When you're revising for your GCSE exams, you want to make the most of your study time.

So, we invited the experts at the AQA exam board to share their tips and advice on preparing for GCSE Sociology exams.

The article that follows has been written by an AQA curriculum expert, based on their years of experience in the assessment of their subject.  

You can find more articles in this series, covering a range of subjects at both GCSE and A-level, over on our revision section.

Also on The Student Room, you can find student discussion of 2024 GCSE exams.

1. Do make sure you have a good knowledge and understanding of the 25 Key Studies outlined in the Appendix in the specification.

Although you need to know about other theories and studies as well, you can be asked specific questions about these 25 Key Studies.

The Items for some of the questions will also be about these studies so it really helps if you’re familiar with them.

2. Do make sure you have a good knowledge and understanding of the main theories: functionalism, Marxism, interactionism and feminism. These can be useful for the 12-markers – comparing, for example, what functionalists argue about the issue in the question with what feminists argue.

3. Do make sure you can apply the main theories to the four main topic areas in the specification: Families, Education, Crime & Deviance and Social Stratification.

4. Do make sure you revise research methods carefully. Even though there’s no separate section of questions on research methods, you’ll be asked methods questions within the four main topic areas.

1. Don’t forget to develop a good working knowledge and understanding of the key terms and concepts listed in the specification. The first two questions for each topic will be multiple choice questions asking you to identify the correct concept. Get off to a good start and know your concepts!

2. Don’t forget to use as many of those concepts in your answers to both short answer and mini-essay questions. Concepts show you’re meeting all three assessment objectives. By using concepts, you’re showing your knowledge and understanding of Sociology. By using them in the right place to make a point, you’re showing your application skills.  You can also use them to analyse and evaluate points you’re making.

3. Don’t forget to present at least a couple of different points in relation to the questions worth 12-marks.

For example… Discuss how far sociologists would agree that gender differences in educational achievement are mainly due to factors inside schools. [12 marks]

You’ll need to look at factors inside school like teacher expectations and peer pressure as well as factors outside school such as parental encouragement and household income.

4. Don’t forget to write a conclusion for your responses to the 12-mark questions. The mark scheme for the top band mentions ‘evidence-based conclusions.’ You can conclude as you go along – for example, at the end of each paragraph, ask yourself what the evidence shows in relation to the question. You can also ask this question at the end as well when you’ve presented all your evidence - and write a clear summary of what the evidence shows in relation to the question.