AQA A-Level Sociology guide FAQ (7192)
Guide overview All 12 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
AQA A-Level Sociology: questions and answers
Specification 7192. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
I only do two of the Paper 2 options. Is the rest wasted?
No. Paper 2 is two topics, one from each of two blocks of four. All eight are in the guide because schools choose differently.
Work your two and skip the other six. Each is a separate page.
Which parts are compulsory?
Education and Methods in Context on Paper 1, Crime and Deviance on Paper 3, and Theory and Methods on both. Only Paper 2 is optional.
What is Methods in Context actually asking?
It applies a research method to the study of education specifically, so it needs both the method and the educational context. It is a small topic, 28 questions, and it is where students who revised methods and education separately come unstuck.
Do I have to name sociologists?
Yes, and it is where most marks are lost. A theory described without its name and a study cited without its finding are both credited below an attributed version.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Crime and Deviance is 239 questions, so work by subtopic.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. Sociology marks turn on the exact concept and the exact attribution. The method page sets out the evidence.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. The method puts the theorists and studies into memory. Past papers train the twenty and thirty mark essays and the item-based questions. AQA publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 1,116 exam-style questions covering the whole of AQA A-Level Sociology including all eight options, with the answers printed after each topic.
My child only studies some of the topics.
That is correct. Paper 2 is two topics chosen from eight by the school. All eight are in the guide because schools choose differently.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. AQA A-Level Sociology is 7192.
My child writes fluently but the grades do not reflect it.
Sociology essays are marked on named theorists, named studies and applied concepts rather than on fluency.
How do I know if it is being used properly?
There should be handwritten answers on paper and three passes over the same questions, and two scores per session to compare.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£7.00 for the whole specification including all eight options. An endorsed A-Level Sociology textbook is usually £30 to £40.
How much time does the whole course take?
89 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 30 hours for everything, and closer to 22 once the six unused options are skipped.
AQA A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide
1,116 questions with their answers, 89 subtopics, one file.