edexcel politics essay questions

Edexcel A-Level Government & Politics Past Papers

This section includes recent A-Level Politics past papers from Pearson Edexcel. You can download each of the Edexcel A-Level Politics past papers and marking schemes by clicking the links below.

Pearson Edexcel A-Level Politics Past Papers June 2022 (9PL0)

A-Level Paper 1: UK Politics and Core Political Ideas (9PL0/01) Download Past Paper      -      Download Mark Scheme

A-Level Paper 2: UK Government nd Non-core Political Ideas (9PL0/02) Download Past Paper      -     Download Mark Scheme

A-Level Paper 3A: Comparative Politics - USA (9PL0/3A) Download Past Paper     -      Download Mark Scheme

A-Level Paper 3B: Comparative Politics - Global Politics (9PL0/3B) Download Past Paper     -      Download Mark Scheme

Pearson Edexcel A-Level Politics Past Papers November 2021 (9PL0)

Pearson Edexcel A-Level Politics Past Papers November 2020 (9PL0)

A-Level Paper 1: UK Politics and Core Political Ideas (9PL0/01) Download Past Paper     -     Download Mark Scheme

A-Level Paper 2: UK Government nd Non-core Political Ideas (9PL0/02) Download Past Paper     -     Download Mark Scheme

A-Level Paper 3A: Comparative Politics - USA (9PL0/3A) Download Past Paper    -     Download Mark Scheme

A-Level Paper 3B: Comparative Politics - Global Politics (9PL0/3B) Download Past Paper    -     Download Mark Scheme

The above papers are labelled June 2020  

Pearson Edexcel AS-Level Politics Past Papers November 2020 (8PL0)

AS Paper 1: UK Politics (8PL0/01) Download Past Paper    -     Download Mark Scheme

AS Paper 2: UK Government (8PL0/02) Download Past Paper    -     Download Mark Scheme

The above papers are labelled June 2020

Pearson Edexcel A-Level Politics Past Papers June 2019 (9PL0)

A-Level Paper 3A: Comparative Politics - USA (9PL0/3A) Download Past Paper     -     Download Mark Scheme

Pearson Edexcel AS-Level Politics Past Papers June 2019 (8PL0)

AS Paper 1: UK Politics (8PL0/01) Download Past Paper     -     Download Mark Scheme

Pearson Edexcel AS-Level Politics Past Papers June 2018 (8PL0)

AS Paper 1: UK Politics (8PL0/01) Download Past Paper     -   Download Mark Scheme

AS Paper 2: UK Government (8PL0/02) Download Past Paper    -   Download Mark Scheme

Edexcel A-Level Government & Politics Past Papers June 2018

Unit 1 (6GP01/01): People & Politics -  Download Past Paper   -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 2 (6GP02/01): Governing the UK -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3A (6GP03/3A): UK Political Issues -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3B (6GP03/3B): Introducing Political Ideologies -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3C (6GP03/3C): Representative Processes in the USA -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3D (6GP03/3D): Structures of Global Politics -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4A (6GP04/4A): EU Political Issues -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4B (6GP04/4B): Other Ideological Traditions -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4C (6GP04/4C): Governing the USA -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4D (6GP04/4D): Global Political Issues -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Edexcel A-Level Government & Politics Past Papers June 2017

Edexcel A-Level Government & Politics Past Papers June 2016

Unit 1 (6GP01/01): People & Politics -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Edexcel A-Level Government & Politics June 2015

Unit 1: People & Politics -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 2: Governing the UK -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3A: UK Political Issues -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3B: Introducing Political Ideologies -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3C: Representative Processes in the USA -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 3D: Structures of Global Politics -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4A: EU Political Issues -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4B: Other Ideological Traditions -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4C: Governing the USA -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Unit 4D: Global Political Issues -  Download Past Paper  -  Download Mark Scheme

Edexcel A-Level Government & Politics June 2014

For more A-Level Government & Politics past papers from other exam boards  click here .

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• Edexcel 8PL0/9PL0 (2017 Specification)

Exam-Style Essays for A Level Edexcel Politics

Put it all into practice! Prepare for exam success by building AO3 evaluation skills.

