The Student Room Group

AQA A2 SOCIOLOGY: Official Revision Thread for 2015 exams!

Scroll to see replies

Hi,
My teacher said if AQA wanted to be rather mean this year then they may put State Crimes as a 21 marker in C+D .. As a 21 marker can anyone share on what points to include in the essay?

Thank you


Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 1001
also if science came up in the beliefs paper as a 33 marker what points would you make??? so stuck :frown:
Original post by eynak
also if science came up in the beliefs paper as a 33 marker what points would you make??? so stuck :frown:



Ovbs it all depends on the question but the general content of science is : open vs. Closed belief systems, science vs. Religion and science as an ideology (marxism, postmodernism, feminism)
Reply 1003
Original post by chescaxx
Ovbs it all depends on the question but the general content of science is : open vs. Closed belief systems, science vs. Religion and science as an ideology (marxism, postmodernism, feminism)


Oh i see. thank you very much. do you know what points you'd make if it was a question about open vs closed belief systems and if it was a question about science as an ideology?
Original post by eynak
Oh i see. thank you very much. do you know what points you'd make if it was a question about open vs closed belief systems and if it was a question about science as an ideology?


For the open vs. closed i'd discuss the line of argument. So Popper, Merton (CUDOs), Horton who all argue it is open - basically can be criticised and changed. Contrast with religion which is supposedly closed - think churches claim a monopoly of truth! Then critique it with the argument that science is closed - argued by Polanyi. Use Kuhn and Interpretivists such as Woolgar support as they argue science meets 'paradigms' so basically is closed and is socially constructed.

For ideology it depends on the question. In June 2013 they asked whether religion was still the dominant ideological force in society. Recently done that essay I wrote about the ideological role of religion (feminism, marxism) then critiqued it with secularisation and then linked that to how science is now the main ideological force - used Marxism, Postmodernists such as Lyotard and Feminists.

Science and ideology is quite useful if you did the health module at AS i found.
Reply 1005
Original post by chescaxx
For the open vs. closed i'd discuss the line of argument. So Popper, Merton (CUDOs), Horton who all argue it is open - basically can be criticised and changed. Contrast with religion which is supposedly closed - think churches claim a monopoly of truth! Then critique it with the argument that science is closed - argued by Polanyi. Use Kuhn and Interpretivists such as Woolgar support as they argue science meets 'paradigms' so basically is closed and is socially constructed.

For ideology it depends on the question. In June 2013 they asked whether religion was still the dominant ideological force in society. Recently done that essay I wrote about the ideological role of religion (feminism, marxism) then critiqued it with secularisation and then linked that to how science is now the main ideological force - used Marxism, Postmodernists such as Lyotard and Feminists.

Science and ideology is quite useful if you did the health module at AS i found.

thank you so much, really appreciate it!
I don't understand why my class haven't been taught social action theories? Are they important?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by kxrnl
I don't know if this would be of much help, but just approach the 18 marker as if it was a 21 marker. My teacher taught me that -

First highlight the keyword of the question and explain what it means before doing anything, so that it shows the examiner you're secure about understanding the meaning of the topic
second, look at the argument and key point that, to show that you are aware that the main argument will have a critique. For example- Functionalist see religion as promoting consensus and harmony rather than conflict. Highlight the **** out of the conflict and say " however... marxists/ feminists.."
then beginning outlining functionalism- durkheim, malinowski, parson, and if you have time, put an alternate view of functionalism= neo functionalist- britishness a civil religion?
Criticisms of functionalism? - religion is often dysfunctional= creates war, conflict.
= introduce your counter argument
critique your argument with other THEORIES/APPROACHES
= marxist= religion= false harmony, ideology, suppress the working class to conform
=feminism=religion= ideology used by the patriarchal society/ men, to suppress women into a subordinate position, gives women impression that they are equal to men however they are merely the second sex/ keep women into traditional roles etc. Evaluate the marxist/feminist theories

Critique the whole argument with postmodernism= religion and science are merely metanarratives= people disenchanted/ disillusioned. Because of the damage science and religion has caused= genetic mod, conflict, green harms, globalisation of crime, weapons of mass destruction etc. Feyerbend and Kaplan Science is a myth.

I kinda summed up a performa of what a 33marker would look like, but otherwise, if it was a 18marker, use only one theory to critique your argument.

Hope this was helpful :smile:


THANK YOU SO MUCHHH!!! This is amazing, has helped loads honestly! :smile:
Original post by murr_x
Hi,
My teacher said if AQA wanted to be rather mean this year then they may put State Crimes as a 21 marker in C+D .. As a 21 marker can anyone share on what points to include in the essay?

