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Politics a level REVISION HELPP

I am stuck on a C for politics, and I am aiming for a B or an A in my next mock exams. When making revision materials would it be helpful for me to make notes on each spec point (right now I have done a bit but it seems like a waste of time), in my mocks just before then I was using flash cards that I made, using Seneca learning and was revising from this (this seemed to be more helpful for me, and I retained so much info) should I continue making flashcards and stop the notes??

Reply 1

zk155

If you're doing AQA, I would recommend going through every exam paper (ideally 2018-2022 and specimen papers if you can find them) and planning your answers to them. Once you've done that, go through each topic and compile a list of exam questions they could ask. If you're struggling to come up with your own essay questions for any given topic, I'd recommend going onto Quizlet and typing up 'potential 9 markers/25 markers' for whichever paper you're doing. Even if the questions you have planned don't come up in your exams, you will have a wealth of knowledge to answer any question they decide to throw at you. You could even create exam question flashcards (q on the front, 3 examples and statistics for it on the back).

It's great that you've made notes, but politics essays don't require as much detail especially for paper 1 and 2. For example, for 9 markers all you need is a simple intro such as 'three forms of participation include voting, pressure groups and party membership'. After that, create 3 paragraphs including 2/3 pieces of relevant statistics and your analysis of them. For example, 'although only 61.4% of the electorate participated in 2005, this increased to 65.1% in 2010. Whilst this is lower than the 70s, this shows that electoral participation is steadily increasing'. If you're struggling to find examples, mark schemes are really helpful.

For statement 25 markers, do an intro and state whether you agree/disagree with the statement, 4 paragraphs (2 agreeing/ 2 disagreeing) and a conclusion that brings your argument together. For extract questions, you need to compare the arguments in the intro e.g. extract 1 says this but extract 2 says this and mention the provenance. For the main body of the essay, you should also write 4 paragraphs (extract 1 for the first paragraph and its contrast with extract 2 in the second etc) and then a conclusion. If you want to aim higher, you should mention specific MPs and perhaps a quote or two.

I would definitely make flashcards to remember statistics/quotes, but make sure that you're practising exam questions if you're aiming for top marks.

Reply 2

zk155

You could make 1/2 essay plans daily or a few days a week (whatever works for your schedule). Since your essay questions are longer, start with 1-3 a week and gradually increase it nearing exam season coupled with practice writing in timed conditions. Also, definitely read the news for the most recent examples to include in your essays!

Original post by Sparklingroses

I do edexcel, so I don’t do 9 markers my questions are only 2 30 markers and 1 24 marker for ideologies
But I will take the advice you gave me, and I have stopped taking notes now and to understand the content I am doing condensed flashcards, and also essay plans
How often should I do essay plans and how often should I write out practice exam qs?

Reply 3

rawanelmasryy

for edexcel, would definitely recommend going through each spec point as you are planning on doing, as the questions come up using specific wording from the spec, so literally go through the spec line for line and have essay plans and just go back to them every week, and this is a very good time to start doing that as you still have a whole year.

Original post by Sparklingroses