Do you recommend I learn 2 topics only for the AS Edexcel, Gov and Politics exam?

Jasmine1992

since you only answer 2 topics out of the 4. Thi years topics are: Democracy and Political Participation, Party Policies and Ideas, Elections, and Pressure Groups?. How long has it been just these 4 topics?

Or can you tell me where to look other than past exam papers?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 1

TSR Learn Together

Official Rep

Hi there,

While you're waiting for an answer, did you know we have 300,000 study resources that could answer your question in TSR's Learn together section?

We have everything from Teacher Marked Essays to Mindmaps and Quizzes to help you with your work. Take a look around.

If you're stuck on how to get started, try creating some resources. It's free to do and can help breakdown tough topics into manageable chunks. Get creating now.

Thanks!

Not sure what all of this is about? Head here to find out more.

Reply 2

SecretDuck

Best to learn all of them. You may never know what will come up in an exam.

Reply 3

moggington

I agree with SecretDuck, learning all is best. Quite a few people in my GovPol class took a risk and only did 2 topics last year, and none of them got higher than a C grade because their ideal questions didn't come up.

I did three of them, leaving out party policies and ideas as we started it in March and hadn't finished it when I was revising, so I didn't want to have to partially self-teach it. I got 94/100 UMS in Unit 1, and the same in Unit 2, on which I missed out the judiciary topic at the end, similarly, because we didn't manage our time effectively and started that topic in March.

So, it can work, but it's a gamble. 3 is the minimum I'd say, and if you're going to leave something out, leave something smaller. NEVER miss out the democracy or constitution topics - they usually ask very similar questions for those.

Reply 4

Origami Bullets

It was those four subjects when I was taking it in 2008/9, so it's not changed recently!

I'd suggest doing three as an absolute minimum - that gives you some wriggle room if you don't like the questions that come up on the exam paper.

Reply 5

loveslinus

It's good to have a choice, so I wouldn't do 2, but there's no need to do all 4. Our teacher only taught us 3 last year for this reason - it's better to know 3 really well and have a choice than all 4 quite well. Most people do worse on pressure groups, but it's up to you what one you miss out.

Reply 6

xxvine

Original post by moggington

Wow you did well...congrats...
When did you start revising and may i ask and how did you revise?

Reply 7

xxvine

Original post by loveslinus

I thought political parties would be the hardest and there is A LOT to learn?

I have heard though that a lot of people do badly on pressure groups for some reason....

Reply 8

Yoshi-i

Hey,
Yeah, like everyone's said, its a bit of a risk to only revise two. We revised three topics. I left out pressure groups because it was the smallest topic and the one we had rushed. And actually, pressure groups was the easiest for most people, I think our whole class did pressure groups. Except me LOL. Which might explain why I chose to resit :P Then I left out political parties and did better.
I guess I'd say definitely do three, sometimes the questions aren't what you expected and if you've only revised two, itll be a nightmare tbh.
Oh and I think with pressure groups the sort of qs that come up are alright, kinda predictable, if you look at past papers you might notice they haven't been too bad. Unlike for political parties :colondollar:

(BTW I did this four years ago so this might not apply now)
Hope that helps :smile:

Reply 9

moggington

Original post by xxvine

Wow you did well...congrats...
When did you start revising and may i ask and how did you revise?

I used a lot of practical examples, mentioning 3/4 for the 25 or 40 marker questions. A lot of them I gained from following current affairs last year, we had a class quiz that we all got very competitive over and so it meant that everyone would keep up with things in the news.

They REALLY like it (and even more so at A2) if you define something, and then use a quote to furtherly define it. I gave the official definition of democracy, then backed it up using Abraham Lincoln's 'government of the people, by the people, for the people' which is a nice and easy one to remember if you get the of, by and for in the right order!

I started revision during the Easter holidays, in fact, Thatcher's death was announced on the radio as I was making notes about her prime ministerial power. Questions like 'assess' and 'evaluate' want a for/against argument so doing posters for these may help too.

I spent the final 3/4 weeks in the build-up to the exam doing 25/40 mark essays from past papers, and addressing any queries I had with certain things on the syllabus. Having a look through past mark schemes to see how they allocate marks can also be useful, as can asking your teacher if they can mark your work with you and explain the process.

Reply 10

loveslinus

Original post by xxvine

I thought political parties would be the hardest and there is A LOT to learn?

I have heard though that a lot of people do badly on pressure groups for some reason....

Parties is a lot to learn, but it is interesting and you can use up-to-date examples to gain more marks.
Apparently people do worse on pressure groups as people just write down everything they know about pressure groups without answering the question, or something like that. In the end its up to personal preference. It only on average that people do worse on pressure groups, for you it might be your strongest topic :smile:

Reply 11

xxvine

Original post by moggington

Oh wow...thanks...I guess i need to start watching the news a lot more since i haven't been keeping up enough :eek:

When you mention the Abraham Lincoln definition...did you just say something on the lines of ''abraham lincole defined democracy as etc...etc''.
Also what text book did you use?

Reply 12

xxvine

Original post by loveslinus

Hmm so true...guess i will see!

Reply 13

moggington

Original post by xxvine

Oh wow...thanks...I guess i need to start watching the news a lot more since i haven't been keeping up enough :eek:

When you mention the Abraham Lincoln definition...did you just say something on the lines of ''abraham lincole defined democracy as etc...etc''.
Also what text book did you use?

We probably stuck to it TOO religiously, but keep an eye on the Politics page on BBC News for developments, as well as broadsheet newspapers (although be wary of this as they're partisan).

Precisely that, just a simple sentence to bring the essay to life a little and make it look like I'd gone beyond the syllabus (in reality, I just looked up a few quotes on democracy, but the examiner doesn't need to know that).

I used the Hodder Education 'Government and Politics for AS' textbook, and then for revision I mainly used 'My Revision Notes' which was okay, but missed out some key details, particularly on electoral systems, and the Phillip Allan revision book which I found to be far more reliable, in-depth and also had sample answers at the back to give you a sense of how to answer the questions.

Reply 14

AP12345

Learn 3 democracy and pressure groups are the easiest. Then probably elections next as political parties questions are always harder in the exam. Saying this I only learnt the first two and got an A so take the risk if you think I can.

Reply 15

xxvine

Original post by AP12345

what about unit 2?
do you need to learn all 4?

Reply 16

AP12345

Original post by xxvine

what about unit 2?
do you need to learn all 4?

Nah just 3 again but definitely need 3 because of way paper is set out in two parts and if you only revise two and there both in same part your in big trouble. I personally didn't revise the parliament topic but there's not much difference.