2. LO:
• To identify what the examiner is
looking for in Sociology exams
• To define the A01, A02 & AO3 parts
of the mark scheme
• To understand how to apply this
knowledge to examination situations
Success criteria
To be able to develop points by
using examples/illustrations.
To be able to rewrite a good
introduction, body and a good
conclusion.
3. You get the marks for….
• AO1: Knowledge and Understanding
• So you need to be familiar with theories, methods, and ideas, as well as
studies!
• Key words for AO1= describe, explain, identify, suggest
E.g.
“Parsons argues that the main functions of the family are to socialise
children and to stabilise the adult personality”
4. You get the marks for….
• A02: Identification, Interpretation.
• So you need to choose relevant information/ key studies, present
strengths and weaknesses, present alternative
explanations/interpretations of the findings and use the material to
provide commentary
• Key words= compare and contrast, outline, examine
5. You get the marks for….
• A03: Interpretation and Evaluation
• So you need to choose relevant sociological theories
present strengths and weaknesses, present alternative.
explanations/interpretations of the findings and use the
material to provide commentary
• What’s good and what’s bad about the theory
Comparisons to other theories
• Key words= assess, evaluate, compare and contrast,
examine
6. Points to remember….
• Read the question carefully
• Make a brief plan before you start writing
• Write a short intro linking key aspects of the question
• Use the items
• Discuss a range of concepts, explanations, theories etc
• Use evidence and examples
• Use good grammar and punctuation- check spellings!!
• Use connectives in your writing- therefore, in addition, similarly,
furthermore, in relation…..
• Underline and hi-light command words (such as assess) and key words
in the question title.
• Most importantly ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!!!!
7. Other things the examiner wants…
• Sociological terms
• Clear explanations
• Clear structure – paragraphs
• Good use of language
8. • An introduction is vital for setting the scene in an answer. It helps
your examiner to see how well you have interpreted the question set
(AO2a skills). It also gives them a sense of how you have planned
your answer, and with that how well you will approach the answer.
9. I = Introduce the key ideas and the ways in
which they could be criticised and suggest your conclusion.
S = Demonstrate the ideas which support the perspective of
the question.
C = Counter the main perspective of the essay with at least 2
alternatives.
C = Conclude by answering the question based on
the evidence provided and suggest ideas which
the question fails to acknowledge.
10. You should imagine your essay being structured
like an X-Ray picture of you.
The Head:
The introductionThe 2 sets of bones:
Two sides of the
argument
The Spine:
Making sure you
link each
paragraph back
to the question!
The Tail:
The conclusion
11. Your Head: The Introduction
This is a really important section of your essay. It givens
an initial impression to the examiner about you.
A strong introduction is key!
Use the introduction to break down what the question is
asking you; define any key terms it mentions, is there a
theorist it is talking about, what is the key trend in this
area?
12. Your two sets of bones: The two
sides of the argument
Every single question will need to
address ‘How far do sociologists
agree on the issue’
*Sociologists NEVER agree*
You will always need to present two
sides of an argument about
something. (Sometimes even more
than 2 may be necessary!)
You need evidence and/or theories to
back you up
Make sure they are evenly balanced!
13. YourSpine: The links back to the
question!
Many students forget what essay
question they are answering and go off on
a tangent answering a completely
different question!
The spine is there to make sure that at
the end of every paragraph you link it
back to the essay question.
It will keep your essay focussed.
E.g. ..... ‘This therefore shows that
marriage is not becoming less significant
than in the past’.
14. Your Tail: The Conclusion
There is nothing more annoying to a marker than an
essay without an ending.
NEVER stop your essay without concluding it- it seems
unfinished.
Your conclusion should address the essay question
directly and answer the ‘How far..’ part.
E.g. To a large/small extent sociologists agree because....
(then weigh up all the evidence/theories)
15. Introduction
• Ingredients of a good introduction
• Show an understanding of the concepts/theories referred to in the
set question. (Including key definitions, setting out your stall, key
points to be explored in the essay, alternative claims, link to
perspective, deconstruct question, link to methods –how is it
measured
• Show that you understand what the question is asking you to do.
• Give some indication of the intended structure of the essay.
• Be accurate in terms of grammar, spelling and sociological material
16. • MAKE A BOLD CLEAR START. ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE
READ, UNDERSTOOD AND ARE GOING TO RESPOND TO THE
QUESTION SET AND HIGHLIGHT A KEY DEBATE IF THERE IS ONE!”
17. Sentence Starters
• A popular debate in sociology concerns…….ie) the idea that ……… Whilst……
claims……This viewpoint is
• hotly disputed by a range of writers who instead suggest that……….”
•
• “ Sociologists have long been divided on the issue of ….By …..we mean that ……
For example….claimed to
• have found evidence to support …., but this evidence is questionable
because…”
•
• “ Sociologists would support the view of …….to a certain extent, but evidence is
far from conclusive because….”
•
• popular debate in sociology concerns…….ie) the idea that ………
• Whilst……claims……This viewpoint is hotly disputed by a range of writers who
• instead suggest that……….”
•
18. Examine the reasons women are more likely to experience
poverty
• A Good Introduction:
Women are only slightly more likely than
men to experience poverty in the UK
(21% v 19%). However, they are a lot
more likely than men to be members of
certain high risk groups, such as lone
parents, elderly pensioners and the
unemployed, therefore making them
much more likely to experience poverty.
Women's poverty is therefore either
decided by their family status (married,
single, with children or not) or their
economic status (whether they have a job
or not).
