GCE A/L Political Science study plan

Define and contrast at least 20 core concepts (power, authority, legitimacy, sovereignty, liberty, equality, justice, rights) in your own words with one example each.

Map the main traditions of political thought (classical, liberal, Marxist, conservative, feminist, post-colonial) onto a one-page comparison table by key claim, key thinker, and key critique.

Explain the social contract tradition and its critics in a 300-word written answer, citing at least three thinkers and one counter-argument.

Distinguish descriptive, normative, and empirical claims in five sample exam prompts to sharpen question interpretation.

Trace how constitutionalism, rule of law, and separation of powers are theorised and then embodied in at least two real constitutions.

Compare written versus unwritten, rigid versus flexible, and unitary versus federal constitutional designs using a matrix of six criteria.

Analyse the doctrine of basic structure or equivalent limits on amendment power with reference to at least two jurisdictions.

Draft short answers on judicial review, constitutional supremacy, and parliamentary sovereignty, each under 200 words.

Diagram the structure and powers of the executive, legislature, and judiciary in presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential systems.

Explain electoral systems (first-past-the-post, proportional representation, mixed, preferential) and predict their effects on party systems.

Outline federalism, devolution, and decentralisation with one case study each, noting fiscal arrangements.

Summarise the role of constitutional courts, ombudsmen, and independent commissions in constraining power.

Model the policy cycle from agenda-setting to evaluation and identify two real policies at each stage.

Explain party systems, interest groups, social movements, and media effects on political participation and voting behaviour.

Assess theories of the state (pluralist, elite, corporatist, Marxist) against empirical examples of decision-making.

Evaluate accountability mechanisms: question time, committees, audits, elections, and judicial review.

Define realism, liberalism, constructivism, and critical approaches, and apply each to one contemporary conflict or cooperation case.

Explain levels of analysis (individual, state, system) and use them to structure a single case study.

Summarise the UN system, collective security, peacekeeping, and the main debates on humanitarian intervention.

Map instruments of foreign policy (diplomacy, sanctions, aid, alliances, deterrence) and evaluate when each is effective.

Compare three political systems on executive-legislative relations, party competition, and judicial power using the same criteria.

Explain regional integration and its theoretical explanations (functionalist, intergovernmentalist, federalist) with one bloc as evidence.

Assess how colonial legacies and state formation shape contemporary institutions in at least two post-colonial states.

Practise comparative method: identify selection bias and control variables in two sample comparative questions.

Explain competing development paradigms (modernisation, dependency, neoliberal, developmental state, capability approach) and their policy implications.

Analyse the politics of public budgeting, taxation, debt, and structural adjustment with one country illustration.

Describe public administration models (Weberian bureaucracy, new public management, governance networks) and their accountability trade-offs.

Apply a policy evaluation framework to one real programme, stating criteria, evidence, and limitations.

Brief five current political developments, each with actors, institutions, stakes, and at least two competing interpretations.

Revisit the concept glossary and correct every weak or outdated definition flagged in earlier mocks.

Complete two full timed mock papers and reduce repeated error types to a written shortlist.

Rehearse structured essay plans for ten likely questions in under eight minutes each.