WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology Revision Guide

121 AO Keywords Example question AO1: Describe, identify, outline, define, explain Identify a value in the passage above. (1 mark) Describe what is meant by ‘identity’. (2 marks) Outline how family structures have changed in contemporary UK. (4 marks) Define the term ‘bourgeoisie’. (2 marks) Explain how the media creates moral panics. (5 marks) AO2: Explain, identify Explain reasons for differential educational achievement of some ethnic minority groups. (4 marks) Identify a research method that would be suitable to study people’s online shopping habits. (1 mark) AO1 + AO2: Identify and explain, explain, explain using examples Identify and explain reasons for changes in patterns of marriage in the UK. (4 marks) Explain the difference between absolute and relative poverty. (4 marks) Explain, using examples, the effects of labelling in schools. (4 marks) Explain why child-rearing patterns have changed in the UK. (8 marks) AO2 + AO3: Explain and evaluate Explain and evaluate the strengths of using questionnaires for research into school attendance. (6 marks) AO1, AO2 + AO3: Do you agree with this view? Discuss, assess ‘Crime is caused by poverty.’ Do you agree with this view? (15 marks) Discuss the usefulness of participant observation in research. (12 marks) Discuss the problem of social exclusion. (9 marks) Notice that AO3 questions are always assessed along with other skills. AO3 questions for the sections on Family, Education and Crime and deviance are worth 15 marks. Those for the section on Social differentiation and stratification are worth 9 marks. The section on Research Methods has AO3 questions worth 6 and 12 marks. What to do for a Grade 9 Top Class AO1: includes detailed relevant knowledge and uses sociological language throughout. • Stronger answer: ‘Willis’s study took place in Wolverhampton and showed how the subculture of a group of working-class boys led to them underachieving in education.’ • Weaker answer: ‘One study found that a group of boys messed about in school and failed. There was another group who were cleverer.’ There doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge amount of writing, but what you write should be precise. Name the sociologist, when and where the study was done, and include the main concepts and points made. Top class AO2: uses the stem of the question in the answer. • Stronger answer: ‘Hargreaves study shows that teachers labelled boys in the top stream as successes. They were successful at school. This shows that labelling can affect educational success.’ • Weaker answer: ‘The boys in Hargreaves study were successful when they were labelled successful.’ Relevant but no link to the question. Exam practice and techniques