[lionz24]

AQA A2 US Politics thread (Units 3A and 4A)

Hi everyone,

Is anybody else currently studying Units 3A (The Politics of the USA) and 4A (The Government of the USA) of AQA's A2 spec? I could not really find a thread so thought i would make one. i was wondering what 2 topics are people prioritizing in each in paper?

[Tay594]

I'm doing the latter
I am thinking of definitely doing the Constitution and Supreme Court and the Presidency. Missing out Congress. I think I will prioritise the first two though and use the presidency as a last resort!
What about you?

[Tay594]

(Original post by lionz24)
AQA A2 US Politics thread (Units 3A and 4A)

Hi everyone,

Is anybody else currently studying Units 3A (The Politics of the USA) and 4A (The Government of the USA) of AQA's A2 spec? I could not really find a thread so thought i would make one. i was wondering what 2 topics are people prioritizing in each in paper?

Omg.. I have just looked on AQA and in the last paper it was only 51 to get an A and 57 to get an A*, though in the paper before that it was 57 to get an A and 64 to get an A*
It doesn't provide any more though, have there really only been two papers for this?

[.gina]

(Original post by Tay594)
Omg.. I have just looked on AQA and in the last paper it was only 51 to get an A and 57 to get an A*, though in the paper before that it was 57 to get an A and 64 to get an A*
It doesn't provide any more though, have there really only been two papers for this?

Yep, my politics teacher told us, because it's a relatively new unit and it only gets sat in June. :/

[lionz24]

guys i i have chose to only properly revise 2 topics

[politics_student]

It is likely that I am going to do:

3A: The Electoral Process & Direct Democracy (topic 1) and voting behaviour as my second topic. My back up choice is pressure groups.

4A: The US Constitution and the Supreme Court. My back up choice is either one of the remaining two.

Apparently the easiest way to pick up a few marks is relevant comparisons with the UK and contemporary examples (eg. figures of voting behaviour from 2008 or 2010 mid-term elections and comments made about the 2012 primaries).

I'd also advise reading mark schemes / examiners' reports to pick up on trends on 'high-level' responses for analysis / evaluation marks.

I'm aiming for an A in A2.

[Takoto]

Doing Political Parties, Pressure Groups, Constitution and Congress.

Struggling to revise them all though, even though they're probably the easiest of all the options. :c

[sachi]

I'm doing Voting Behaviour electoral process and pressure groups for 3A: Constitution and Judiciary for 4A. I'm learning political parties and Congress as backup topics
I'm finding it really difficult to revise enough examples and then fit them all into the short time space! Anyone have any tips for how to use the exam time more efficiantly and write quicker? :P

[pc47]

Does anyone have any idea what came up for 3A in January? I've looked everywhere but can't find it!

[.gina]

(Original post by pc47)
Does anyone have any idea what came up for 3A in January? I've looked everywhere but can't find it!

The only thing I specifically remember was the 30 mark question for political parties was on third party candidates, while for voting behaviour I believe it was race, gender and region (not religion). They're the two I did, that's the only reason I specifically remember those :P

[Meadsy]

Could somebody confirm what topics come under the two exams?

[sachi]

(Original post by Meadsy)
Could somebody confirm what topics come under the two exams?

GOV3A is electoral process and direct democracy; political parties; voting behaviour; pressure groups.

GOV4A is the constitutional framework of US government; legislative branch i.e. congress; executive branch; judiciary i.e. supreme court

[FamzB]

I'm doing Constitution and Supreme Court, and using Presidency as a last resort. Congress is too much for. If anyone has the Anthony Bennett Exam Guide 'US Government and Politics' book then that's VERY good for this exam. Trust me..

[.gina]

3A - I'm doing political parties and voting behaviour, with electoral process as a back-up
4A - I'm doing Legislature and Executive, with constitution as a back-up

[Bornblue]

Does anyone know what the questions were on the january 2012 3a paper?

[.gina]

(Original post by Bornblue)
Does anyone know what the questions were on the january 2012 3a paper?

If you scroll up a bit I posted the 30 mark voting behaviour and political parties questions. Granted they are pretty vague (though you can sort of guess what the voting behaviour one would've been, I think it was something like "Discuss the significance of race, gender and region as a determinant of voting behaviour in US Politics" or something) but it gives you an idea. It's going to be difficult to track down the proper exam paper, unless your teacher can give you it before the exam?

Sorry I can't help with the other ones, I didn't do pressure groups and chances are the electoral process was an electoral college question or something that should've been a 10 mark question instead that made me panic :P

[politics_student]

(Original post by Bornblue)
Does anyone know what the questions were on the january 2012 3a paper?

Spoiler:

Show

Electoral Process and Direct Democracy:

1. Consider the significance of the selection of vice-presidential candidates in the US selection process [10]
2. 'Despite several attempts to regulate campaign finance, money increasingly dominates the US electoral process and is the main factor contributing to a candidate's success' Discuss. [30]


Voting behaviour

6. Explain why some voters 'split their ticket' when voting in the US elections. [10]
7. Assess the significance of region, race and religion as factors explaining voting behaviour in the USA. [30]

Apologies I don't have the Qs on pressure groups or political parties.


This can apply to anyone: for VB is it useful to learn theories?

[Bornblue]

(Original post by politics_student)

Spoiler:

Show

Electoral Process and Direct Democracy:

1. Consider the significance of the selection of vice-presidential candidates in the US selection process [10]
2. 'Despite several attempts to regulate campaign finance, money increasingly dominates the US electoral process and is the main factor contributing to a candidate's success' Discuss. [30]


Voting behaviour

6. Explain why some voters 'split their ticket' when voting in the US elections. [10]
7. Assess the significance of region, race and religion as factors explaining voting behaviour in the USA. [30]

Apologies I don't have the Qs on pressure groups or political parties.


This can apply to anyone: for VB is it useful to learn theories?

Cheers. If anyone has the other two questions I'd be very grateful!

[sachi]

(Original post by politics_student)
This can apply to anyone: for VB is it useful to learn theories?

Yes; if you look at examiners reports, the AOs etc they say that they want you to show a knowledge of political theories and use political terms where necessary

[politics_student]

(Original post by sachi)
Yes; if you look at examiners reports, the AOs etc they say that they want you to show a knowledge of political theories and use political terms where necessary

I thought so, thanks.

Even though I have good resources for statistical evidence (e.g. 2008 election etc) my textbook doesn't specify any specific theories like it did for AS; so hopefully I can find some on the internet.