Fast Track A level in Government and Politics (Full AS+A2)

The Course
Oxford College ODL offers this full A- Level course in Government and Politics. By the end of your course, your knowledge and awareness of the world around you and of current affairs should be significantly enhanced. You should also have developed your ability to analyse information and to communicate detailed and complex arguments effectively.

 
Government and Politics is a dynamic and ever-changing subject, and it is essential that you are familiar with contemporary issues, developments and debates. A-Level examinations in this subject will ask some questions specifically designed to assess if candidates are following contemporary politics by reading the different newspapers and following current affairs programmes on radio and television. Having an interest and knowledge in such matters is a major advantage to studying this subject.

However, knowledge of current affairs is not sufficient alone, and you need to absorb and digest lots of information while studying this course. Wider reading is always advised, not only of the recommended course textbook, but also of other books which can be recommended by your course tutor.

It will be difficult to do well in the end of course examinations if you cannot include relevant important examples in your answer. Candidates who do not read a quality newspaper or listen to or watch current affairs programmes can only hope to obtain a high grade if they have quite extraordinary knowledge, and even then are unlikely to do as well as candidates who read newspapers and who follow the news and current affairs programmes on radio and television.

Format of Course
From 2008 onwards, Government & Politics, like most A-Levels, is altering its format and reducing the number of units/modules from 6 to 4. This means that there are two units to be studied at AS Level (1 and 2), and two units to be studies at A2 Level (3 and 4).

The course is therefore divided into four papers or modules, two at AS Level and two at A2 Level. At AS Level, Paper One is entitled ‘People and Politics ‘while Paper Two is entitled ‘Governing the UK’. At A2 Level, Paper Three is entitled ‘UK Political Issues’ and Paper Four is called ‘EU Political Issues’.

Each module is presented separately and is clearly highlighted within the course notes. The content of the modules have references to the textbook and carefully selected websites for wider student research and reading. Key words are highlighted and explained throughout, and there are regular tasks and questions throughout each module to assess and check that learning has taken place. At the end of each module there is a formal tutor-marked assessment which, when completed, should be sent to your tutor, via e-mail or conventional post.

All of the information within the units is written in line with the requirements of the Edexcel examination board specification and the demands of the examination. All units are broken down into clear subject topics, and students should spend the amount of time studying for each topic as advised by their course tutor. Each topic module has been written for ease of understanding and topic coverage may be of different length and difficulty depending on the level of detail and information required. You will need to study the modules in the sequence provided.

This course focuses on British and European politics. At AS Level the focus is on learning about key British political institutions and organisations, while A2 develops key political issues and links British politics in with the increasingly significant European Union. The AS and A2 modules link together and assessment is all done by examination as there is no coursework option.

Like most academic subjects at A-Level, Government & Politics has a distinct language and terminology all of its own. You are expected not only to recognise and understand these terms in examination papers, but use them correctly in your answers. If you have problems remembering terms it is a good idea to write them on index cards or to develop a file of key words as you go along in order to help you learn them.

AS Level
Unit One – People & Politics (One hour 20 minutes)
Topics/Modules included on Unit One:
The different types of democracy
Electoral systems and electoral reform
The changing party system and recent General Elections
Referendums
Political Parties
Pressure Groups
Format:
You must answer two questions from a choice of four. Each question is split into three parts – a, b and c. The amount of marks for each section is 5, 10 and 25 respectively, equalling 40 in total. The amount of marks available means that each section should contain more content than the previous part.

Given that you must answer two questions in the time given, you are therefore allocated 40 minutes to answer a question worth 40 marks. This calculates to one minute per mark and each section can be broken down by time as follows:

Section A - 5 minutes
Section B - 10 minutes
Section C - 25 minutes

Unit Two – Governing the UK (One hour 20 minutes)
Topics/Modules included on Unit Two:
The UK Constitution and constitutional reform
Parliamentary and political sovereignty
Parliament
The Executive
The Judiciary
Format:
You must again answer two questions from a choice of four. However, on this unit, the paper is split into Section A and Section B. Section A features a choice from two comprehension style (stimulus response) questions where the student must read through a political article or extract and then answer one of the questions, again broken down into sections a, b and c. Section B is similar to Unit One in that you have a choice of two questions with sections a, b and c. All questions on this unit are worth 40 marks.

Like Unit One, you are therefore allocated 40 minutes to answer a question worth 40 marks. This calculates to one minute per mark and each section can be broken down by time as follows:

Section A - 5 minutes
Section B - 10 minutes
Section C - 25 minutes

* However, you must also calculate sufficient reading time for Section A.

