AQA GCSE Sociology guide FAQ (8192)
Guide overview All 6 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
AQA GCSE Sociology: questions and answers
Specification 8192. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 is Families and Education. Paper 2 is Crime and Deviance and Social Stratification. The Sociological Approach and Research Methods are examined on both. The breakdown is here.
Do I have to name sociologists?
Yes, and it is the most common place marks are lost. The specification names the sociologists and studies you are assessed on, and an idea attributed to nobody is worth less than the same idea attributed correctly.
How much research methods is there?
It is examined on both papers and applied to every topic, so it is 106 questions in the guide: experiments, surveys, interviews, observation, sampling, reliability and validity, ethics, and the practical constraints on real research.
Is there maths in it?
Some. Reading and interpreting tables, graphs and percentages from sociological data, which the papers set on unfamiliar sources.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Topics run from 62 to 133 questions.
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. This guide handles recall. Past papers train the twelve-mark extended answers and the source questions. AQA publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 578 exam-style questions covering the whole of AQA GCSE Sociology, with the answers printed after each topic.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. AQA GCSE Sociology is 8192.
My child writes fluently but the grades do not reflect it.
Sociology is marked on named sociologists, named studies and applied concepts rather than on fluency. A student who cannot attribute a point writes around it, which reads well and scores less.
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. A GCSE Sociology revision guide is usually £6 to £10.
How much time does it take?
32 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 11 hours for a full first pass of the course.
What else does my child need?
Past papers, free from AQA, and their own notes for anything not yet taught.
AQA GCSE Sociology Active Recall Guide
578 questions with their answers, 32 subtopics, one file.