Both of these risk factors will need to be
examined if we are to determine the
reasons women are more likely to
experience poverty. Feminists believe
that women are over represented in
poverty statistics because they still live in
a patriarchal society. Lister called this the
"feminisation of poverty".
• Things to do in the intro:
Link to the question – show you understand
what is being asked
Include some preliminary statistics if
possible
Start to frame the question – show
how you will answer it by breaking
down into separate chunks/
theories/perspectives/different arguments /
different reasons
Link to Theoretical perspectives
e.g.. Feminism
19. P = Reword the question and add in a key term.
One function of the family is …
E = Explain the key term including examples.
This means that … This is because ... E.g.
A = Give the strengths of that idea
This idea is supported by research by … who
found/ believe...
C = However, give the criticisms of that idea
This idea is criticised by research by … who found/
believe...
E = Come to a conclusion about the quality of that
idea
Overall, it appears that …. Therefore, ...
20. My role is to get you thinking about how
to structure each paragraph!
The key to it is to remember P.E.E.L
21. P- POINT
You should start each paragraph
by making your point. This is the
main statement you will discuss
in the paragraph
E.g. One of the reasons why
people may be getting married at
an older age is due to people
staying in education later.
22. E- EXPLAIN
After you have made your point it is crucial
that your explain it. This means that you
go into a bit more depth to explain to the
examiner what you mean. This will take up
the majority of your paragraph.
E.g. More and more people are choosing to
go to university which means that often
men and women don’t finish their education
until their 20s. This may mean that people
are not in the financial situation to be able
to afford a wedding, or may choose to get
settled into career first.
23. E- EVIDENCE
Most students stop after the P.E and fail to
back up their arguments with evidence!
This is really important as it gives weight to
your point and shows sociological knowledge.
It usually involves quoting trends, or using
theory to support your explanation.
E.g. Around 60% of school leavers choose to
attend university today. Most of these
students leave university with considerable
debt from their loan and with the average
wedding costing £12,000, few people are in the
position to afford a wedding in their 20s.
24. L- LINK
The link aspect of PEEL is the same as
the spine in the fish.
It makes sure that your paragraphs
are relevant and are answering the
question!
E.g. When thinking about why people are
getting married later, the cost of a
wedding and the role of continuing
education could be very important
contributing factors.
25. A good paragraph...evaluate what are the strengths and
weaknesses of the argument?
Link –is there a theory that can be linked to the question
and next paragraph.
• POINT: Women's economic status is a key factor in determining their likelihood of
experiencing poverty. Women are still less likely than men to be in paid
employment and are more likely to have lower paid jobs than men.
• EVIDENCE: According to Flaherty (2004), women experience "horizontal" and
"vertical segregation" in the workplace. Horizontal segregation is where women are
paid less than men for doing jobs of a similar status. Vertical segregation happens
where women are blocked by a "glass ceiling" and prevented from reaching higher
paid senior positions within companies.
• EXAMPLE: A common example of vertical segregation occurs in the retail sector
where women in supermarkets are more likely to only achieve supervisor level,
whereas men are more likely to become store manager. Dinner ladies earn
considerably less than Dustmen - a classic example of horizontal segregation where
men are paid more for doing similar status jobs. Women's wages are therefore seen
as less important than the male wage coming into the household (Millar 2003)
• CRITICISM: However, women's economic status is becoming a less important factor
in deciding whether they will experience poverty or not. Increasing independence
for women, the changing nature of work (ie less manual jobs) in post industrial UK
and girls improved educational performance over boys have all helped to reduce the
pay gap (the amount men earn more than women) to 16.4%. Still significant but
reducing year by year.
26. A Good Conclusion-evaluation of the balance of
the argument(what most evidence point to –
always link back to the question
• It can be seen therefore that a woman's family
status is by far the major factor in whether a
woman is likely to experience poverty. This
would support the feminist view that women
are still living in a patriarchal world. Women
are much more likely to be members of low
income households than men (90% of lone
parents are women and 20% of all poor people
are lone parents), and five times more likely
than men to be widowed pensioners on a fixed
state pension. It is these groups that due to
their particular circumstances that are more
likely excluded from the job market and also
face particular costs such as childcare and
heating the home. These factors can in turn
have knock on effects on a woman's economic
status - i.e.. restricting a lone parent to only
part time work and creating a vicious cycle of
poverty. These are therefore far more
important reasons in determining whether
women will experience poverty.
• Reach a decision – what are the key
reasons women experience poverty –
in other words EVALUATE?
• Include new data or study. Link to
THEORY to support your view
• Interpret and analyse the information
– what does it mean?
• Link back to the question – show you
have answered the question
27. Examples of A02
1. Functionalism is often seen as an out of date view and only
examines the nuclear family.
2. A criticism of this view is that feminists argue that the Marxist
view ignores the role of women within the family.
28. Identify A01 and A02:
1. Radical feminists argue that the family is characterised by
patriarchy.
2. Most feminist writers ignore the diversity of family life.
3. Marxist agree with the functionalist approach of studying the
large scale structure of society.
29. Task
Based on the following questions, write 3 A01, 3
A02 and 3AO3 sentences that could be used in an
essay:
1. Evaluate the functionalist view of the society.
30. Over to you...
Now create ONE PEEL paragraph for
the following essay question:
Evaluate the functionalist view of the
society
Swap your paragraph with your partner.
Your task is to now find evidence of
each of the P.E.E.L sections!
(You can colour code or use letters to
indicate them)
31. Task
• Compare your introduction with your neighbours. Write down
three good points about your neighbours introduction. Discuss any
improvements that they could make.
32. To sum up…
• What is A01?
• What is A02?
• What is AO3?
• Examples