• Full range of exam-style 30-and 24-markers represented
• Set A: model answers for students to analyse and compare with their own
• Set B: indicative content to self-mark

Great that there are two sets so that different questions can be used at different stages in the learning without using the same question twice L Tilley, Teacher & Expert Reviewer

... with paired 'Set B' reinforcement test that mirrors the first.

• Flexible use example: Analyse the Set A model answer in class, then assign the Set B essay for homework

Using Set B is vital ... at the end of the course a second test is required S Foster, Lecturer & Peer Reviewer

Question-by-question mirroring:

I particularly liked the examination questions and the explanations , also it was useful to have more source questions as these are quite thin on the ground... it provides a wide range of essential contemporary examples L Ashley, HOD & Peer Reviewer

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What do teachers say about this resource (11106, 11107, 11108, 11156, 11157, 11158).

A brilliant resource! ... It is well set out, meaning I am not having to waste loads of paper when I photo-copy quizzes. It is comprehensive, covering all areas of the course. An ideal revision tool ... As we reach the final weeks of the course, I have been setting a quiz to the class regularly at the starts of lessons. It does not take long to complete and I then give them the answer grid so they can self-mark. It is very useful because the students can see where they have got wrong answers and do revision on those areas ... I have seen nothing else like it. I bought the Word version in case there were errors I would need to correct but I have not come across any... It is comprehensive and fully covers the course. The questions are challenging and not too difficult. A great time-saving resource S Pugsley, HoD & Customer

This resource is very high quality and perfect for teaching A Level Politics . It is very suitable for its target audience as it covers the specification well and reaches its target audience... there are a variety of difficulty questions given, meaning teachers could select the most appropriate for their students. There is a good variety of easier, medium and more challenging questions – a good balance of the three has been achieved... AO2 is covered excellently in the Test questions and the Essays cover AO3 ... Definitely suitable and definitely enhance learning. Great that there are two sets so that different questions can be used at different stages in the learning without using the same question twice ... the Test questions would be great for self/peer assessment. This resource will aid teacher’s planning whilst also giving students more independence in their learning L Tilley, Teacher & Expert Reviewer

very good ... an excellent set of resources to help underline learning, understanding and application. It has clearly been written by somebody who is knowledgeable and has been faithful to the Edexcel content ... I like the range of the questions ... an excellent spread across the course and demonstrate the extent of the knowledge that the students need to have in order to achieve the best marks on the paper. The structure of quiz, test, and essay (as with the UK and Ideologies variants) are consistent and if Teachers are purchasing all three variants, this will greatly aid students and Teachers when planning ... I like the fact the students can see the depth of the US topics. It is very important for the students to be able to delve deeply into this topic but at a pace which works for them. The quizzes are a great entry level topic, the tests are a great step-up, and the essays are good for modelling ... a great set of varied activities D Taborda, Politics Teacher & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (11708, 11709, 11710, 11711, 11712, 11713)

Good design, good ideas... Good range of activities - multiple choice, short questions and essay activities. Educational value is that multiple choice questions can be used for summative activities and knowledge checking, including revision. Short answer questions can be used as fillers at the end of lessons to check knowledge. Passage questions can be used for both in class assessment and homework. Multiple choice questions can be used as assessments to reduce teachers marking workload over the year ... Multiple choice questions: I would use both sets ... Summative assessment at the end of teaching a unit. So if I’ve just taught democracy I would use the multiple choice test at the end of the unit, and give students a score. If below a certain score I would ask students to spend some independent study time. In my classes I encourage all students to achieve a B grade – 70%. So I would ask students to spend some time on the area revised if they got less than a B ... If they got less than a D 50% of the answers I would then ask students to take the test again after 2 weeks revision ... Using Set B... is vital . This is because at the end of the course a second test is required. At the end of the course I ask students to go through all of the bullet points on the syllabus, and identify which areas they can do without revision (they know it), which areas they can do after some revision (they half know it) and which areas they need input from me from (they don’t know it and I haven’t taught it well enough to them). Revision is then targeted on those latter 2 areas where the majority of students either don’t know an area, who can only do it with some revision. In those areas that require extra revision, after it has been taught, another test is needed. Therefore I would definitely buy set B as a teacher, as well as set A, in order to fully use this resource ... My college runs on providing assessments to students once every two weeks – so there are about 18 assessments per year. This could be a lot of marking if this was all essays. A strength of the multiple choice questions is that they can be used to provide an assessment grade in a different format, which is of more interest to the students, and help reduce teachers marking workload Short answer questions: I am more likely to use these when teaching the unit itself, dipping into the questions when required. They’re the sort of question that I am likely to use as a filler at the end of the lesson. IE – I’ve got 10-15 spare minutes – I’ll get them to do a 4 mark question to round off and check knowledge on the material in the lesson, get students to come up with their best answers, and then check this with what was included in the document... Passage question: These I would use once a week or once every two weeks. In particular, I have 2 1.5 hours lesson and 1 2 hour lesson. The latter focuses on exam technique – I would use the passage question in this longer lesson where we had the time to write it, and then look at it in more detail. I would also set this as a homework as use for a once in 2 week assessment S Foster, Lecturer & Peer Reviewer

