Edexcel Govt and Politics Unit 1 and 2?

We'd still have MPs, I wouldn't want them abolished, but there shouldn't be constituencies and so MPs won't represent a particular area anymore. We should have another 'house' which deals with local issues that debates on things to be dealt with in the HoC.

those are really good marks. congratulations. i will try to complete my reading on democracy and pressure groups too and see if any of it makes sense to me. so you're saying that knowing 2 chapters inside out will do? which 2 chapters did you study for Unit 2? which option are you doing for A2? could you share with us how to answer exam questions? what are good resources for AS and also the american option for A2?

you really have interesting ideas. are these your own or your teachers? if there are to be no more constituencies then how do you elect an MP? surely he needs to represent an area or something? what would you name the new 'house' then?

The writing of the exam answers is pretty easy. In your intro just state your argument, so what points your gunna make (briefly tho)
The write one para for, then one against. Try to mention a political commentator in each or every other paragraph. Always give an example of what your talking about. E.G: "Political apathy is becoming less prevalent as can be seen by the 80% turnout at the scots independence ref".
Learn stats as well.

I used mainly one commentator, which was McNaughton (the guy who wrote the book I linked earlier)

Have an MP still standing in a constituency, vote for them using the AV system and then when they are elected they are not tied to the constituency they were voted by. If that makes sense? So the same as now but using AV instead of FPTP and not having the MP tied with the people who voted for them. On the ballot sheet there would be a list of parties and not people.

you too have made very good points. thanks for sharing. what made you want to take up politics? were you daunted by the content? were your teachers any good which was why you got good grades? how did you study and how much practice did you do before the exams? what do you plan to do at university?

I was coasting E's and U's throughout out the year, (teach predicted I'd get an E in summer lmao). I put my head down in the Easter holidy tho, prolly best not to do what I did lel.
and Im wanting to do law at uni

your input is very valuable as well. thank you for sharing. oh yes. I did read about the FPTP system but it was really confusing. how would you best explain what FPTP is and how it operates and its advantages or disadvantages?

FPTP is essentially a method where in an individual constituency whoever gets the highest number of votes wins the seat and to be able to govern you need to get 50% of the seats.

The advantages are it gives majority governments - so there are no bickering coalitions and as much as people say it is, it isn't 'broke' it just isn't always representative.

The disadvantages are that it basically squeezes smaller political parties out of the picture as it is rare you will have an area of the UK where a large amount of people share the same beliefs as a smaller party. It also gives 'elected dictatorships' as a majority government with no coalition is technically is a one party rule. It also means that the percentage of votes parties get isn't equivalent to the number of seats, so that isn't really representative either. Sometimes also parties with a smaller share of the vote can still be the largest party with a majority.

you really are an inspiration to all of us for having notched such an achievement. thats so cool. is there anything else we should take note of when studying politics? you mentioned throwing in stats and commentators names? anything else to add on to that list?

you should consider being a lecturer at university one day. you are just too wonderful. we should keep this thread alive. more people will come forward in future I am sure of that to join in our discussions. we will also have nice kind people who have gotten good grades to share with us their success stories and advice. lets update each other on what we've learnt so far and motivate each other.

I just started studying the first chapter of unit 1. I also looked through the syllabus. Do i need to study all four chapters in Unit 1 in order to answer the questions in the exam? What about Unit 2? some advise would be great. thank you.

I did AS and A2 G+P. You study all 4, but for the exams I just learnt 2 in really good detail.

hi lizzy. do you have any resources to share for the chapters you studied in Unit 1 and 2? if you could share them here or upload notes/diagrams anything that may help then that would be so cool. Any piece of advice for politics students? Which option did you study for in A2?

Thanks for the advice!

How did you find the 25 mark questions in both papers and the 40 marker on unit 2? All of them sound really daunting and I got 16/25 on my first try - is this a good starting point or is it fairly average?

16/25 is great for a first time - I was getting 15/25 until at least January and I ended up with a B overall (5 UMS off an A on both papers, doh)! Once you know how to do them they're not too daunting, you need to know examples and stuff but tbh it's quite formulaic. For a 25 marker I'd do 2 paragraphs for/2 against (or whatever the question asks) and for a 40 marker I'd do 3 for/3 against. Towards the end of the year I was getting 18-23/25 and 32-35/40 on essays in class. That was just my way of doing things though, you might find another way easier!

those are really good marks. congratulations. i will try to complete my reading on democracy and pressure groups too and see if any of it makes sense to me. so you're saying that knowing 2 chapters inside out will do? which 2 chapters did you study for Unit 2? which option are you doing for A2? could you share with us how to answer exam questions? what are good resources for AS and also the american option for A2?

What text book are you using for this course btw. I think Heywood released a new updated version of his book with all the 2015 election results......

im using this book for AS. The content is massive and it can get daunting after a while.
http://www.amazon.com/Edexcel-Government-Politics-McNaughton-Paperback/dp/B010WHM5LW/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1444845972&sr=8-19&keywords=neil+mcnaughton

I plan to do Options 3C and 4C for A2. what books should I use? do you know? tell me more about your situation? how far along are you in your studying? have you faced any difficulties in certain areas? we can discuss them here.

Do the US Government and Politics for A2!