If you are doing GCSE sociology then congratulations you are in a lucky minority. Even so, you may not know that the exam board through which you do your exams has a document called the ‘specification’ which outlines what is expected at GCSE sociology. This document is freely available online. This article focuses on the AQA specification but if your exam board is not AQA then it is probable that the principles in this article still apply. The AQA specification document is available HERE. If you can, you might want to ask a parent or caregiver to help you here but I will try to explain as clearly as possible and it is important that you read carefully.
This article is split into two parts. The first part will look at subject content and explain the method to help you increase your GCSE sociology grades successfully. The second part will focus on how to use the subject specifications to increase your grades in the GCSE sociology exams.
Part One
Subject Content
Now you have downloaded the specification we are going to look at the ‘Subject Content’ (page 9). In the ‘subject content’ section, there are a number of different ‘modules’ including families, education, crime and deviance, and so on. If you go the module for ‘families’ (page 10) then it shows a table which describes the content (left column) and additional information (right column). The content is self-explanatory, it is the stuff you will be learning. In the right column it says ‘students should be able to:’. This tells you what the exam board expect you to be able to do in order to successfully navigate the course.
You can see terms such as ‘identify’, ‘describe’, ‘compare’, and ‘contrast’. These are not neutral terms and it helps to familiarise yourself with what these actually mean. As you scroll through the subject content you can see that each part tells you in detail what you need to able to do. Let’s look at an example.
On page 15 under ‘Crime and Deviance’ and then under ‘the social construction of crime and deviance’ it gives an outline of the content. So, the stuff you will learn about is:
- The social construction of concepts of crime and deviance and explanations of crime and deviance.
- The work of Merton on the causes of crime from a functionalist perspective and Becker from an interactionist perspective
Next to this column, it tells you about what students should be able to do which is:
A. Identify, describe and explain various sociological explanations of crime and deviance including anomie, labelling, structural theories, subcultural theories and interactionist theory
B. Explain the social construction of concepts of crime and deviance
C. Describe, compare and contrast a variety of sociological perspectives on the social construction of crime and deviance (interactionist, functionalist, feminist and Marxist)
D. Describe the key ideas of Merton (page 50) on the causes of crime
E. Describe the key ideas of Becker (page 48) on the causes of crime
Now before I carry on, the above information from the specification within a school setting is highly likely to have never been shown to you or even mentioned. By following this, and by paying attention to it, the specification is literally telling you how to learn the content. In a school setting, because they don’t tell you this stuff, the topics that you learn about feel out of context or out of kilter so to speak. It is told to you in a way whereby you are expected to just go off and remember it. Using the specification, you can empower yourself by not only contextualising and reorienting your learning, but by taking the information and aligning your work with it. So, let’s take a closer look at the above information taken from the specification through an example which uses ‘1A’.
By ‘1A’, I mean the following:
- The social construction of concepts of crime and deviance and explanations of crime and deviance.
…and
A. Identify, describe and explain various sociological explanations of crime and deviance including anomie, labelling, structural theories, subcultural theories and interactionist theory
The specification is telling you here that with regards to the ‘social construction of concepts of deviance and explanations of crime and deviance’ you need to able to identify anomie, labelling, structural theories, subcultural theories and interactionist theories. You need to be able to describe anomie, labelling, structural theories, subcultural theories and interactionist theories. And you need to able to explain anomie, labelling, structural theories, subcultural theories and interactionist theories.
To identify simply means that you are naming the concept and that you can recognise the concept. By naming and recognising the concept of labelling, and by calling it labelling in your writing, you have already completed a task and demonstrated an appropriate skill which is the ability to not only identify anomie, but to use technical language. To help you further with using the correct technical language, you can turn to page 27 in the specification to see a list of key technical terms for each module.
Now that you have identified ‘labelling’, you now need to describe it. We could describe it as:
An act through which somebody externally assigns a word or phrase to an individual based on their perceived identity
This is just one way to describe it. You may find another way to describe it. Next you need to be able to explain labelling. To explain labelling, you need to provide some more detail. The best way is to imagine that you are writing it down in a letter to send to somebody you know. This person has never heard of labelling and you need to explain to them about it. To explain to them you would tell them how labelling occurs, why labelling occurs, who wrote about it, and so on.