Very impressed ... The ideologies part of Paper 1 can sometimes be quite repetitive in terms of questions but also quite heavy in terms of detail and so these quizzes, tests and essays are a fantastic addition to any lesson and/or home learning. I think this can help newer Teachers of Politics plan and effectively assess their students’ progress ... I really like that the ideologies questions and quizzes are extended beyond the textbooks and ensure that the students are thinking very carefully about the importance of the differences within Conservatism, Liberalism and Socialism as well as the similarities. They are also important to show (in the model essays) how some thinkers don’t simply fit in with one strand of their respective ideology but transcend these ... Simply put, they make a difficult concept easier to understand with the way in which they are written. I also like that the indicative content is written in the style of the exam board answer - this is important for consistency ... This covers the specification very well and covers all of the key points, thinkers (in the essays) and strands within each ideology. It is thorough and extremely carefully written D Taborda, Head of Year & Peer Reviewer

The ZigZag Politics suite of resources keeps getting better . The UK Politics quiz, test and essay pack is comprehensive and certainly gives the impression of being never-ending but in a very positive way! I am really impressed with the level of detail and effort that has gone into making this resource and I do believe that it is perfect for all Teachers of Politics but particularly Teachers who are starting with Politics for the first time ... I love the detail of the quizzes and the fact that they are multiple choice (and that the multiple-choice answers are good, sensible answers which could all potentially apply). I think that the tests are well written and although there are no longer any short-answer questions on the papers, these are great to have as a focus for the students at the start of each lesson and to recap on knowledge. It is always welcome to have some model answer attempts and essay questions to add to the question bank and the model answers could be used as a base to develop on ... a range of differing activities which are meaningful, purposeful, and relevant to the course. The quizzes ... are a great and interactive way to get students thinking about what they have studied and how this applies to prior learning. There is a lot to cover in Paper 1 and these help to break that down to manageable chunks. Sometimes, A Level students need simple tasks to get them into a topic – these are perfect! D Taborda, HOY & Peer Reviewer

I liked the resource. it was clear and easy to follow, with a good mixture of knowledge based questions and essay plans/questions ... The indicative content for the exam content split into the different assessment objectives was particularly helpful and something that I think students will engage well with ... Quick knowledge questions which will be really helpful for revision or as part of starter activities in lessons ... Model answers as this unit does not have an abundance of these available ... the exam practice and essay plans especially will help students understand the thought process behind planning an essay ... easy to follow ... very well thought through and easy to use G Mears, Head of Politics & Peer Reviewer

I like the range of materials, particularly the multiple choice ... Short questions make good fillers to be used as the end of lessons. Long essays can be set for homework ... Closely matches the new specification S Foster, Ideologies Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Well researched, comprehensive and varied ... I particularly liked the multiple choice questions that focus on the full range of topic areas ... a teacher can easily set these as a means of assessing a student's knowledge and understanding of content. This resource provides teachers with feddback about students' misconceptions ... the quizzes could be used either as a starter activity or as a plenary. In addition, now that the A-Level is linear, students in the second year of the course could use these as part of their revision M Phillips, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (11876, 11877, 11878, 11879, 11880, 11881)

