AQA A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY: Learning Journal -Exam Skills, Techniques and Revision Support Booklet (V1)

Detailed student SKILLS booklet that models and provides guidance on how to develop exam skills (AO1, AO2 & AO3) and how to use these to answer the different exam questions in the AQA A-level Papers (4, 6, 10, 20 & 30 markers). 40 page pdf document provides success criteria for the different exam questions with a model answer for each (20 and 30 markers have the same model answer – booklet specifies difference between the two), techniques for further improving answers once students are able to meet the success criteria for each exam question (A*-A answers), tips and suggestions to support and promote independent revision outside of class lessons, revision websites and channels, and podcast and a reading list to develop student’s knowledge outside of the topic.

Includes the following:

1. Help sheet – including the main issues students have and steps to take to tackles these; develops independence

2. Contents page - to help students navigate booklet

3. Course overview –written out for family, education, media, theory and methods (sepearately and combined), methods in context and crime ***EDITABLE COURSE OVERVIEW DOCUMENT– to allow you to edit the units you teach

4. Personal Learning Checklist (PLCs) for the following: Education, Methods in context, ‘Theory and methods’ (separate and combined versions), Family, Media, Beliefs and Crime - **PLCS APART FROM BELIEFS AND CRIME HAVE PAGE NUMBERS ** -for the Ken Brown textbook for media and Webb et al Book 1 and 2 for the rest .

5. Assessment Objectives – information on these and how to develop these skills in lessons and outside of lesson.

6. Exam questions – Success criteria, sentence starters, links to AOs and MODEL ANSWERS for each exam question -4 & 6 markers 10 markers 20 & 30 markers
   Success criteria NOTE - ‘(D)’ IN PEELE/A (D) stands for Develop (which means to evaluate and/ or analyse) - so paragraph success criteria can be PEELE/A (I use for year 12) or PEELD (for year 13)

7. Further developing your answers – how to further develop answers using the AOs, improving explanation, analysis, evaluation and links - INCLUDES MODEL EXAMPLES.
   Focusses on:
   • Improving your explanations
   • Improving your analysis
   • Improving your criticisms
   • Going beyond PEELE – Demonstrating more AOs
   • Going beyond PEELE – Make more use of ‘Links’ to improve AO2

8. Other resources that might help – YouTube websites, Podcast and revision websites

9. Developing sociological skills outside the lesson -mind-map for umbrella theories (yr 12 – consensus vs conflict, modernism vs postmodernism structural vs interactionism in relation to functionalism, Marxism, Feminism Personal life perspective), reading list that explores sociological themes learnt throughout the course.

**BOOKLET (apart from ‘Course overview’ NOT EDITABLE - PDF DOCUMENT
**