Remember our example in 1A? When you consider how to identify, describe, and explain labelling, it should be done so within the context of:
The social construction of concepts of crime and deviance and explanations of crime and deviance
To do this, it simply means that as part of your explanation of labelling for example, you should focus on the fact that labelling and labels are a socially constructed form of deviance. To put it all together, it might look something like this:
Labelling is a socially constructed form of deviance. It is an act through which somebody externally assigns a word or phrase to an individual based on their perceived identity. One of the most prominent writers on labelling was Howard Becker. Becker argued that deviance was not the act itself but the label applied to the act. In other words, nothing is deviant until it is labelled as such. Labelling can happen in schools for example, where some children are labelled naughty. As a result of this, the children who are labelled as naughty are then treated as if they are inherently naughty… etc etc.
How much you would need to write is something only you yourself can know. The example above covers the main requirements of 1A. From there, you would only have to add as much extra information as you need to.
Now, although it seems long and complicated, once you have followed this method a couple of times, it will start to make much more sense. The more you do it, the more fluent you will become. If you follow this method across the content in the specification, it will prepare you nicely for the exams at the end of the course.
Part Two
If you have followed the above instructions, you should become fluent in writing sociological answers at GCSE level and you will be well prepared for this next part. If you are late to the article and are only reading about the exams, don’t worry! You can still use the second part of this guide to help but I would recommend that you still read part one. In this part there are two areas of importance in the specification: ‘Aims and Learning Outcomes’ and ‘Assessment Objectives’ (both on page 21). These tell you what you need to do in order to successfully complete your sociology GCSE exams.
Aims & Learning Outcomes
Under the ‘Aims and Learning Outcomes’ heading, there are a number of bullet points. This is what you are expected to be able to do by the time you reach exams.
- apply their sociological knowledge, understanding and skills to develop an understanding of relationships and tension between social structures and individual agency within a UK and global context
- critically analyse information and use evidence to make informed arguments, reach substantiated judgements and draw conclusions
- use and apply their knowledge and understanding of how social structures and processes influence social control, power and inequality
- use sociological theories to understand social issues, debates, social changes and continuities over time
- understand and evaluate sociological methodology and a range of research methods
- use sociological terminology appropriately and make connections between the key areas of subject content.
Again, if you followed the method in part one, then you will already be able to do these. If not, or if you are here for an emergency crash course, go over part one as the same principles apply here.
The ‘aims and learning outcomes’ are what you need to apply in the exams. In other words, you need to take these descriptors and adhere to them in any exam writing that you do. By applying these, you will be meeting the ‘Assessment Objectives’. These ‘Assessment Objectives’ are listed as:
- AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of sociological theories, concepts, evidence and methods.
- AO2: Apply knowledge and understanding of sociological theories, concepts, evidence and methods.
- AO3: Analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts, evidence and methods in order to construct arguments, make judgements and draw conclusions
Exam questions often ask you to ‘identify and explain’, ‘identify and describe’, ‘discuss’, or ‘examine’. When you answer these types of questions, by following the method in part one you will be able to successfully meet the assessment objectives.
For AO1, using the correct terminology, being able to describe theories or concepts, and being able to evaluate concepts, evidence, or theories is what is needed. For AO2, you will be expected to apply these abilities. For example, a question taken from a previous GCSE sociology exam asks:
Identify and explain one factor affecting power relationships.
To apply knowledge and understanding, you need to identify ONE factor. By identifying one factor we have to name it with the correct sociological term. Then you need to explain what the factor is. Then you need to explain how and why this factor affects power relationships. If you do this then you have given a well-rounded answer.
AO3 revolves around your ability to analyse and evaluate, construct arguments, make judgments and draw conclusions. When it comes to evaluation, you should present both sides of an argument: side A and side B. Outline the argument of side A, outline the argument of side B, say what is good and bad about each and why. Then conclude with why you have chosen to support the side you have. Again, this gives a full and well-rounded answer.
Remember, although we are looking at slightly different requirements, they are still fundamentally utilising the same methods as part one. So, regardless of the question you receive, you should be experienced enough to apply some of what you have learned. It may be helpful to try to remember the AO’s when sitting an exam perhaps through remembering ‘DAA’ – Demonstrate Apply Analyse.
As a final note, the ability to use these methods such as evaluation, describing, explaining, applying, and identifying are central skills not only to sociology but to life. If you can practice them and grow your ability at using them, then it is a powerful tool for you both academically and personally. You will be surprised how far these methods go to help yourself become resistant to some of the questionable things that we are led to believe.
Phew! You made it to the end. If you read all that then you are definitely motivated to succeed in GCSE sociology. Of course, you can always read it again if you have to. Sometimes it helps to read things more than once. Bookmark the page or save it somewhere so you know where to come back to read it again. Good luck!