AS total examining time- 2 hours 40 minutes (50% of full A Level)

A2 LEVEL
Unit Three – Key Themes in Political Analysis
Unit 3A – UK Political Issues (One hour 30 minutes)
Topics/Modules included on Unit Three:
Economic Policy
Social Welfare, Health and Education
Law, Order and Criminal Justice
Environmental Policy
Format:
The Unit is split into Section A and Section B. In Section A, you must answer three questions from a selection of five. Each question should be written in a mini-essay style format and is not broken down into sections (different from AS Level). All of the topics covered on this unit will be featured in this section. As you have 45 minutes for this section, you are advised to spend 15 minutes per question. This calculates to one minute per mark.

In Section B you can choose one long essay question from a choice of three. There are 45 minutes available to answer the question of your choice, and the choice will derive from any three of the subjects covered in this unit.

Unit 4A – EU Political Issues (One hour 30 minutes)
Topics/Modules included on Unit Four:
Impact of the EU on the UK
European Integration
EU Institutions and Their Relationships
Domestic Policy Issues
Format (exactly the same as Unit 3A):
The Unit is split into Section A and Section B. In Section A, you must answer three questions from a selection of five. Each question should be written in a mini-essay style format and is not broken down into sections (different from AS Level). All of the topics covered on this unit will be featured in this section. As you have 45 minutes for this section, you are advised to spend 15 minutes per question. This calculates to one minute per mark.

In Section B you can choose one long essay question from a choice of three. There are 45 minutes available to answer the question of your choice, and the choice will derive from any three of the subjects covered in this unit.

A2 total examining time- 3 hours (50% of full A Level)

Total A-Level examining time- 5 hours 40 minutes (Please note there is no coursework involved).

Each unit is worth 25% of the total marks for the entire A-Level.

Full details of the specification can be found by clicking on the following link: www.edexcel.com

Assessment in Government & Politics AS/A2 Level
Once you have understood what you are going to study on the course, it is important to know how you are going to be assessed.

In AS Government and Politics the assessment of the subject and the relevant skills needed is divided into 3 parts:

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of relevant institutions, processes, political concepts, theories and debates. (50% of the marks).
Analyse and evaluate political information, arguments and explanations and identify parallels, connections, similarities and differences between aspects of the political systems studied. (30% of the marks).
Construct and communicate coherent arguments making use of a range of appropriate political vocabulary. (20% of the marks).
In A2 Government & Politics, the skills balance changes to reflect greater difficulty:

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of relevant institutions, processes, political concepts, theories and debates. (30% of the marks).
Analyse and evaluate political information, arguments and explanations and identify parallels, connections, similarities and differences between aspects of the political systems studied. (50% of the marks).
Construct and communicate coherent arguments making use of a range of appropriate political vocabulary. (20% of the marks).
* There are more marks for recalling knowledge and information at AS Level, while there are more marks for analysis and evaluation at A2 Level.

Entry Requirements
Basic English reading and writing skills, as full tutor support is given.

Study Hours
Variable by student commitment.

Qualification
AS/A2 - A level in Government & Politics. Both AS and A2 level courses and examinations must be successfully completed to gain a full A level.

Specification: Edexcel (AS) 8GP01 and Edexcel (A2) 9GPI01

International
If you are based outside the UK, it may be possible to sit your examination through your local British Council, depending on your location. Please contact the examination board EDEXCEL for details on examination centres in your country.

What's Included
Learning documentation, plus priority Tutor support for 1 year. Students are required to arrange and pay for their examinations themselves. Students must check the relevant examination board website for final examination sitting dates for this syllabus. You will receive priority tutor assistance for fast track students on this course. Students will be able to sit a full A Level examination in one year or less. Examinations take place in January and Summer (May/June) yearly.

Additional Information
 
Book List
AS:
Edexcel Government & Politics for AS, Neil McNaughton (2nd ed. Hodder, 2007)

A2:
Specific books are required for each module and these will be identified by your course tutor. The recommended AS textbook is a good background read for the entire course.

Further Information

Your course is delivered online via the Oxford Learning On Campus website.

Please note that included in your course fee is your registration to the On Campus student community.

You will require Internet access. In the student 'On Campus' you are also able to take part in the student chat room and forums as part of our online student community.

After enrolling online you will receive your username and password to access the On Campus area within 5 working days. You will also receive your personal Oxford Learning student number via email.

Students are required to arrange and pay for their examinations and manage the course work element if the subject requires this. Students must check the relevant examination board website for further information and final examination sitting dates for the specification.