I liked this resource. It covers this compulsory part of the course well ... I particularly liked the examination questions and the explanations, also it was useful to have more source questions as these are quite thin on the ground ... it provides a wide range of essential contemporary examples ... it has educational value by repeating questions in a different format,which should reassure more challenged pupils,or those who have missed part of the syllabus... It matches the spec well, following the same order and interprets it faithfully L Ashley, HOD & Peer Reviewer

• A Level Edexcel Politics (9PL0)
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• A Level Politics Topic Tests
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Politics A-Level (Edexcel) Essay Questions - US Politics

Subject: Government and politics

Age range: 16+

Resource type: Assessment and revision

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Edexcel Politics A-Level - US Politics Essay Questions

77+ essay questions covering all the content in the US Politics section, all organised into the chapters - US Constitution and Federalism, Congress, US Presidency, The Supreme Court and Civil Rights, Democracy and Participation, Comparative Approaches

Make essay plans for all these and you’ll be prepared as possible for the US Politics assessment!

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Politics A-Level (Edexcel) Essay Questions

**Edexcel Politics A-Level - UK Politics, UK Government and US Politics Essay Questions** Tons of essay questions covering all the content in the UK Politics, UK Government and US Politics sections, arranged into the chapters designated on the specification. Make essay plans for all these and you’ll be prepared as possible for the Politics assessments!

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Edexcel A Level & AS Level

These resources follow the structure for edexcel a and as level government and politics .there are three units to be studied over two years click the links below to find out more:.

Past Exam Papers  

UNIT 1 :Politics in the UK (Year 12 & 13)

Unit 2 : governing the uk (year 12 & 13), unit 3 : comparative usa (year 13).

OR Unit 3 Global Politics  (Year 13)

Essays, Exams and Advice.  

A website to support students and teachers of A-Level Politics

What are the most likely questions for the 24 Mark Ideologies Question? (Edexcel)

Disclaimer: This post deals with potential examination questions. It is not a definitive list; others could be asked. It is simply designed to help students potentially sense the type of questions that might be asked. However, all questions so far (2019 and 2022) and fitted into the scope of the questions included.

Note: Please also note that this guidance should not be treated in any way as official Pearson Edexcel guidance.

The potential questions for the 24 Mark Ideologies Questions are much more predictable than the 30 Mark Essay and 30 Mark Source Question. This is because questions have to come from the specification and is much less scope for the examiners to find questions for the Ideologies Questions.

There are two types of Ideologies Question you will come across:

• Holistic Question
• Thematic Question

The holistic question is one that simply asks where or not there is more agreement or disagreement within an ideology. These questions will be rare, however, they have been asked before. If the question is holistic, you can answer it using the big four themes:

• Human Nature

The thematic questions will either be based on the big themes (Economy, Society, Human Nature and States) or core principles indicated on the first page of the specification for each ideology.

These questions should themselves be approached thematically, with themes selected which are relevant to the question.

What are the likely questions for Liberalism?

The precise wording of these questions will of course change, but the themes will be useful for gauging likely questions

To what extent do Liberal agree more than they disagree?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Human Nature?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of the Economy?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of the State?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Society?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Individualism?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Freedom?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Liberty?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Rationalism?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Equality?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over issue of the Social Justice?

To what extent do Liberals agree/disagree over the issue of Liberal Democracy?

What are the likely questions for Conservatism?

To what extent do Conservatives agree more than they disagree?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Human Nature?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of the Economy?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of the State?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Society?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Pragmatism?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Tradition?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Human Imperfection?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of the Organic Society?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of the Organic State?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Paternalism?

To what extent do Conservatives agree/disagree over the issue of Libertarianism?

What are the likely questions for Socialism?

To what extent do Socialists agree more than they disagree?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Human Nature?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of the Economy?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of the State?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Society?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Collectivism?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Common Humanity?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Equality?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Social Class?

To what extent do Socialists agree/disagree over the issue of Workers’ Control?

What are the likely questions for Feminism?

To what extent do Feminists agree more than they disagree?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of Human Nature?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of the Economy?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of the State?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of Society?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of Sex and Gender?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of the Patriarchy?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the notion that the ‘personal is political’?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of Equality Feminism?

To what extent do Feminists agree/disagree over the issue of Intersectionality?

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