Examination Board: Edexcel
Politics
Component 2 - UK Government
Politics is a ‘living subject’; students must have a keen interest in current affairs and contemporary politics in both the United Kingdom and the USA. You will need to be able to analyse critically, evaluate evidence and write in a fluent and developed manner. You will learn how to present an issue and how to defend a view and challenge the opposing argument. Students will be expected to read British and American newspapers, watch the news and programmes such as 'The Andrew Marr Show' and 'Question Time'. Politics is well-regarded as an A-level subject and provides good preparation for degrees such as History, Law, Economics and Philosophy. Politics combines well with a variety of subjects.
Content overview ■ UK Government, students will study: The constitution, parliament, Prime Minister and executive, relationships between the branches. ■ Optional Political Ideas, students will study: One idea from the following: anarchism, ecologism, feminism, multiculturalism, nationalism. Assessment overview Section A: UK Government: two 30-mark questions Section B: Optional Political Ideas: one 24-mark question
Component 3 - Comparative Politics Written examination: 2 hours
Component 1 - UK Politics
Content overview
Written examination: 2 hours
■ The USA, students will study:
Content overview ■ Political Participation, students will study: Democracy and participation, political parties, electoral systems, voting behaviour and the media. ■ Core Political Ideas, students will study: Conservatism, liberalism, socialism.
The US Constitution and federalism, US Congress, US president, US Supreme Court, democracy and participation, civil rights. Assessment overview Section A: 12-mark question Section B: 12-mark question
Assessment overview Section A: Political 30-mark questions
Written examination: 2 hours
Two 30-mark questions Participation:
two
Section B: Core Political Ideas: one 24-mark question
90
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