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AS and A Level: United Kingdom

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527 AS and A Level United Kingdom essays

Marked by Teachers essays 1
Peer Reviewed essays 1

Explain the arguments for and against introducing a codified constitution

3 star(s)

Overall this essay shows evidence of knowledge and understanding. There are some good ideas put forward in this essay but the limited evaluation of the points made hinders the…
- Essay length: 1166 words
- Submitted: 20/03/2011
- Marked by teacher: Jessica Jung 07/04/2012
Outline the problems of the First Past the Post system and consider whether the Alternative Vote would provide a fairer system.

3 star(s)

The student answers the question very well. This is reflected in the essay's structure: they deal with FPTP in one section and AV in the next, but they subdivide both…
- Essay length: 1381 words
- Submitted: 18/03/2012
- Reviewed by: lordharvey 24/04/2012
The fact that the UK does not have a written constitution is no practical significance to the individual. Discuss.
- Essay length: 1349 words
- Submitted: 09/07/2012
Is the Parliament still sovereign in the UK?
- Essay length: 1098 words
- Submitted: 24/06/2012
Has the PM got too much power?
- Essay length: 954 words
- Submitted: 24/06/2012
Analyse the main ways in which the government have sought to raise educational standards in Britain since 1979? (45)
- Essay length: 1192 words
- Submitted: 17/05/2012
The UK government has failed to meet the challenge of climate change Discuss
- Essay length: 1362 words
- Submitted: 17/05/2012
Is the coalition government the greenest party ever?
- Essay length: 1054 words
- Submitted: 17/05/2012
The Increased Power of the Prime Minister
- Essay length: 893 words
- Submitted: 03/05/2012
William Hague's Reforms of the Conservative Party
- Essay length: 944 words
- Submitted: 03/05/2012

How to become a successful politics student

1 Enjoy the subject – Politics is all around you so make sure you watch the news, read newspapers and look online at what is happening in the world. Sign up for updates from news organisations.
2 Read around the subject – There are lots of political books that will help you to gain a wider perspective of the subject, these range from autobiographies of past Prime Ministers to how varying British parties have developed.
3 Watch TV – There are lots of politics programmes which will help up to understand how politics works in reality and help to gain your own examples.
4 Make sure you know enough for the exam – Remember you will always need to know and be able to understand more than the limitations of any specification.
5 Use political vocabulary correctly – Try explaining new words and concepts to friends and family so that you get used to the using the new language.

Five things to remember when answering essay style questions

1 Make sure you focus on the question being asked. It is tempting to include everything you know in an answer but the test is what you select in relation to the question.
2 Ensure you understand what is meant by the ‘command word’ – Every question contains a specific command such as ‘Distinguish between...’, ‘To what extent...?’, ‘How effectively...?’, ‘Discuss’.
Learn what is expected for each command word.
3 Make sure you have planned your answer so that you have a clear structure. You need to define three or four areas to be dealt with systematically. Remember that each point or area or discussion should be easy to identify.
4 Provide relevant evidence to illustrate points being made – Students often struggle to get the right balance between theory and evidence, either making their answers over theoretical or just writing one example after another. You must remember to use the evidence to support claims you making.
5 Make sure you have explored different viewpoints, theories and concepts as this will help to make sure that your answer is balanced. Do not allow your answer to be subjective.

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Conclusion analysis

Good conclusions usually refer back to the question or title and address it directly - for example by using key words from the title.
How well do you think these conclusions address the title or question? Answering these questions should help you find out.

Do they use key words from the title or question?

Do they answer the question directly?

Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

Extent to which leadership effected the 2001 federal election outcome.

"In conclusion, leadership was a very important factor in determining the outcome of the election. However, the two events outside the control of either of the candidates, those of the Tampa crisis and September 11, were used as a vehicle by the Liberal party to show John Howard's capabilities as a leader. These events allowed Mr. Howard to shine; in times of crisis the party with the advantage of incumbency become very popular, and a change of Government is undesirable. Beazley was on a sure path to success, but Tampa and September 11 rendered a Labor victory all but impossible. It was clear from pre-election polls that after these events Labor's substantial popularity was completely reversed in favour of the coalition. Each party's campaigns also showed the value placed on leadership, this being the most substantial issue dealt with in television advertising."

To what extent has the Prime Minister become Presidential?

"In conclusion, the Prime Minister may sometimes appear to be distancing himself from Parliament but unlike the President he is constantly answerable and remains accountable to Cabinet. On the other hand, many powers of our Prime Minister are less restrained than those of a President such as patronage, the support of a strong party system and the ability to exercise a large number of prerogative powers. These powers are largely flexible due to the lack of a legal framework defining the office (influenced by the fact Britain has no codified constitution). The Prime Minister has certainly appeared to become increasingly presidential and we are moving away from Cabinet government and toward Prime Ministerial government; however I disagree that it is conforming to the American model. Blair is continuing a recent trend of particularly dominant Prime Ministers, for example Wilson and Thatcher. By taking full advantage of Labour's huge parliamentary majority and continued popularity, he appears to be pushing the Office to its limits, further enhancing the control of the Prime Minister over policy making."

Discuss the view that today Parliamentary Sovereignty exists more in theory than in practice.

"It is therefore my conclusion that I am in agreement with the statement that "Parliamentary sovereignty exists more today in theory than in practice". There are too many limiting factors against the view which is supporting that Parliament is wholly autonomous and sovereign of any higher authority; the EU being a glaringly obvious example of a supranational state which has become deeply federalised and, in more cases than not, ruled against the UK's own decisions in individual circumstances. Another instance which has highlighted the flaws of the conventionalisation of the legislature is the Human Rights Act (1998). Sadly, it binds the future actions of any successor government to itself. It should be held that any future parliament can be permitted (and hold the supreme right) to debate and execute the re-introduction of corporal punishment, for instance, but the HRA effectively prohibits that, as the EU's implementation of the HRA also will supersede any vacancy left by the repealing of the Act; a damning indictment against the position upon which the UK has suddenly found itself."

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AS and A Level: United Kingdom

527 AS and A Level United Kingdom essays

Explain the arguments for and against introducing a codified constitution

Outline the problems of the First Past the Post system and consider whether the Alternative Vote would provide a fairer system.

The fact that the UK does not have a written constitution is no practical significance to the individual. Discuss.

Is the Parliament still sovereign in the UK?

Has the PM got too much power?

Analyse the main ways in which the government have sought to raise educational standards in Britain since 1979? (45)

The UK government has failed to meet the challenge of climate change Discuss

Is the coalition government the greenest party ever?

The Increased Power of the Prime Minister

William Hague's Reforms of the Conservative Party