improve sociology grades

recently i got my year 12 mock results back. i do aqa spec and for education i got an A and i was 7 marks off of full marks which i am happy with. but for families and households i got a C minus. ik the lack of detail is why i got lower on the paper but both of my teachers style are different. my education teacher always goes into detail and my families teacher doesn't rlly go into detail so i can't write much. also they swapped the papers they were marking so my education teacher marked my families paper and she is rlly strict on marks whereas my families teacher marked my education paper and she is rlly lenient on marks so idk if the results are accurate. is there anyway i can actually learn the content needed (the textbook is not rlly helpful imo) and improve my grades? i am going to start doing exam questions and getting my teachers to mark it but idk how to actually learn the content needed to get an A/A*

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

parisjeon

Original post by nikocado

I know this wouldnt be any help for you but i was wondering what you did to get an A for education? Like essay structure and other techniques because im nowhere near an A :/

Reply 2

SB1234567890

Original post by nikocado

I found that quizlets and blurting were most effective for me

Reply 3

SB1234567890

Original post by parisjeon

I know this wouldnt be any help for you but i was wondering what you did to get an A for education? Like essay structure and other techniques because im nowhere near an A :/

I know this was aimed at the poster but I could give you tips/share example essays from certain chapters if you'd like? (I did A level sociology last year and got an A*)

Reply 4

nikocado

Original post by SB1234567890

I know this was aimed at the poster but I could give you tips/share example essays from certain chapters if you'd like? (I did A level sociology last year and got an A*)

pls share the tips!

Reply 5

nikocado

Original post by parisjeon

I know this wouldnt be any help for you but i was wondering what you did to get an A for education? Like essay structure and other techniques because im nowhere near an A :/

i made essay plans and was just memorising notes. i don't rlly know what to revise for sociology apart from past papers. for essay structure i use PEEEL. so point, evidence, explain, evaluate then link back to the question. for 30 markers i try do 4 PEEEL paragraphs and an intro and conclusion. if u don't have time don't worry about the intro as the conclusion is more important. for some topics i used the same evidence as it linked e.g Fuller did a study on black girls so i can use that for ethnicity and gender. defo start making revision notes as i just memorise them and then use them in the exam as i know exactly what to write. flashcards for me are difficult to make for sociology as there is so much content so i make mindmaps. ur notes should be short but also have detail in them. i also looked at other essays i have done and went over the things i needed to improve. for 4 and 6 markers u dont need full sentences, literally just use bullet points. i also use evidence and evaluation specific to my point so it was in depth and it wasn't a general criticism e.g marxism is outdated. i hope this helps :smile:

Reply 6

SB1234567890

Original post by nikocado

pls share the tips!

My main tips would be:
- when trying to learn the content, quizlets and blurting are useful
- when looking at essay questions, see if you can identify the key question (for and against, usefulness or cause and effect) and where the core debates can be applied (consensus vs conflict, structure vs action)
- the parapgraph structure we were taight was point (taking a hook from the item), explain (analyse by linking different sociologists' ideas together), linking back to the question, evaluate

I will now share the essays that I have available and, if you like, access to my quizlets

Reply 7

Charlotteshay

Can any of you tell me the positives and the negatives of doing sociology a level.

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 8

SB1234567890

Original post by Charlotteshay

Can any of you tell me the positives and the negatives of doing sociology a level.

Positives:
- no coursework
- most of the content is really straightforward to understand
- because the subject is about the everyday subject that we live in, it is really relevant
- I personally found that its relevance made it really interesting
- compliments many other subjects (eg: psychology, business, history, english, geography, economics...)

Negatives:
- quite content-heavy
- the longest essays are longer than exam-based essays in other subjects

Hope this helps and I'm happy to answer any other questions you have

Reply 9

Charlotteshay

Thank you I find this helpful.For exam questions is it just knowing the theorists and the textbooks and applying it in a set structure.

Reply 10

Charlotteshay

Also what other subjects did you do?

Reply 11

SB1234567890

Original post by Charlotteshay

Thank you I find this helpful.For exam questions is it just knowing the theorists and the textbooks and applying it in a set structure.

It isn't as straightforward as blurting out content in a structure but it becomes straightforward once you can apply the core debates and the other core debates as knowledge and understanding is just one criteria, with the others being analysis (linking different ideas together), application (to key question and hooks in the item) and evaluation
Once you get the hang of essays it becomes easy to sustain high marks