Thank you


Posted from TSR Mobile


You could start by defining state crime and how it is so rarely included in official statistics since it's so hard to trace and prosecute all that are involved and how most of it tends to be white collar crime/corporate crime so they'd have the money to bail themselves out of trouble if needs be. Ward defines state crime as being acts of criminality committed by members of a state to further policies, these crimes can range from exploitation, to the killing of millions of people, he also believes that green crime can be classified as a form of state crime due to waste dumping/destruction of habitats/global warming etc.

You could then go on to say that state crime has been defined in four ways by Eugene Mclaughin. She says there is political, economic, security/welfare crimes, and social/cultural crimes. You could then go on to define examples of this, for example for economic you could discuss any case study related to fraud (Have a look at the Enron scandal), political you could discuss genocides, security/welfare could be health and safety violations in the workplace (Child Labour etc) and Social would be acts of racism (Institutional racism in America, killing of Blacks with little evidence etc). You could suggest how Marxists agree that things such as health and safety laws are a way for the Ruling Class to control the Working Class and continue to make Capitalist society work.

You could discuss how Schwendinger wants crimes to be redefined so crimes that harm people in any way can be legally dealt with, thus making the state liable for criminal charges etc. Cohen disagrees by saying there's a clear enough distinction of what crime is, for example genocide is clearly a horrific crime that should be punished, whereas fraudulent activity is just morally wrong. You could draw in the argument that crime is a social construction and thus depends on the country and situation it has been committed in, for example in some middle eastern countries who follow the belief of Islam, they believe in stoning and chopping off hands of thieves etc, whereas in the UK and other Western countries this is seen as criminal. To class something as a crime depends on the severity of the crime and the culture it has been committed in, this includes state crime.

Furthermore you could argue how the state uses neutralisation techniques to justify their act. Sykes and Matza define these. You could also draw on Cohen's Spiral of Denial many states use to try and hide or deny their crime for as long as possible. Blair and the Iraq War, the missing treaties etc from the time he was in government is a good example to use, he tried to deny his wrongdoings for as long as he could using the techniques discussed by Cohen and Sykes/Matza.

Don't forget we have an Item too so I'd possibly use that for one of the paragraphs too but ensure that you draw upon it early on in your essay to highlight to the examiner you are aware you must use it. Also integrate it into your other paragraphs somewhere if possible. If you add it in too close to the end they are more likely to think you forgot/neglected or did not understand what was being said...

Hope this helps somehow :smile:
What's the sociology whatsapp chat??


Posted from TSR Mobile
I've been told to revise location and crime
its not in most textbooks but yeah :colondollar:
Reply 1011
Has there ever been a question on action theories???
Original post by xxvine
Yeah

Mainly because AS is easier than A2 LOL

You could do the education paper and not even be a sociology student. Some of it is just common sense and I could relate to a lot of it as well


Hahhahaha I totally agree with you, majority of the paper is literally common sense hence the reason why I found it extremely easy😂
So Social Policiy 33 marker

Do we bring policies such as EMA and sure start as synoptic links?
Religion in a global context? Anyone understand this & how to plan if a question on this comes up cos I finished religion and this is the only topic I absolutely loath and find the hardest!
Is anyone else overwhelmed with the sheer content in sociology :cry2:
Original post by abdulwadud13
Hahhahaha I totally agree with you, majority of the paper is literally common sense hence the reason why I found it extremely easy😂


It has become 'common-sense'. Tthanks to sociologists, the idea that people's future could be determined by a teacher's expectations on the basis of a student's class, gender or ethnicity was groundbreaking a few decades ago.
How would you write an essay on location and crime? We haven't been taught it


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by cazcams
Guys I'm really feeling:
-locality difference in social distribution of crime
-social action theories of crime
-realist theories of crime
-human rights/state crime
as potential 21 markers

For the theory/methods 33 mark question, I think a straight theory for the 3rd year running iais really unlikely. Likely possibilities are:
-positivist research methods
-sociology and values
-sociology and social policy (which would be an absolute nightmare)

What is everyone else thinking? And is anyone else leaving out last years topics all together (or going for selective revision based on their predictions)?


Hi I think the same as you action theories or positivist research methods...
I have no idea on how to structure a positive research methods essay... Have u any tips xxx


Posted from TSR Mobile
‘Development often leads to increased inequality, and increased inequality inevitably leads to war and conflicts’. To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view of development in the world today? (33 marks)

Can anybody help me with this question for global development? (Unit 3)
Thanks!

Quick Reply