vital you need to know all the Names everysingle one

Thank You

Reply 3

codle

When you buy any book, check it. Our teacher told us to get the AQA approved one, but it turned out the specification has changed since the book came out - so it's out of date.

Reply 4

Chris.Livesey

Merton's strain theory was based on the idea "success" was an important cultural goal in modern societies - as Akers and Sellers (2004) argue, ‘Everyone is socialised to aspire toward high achievement and success...Worth is judged by material and monetary success" - and deviance occurred when the cultural goals of individual behaviour could not be achieved using the structural means (such as paid work) for their realisation provided by the social system.

In other words, if individuals were prevented from achieving "success" legitimately - because they failed in the education system, experienced institutional forms of discrimination that blocked their chances of advancement or whatever - they experienced anomie; normative confusion brought about by society demanding they be successful while simultaneously denying them the means to achieve that desired state. How people reacted to this structural pressure (or strain) is summarised in the Table: Responses to structural strains: Source: Merton (1938)

If you click the image it should enlarge...

An updated version of strain theory (Agnew's General Strain Theory) fills in some of the criticial gaps "missing" from Merton's original formulation (it explain "non-economic" crime etc.).

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 5

OSharp

I dont like that book. i got the small white revision guide with a red patch on the front and stole the orange westergaard, trobe and steel books from school.

I work on a principle like this

short intro

paragraph 1
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4

Conclusion bringing in something to demonstrate wider knowledge to the examiner.

Each paragraph should be point, evidence and author. explain and then link back to the question. in 33 mark essays i have separate paragraphs providing alternative views. in shorter essays i bring this into each paragraph.

It helped me to write a sheet with all of the sociologist i knew with what they said and just learnt that. it must of worked because by some miracle i got full marks in the Crime and Deviance section :smile:

hope this helps feel free to pm me if you have and more questions and it might be worth brushing up on other modules in case you get asked a pure theory question. also don't be afraid to add sociologists that aren't common per se this with make your essays more interesting to the examiner who has to mark 1000s of the things.

Reply 6

krisshP

Original post by Chris.Livesey

Merton's strain theory was based on the idea "success" was an important cultural goal in modern societies - as Akers and missing" from Merton's original formulation (it explain "non-economic" crime etc.).

[QUOTE="OSharp;37152049"]I dont like that book. i got the small white revision guide with a red patch on the front and stole the orange westergaard, trobe and Marks!
Do you have any Model answers? or notes?

Also when you say this:

Each paragraph should be point, evidence and author. explain and then link back to the question. in 33 mark essays i have separate paragraphs providing

So Make a Point E.G Marxists say Laws are created to help the Ruling Class exploit the working class
Then Give Example of a Law with the autothor - right?
Do i then give a Critisism or this or a drawback? e.g some laws help working class?
Also what do you mean by this :
Conclusion bringing in something to demonstrate wider knowledge to the examiner.
Thank You

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 7

OSharp

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0007418345/ref=asc_df_00074183457445719?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=hydra0b-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=0007418345&hvpos=1o1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10423857581309353681&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=

Its a really simple book but it has exactly what you need in it.

for example. this one is from religion because I cant remember many Crime authors anymore.

One point of view is that religious institutions act to mould the minds of individuals into society in such a way that they conform to the requirements of the bourgeoisie. Louis Althusser, a Neo Maxist by definition identifies religious institutions as an 'Ideological State apparatus' this essentially means that religious controlls the minds of the proletariat through structured dogmatic teachings and the enforcing of values such as the protestant work ethic. therefore religion has a direct influence on thoughts and actions of the individuals (in this part i normally like to use part of the essay title)
though this is not a view shared by all. many argue that Althussers research is based on anecdotal evidence and not scientific fact and other schools of sociological thought such as functionalism blah blah blah

you get the drift.

if its old research thats always a point to make especially with Durkheim and Marx / Engles even to some extent Merton and Wilson.

You need to be careful with the balance of the question don't stray too far from the title if the question is about marxism this should make up 75% of the paper.

Learn Postmodernist theories as they can critisise anything when your in a tight spot. i.e Lyotard and meta narratives.

in the conclusion i would normally end with something like.

and though the evidence tends to lean in X direction. due to recent changes in social policy / changing attitudes in the future we may see a considerable change in the way (the title) is acted upon or interpreted ect. Prison overcrowding is normally a good one if you can get it in there.

there are a hell of a lot of sociologists to learn and that was my biggest problem I suppose. I would much prefer a course with more detail on a handful of important sociologists than one with very little on many. i find Faulcaut, leach and laing really interesting but we only spent half a lesson learning about the last two and never talked about Faulcault who is a really good one to look at from the point of survalliance in module 4

Reply 8

krisshP

@SHarp Thank You

- For Suicide can someone help me, i dont fully understand the 4 concepts which durkhien propossed

and Why Functionlist say crime if good, dont quite fully understand that, -

Thank You

Reply 9

OSharp

The second one is easy. there are a lot of reasons

1. jobs it creates police and jailers ect ect

2. too much social control is leads to fatalistic suicide as Durkheim points out.

3. Crime promotes social integration neighborhood watch associations ect ect#

4. when criminals are demonised it reinforces the norms of society.

as for durkheim you have two opposing options to do either with social integration or social control if a person is not well integrated they coming egoistic suicide (loner suicide) too much intergration and they commit altruistic suicide (think soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save his buddies) too little control and a person commits anomic suicide and if the person experiences too much control fatalistic suicide.

Its not really a very good theory because the argument is that catholics commit less suicide because they are better integrated whereas infact its more to do with the fact that suicide is viewed in a more negative light than in protestant religions.

also Durkheim is not really objective as his friend committed suicide.