gcse-politics-specification.pdf - A-LEVEL A-LEVEL POLITICS...

A-LEVEL
A-LEVEL
POLITICS
(7152)
Specification
For teaching from September 2017 onwards
For exams in June 2019 onwards
Version 1.0 5 May 201 7

Contents
1 Introduction 5
1.1 Why choose AQA for A-level Politics 5
1.2 Support and resources to help you teach 5
2 Specification at a glance 7
2.1 Subject content 7
2.2 Assessments 7
3 Subject content 9
3.1 Government and politics of the UK 10
3.2 Government and politics of the USA and comparative
politics 15
3.3 Political ideas 23
4 Scheme of assessment 29
4.1 Aims 29
4.2 Assessment objectives 30
4.3 Assessment weightings 30
5 General administration 31
5.1 Entries and codes 31
5.2 Overlaps with other qualifications 31
5.3 Awarding grades and reporting results 31
5.4 Re-sits and shelf life 32
5.5 Previous learning and prerequisites 32
5.6 Access to assessment: diversity and inclusion 32
5.7 Working with AQA for the first time 33
5.8 Private candidates 33
5.9 Use of Calculators 33
AQA A-level Politics 7152. A-level exams June 2019 onwards. Version 1.0 5 May 2017
Visit aqa.org.uk/7152 for the most up-to-date specification, resources, support and administration 3

Are you using the latest version of this specification?
• You will always find the most up-to-date version of this specification on our website at
aqa.org.uk/7152
• We will write to you if there are significant changes to the specification.
4 Visit aqa.org.uk/7152 for the most up-to-date specification, resources, support and administration

1 Introduction
1.1 Why choose AQA for A-level Politics
Lively, relevant, controversial… there are many ways to describe A-level Politics. There’s no
denying that it’s one of the most interesting and engaging qualifications you can choose.
Covering news and current affairs from the UK and US, it helps you understand how the UK
country is run and develops research, written communication and debate skills. It also helps grow
your confidence.
It’s ideal if you’re considering studying politics, sociology, ethics, advertising or journalism at
university and is highly regarded by employers in industries including politics, international
organisations, the media, government and the civil service.
A specification designed for you and your students
This new qualification retains much of the content that we know you and your students enjoy.
Topics are clearly and logically structured and include:
• the three traditional ideologies of Liberalism, Conservatism and Socialism
• one of either: feminism, nationalism, multiculturalism, ecologism or anarchism.
Clear, well-structured exams, accessible for all
To enable your students to show their breadth of knowledge and understanding, we’ve created a
simple and straightforward structure and layout for our papers, using a mixture of question styles.
There will be no coursework.
You can find out about all our Politics qualifications at aqa.org.uk/government-and-politics
1.2 Support and resources to help you teach
We’ve worked with experienced teachers to provide you with a range of resources that will help
you confidently plan, teach and prepare for exams.