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AS and A Level: Sociological Differentiation & Stratification

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572 AS and A Level Sociological Differentiation & Stratification essays

  • Marked by Teachers essays 5
  • Peer Reviewed essays 5
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  1. Marked by a teacher

    Assess the usefulness of feminist contributions to our understanding of society today

    4 star(s)

    This is a very detailed essay with lots of really good explanations on the variety of different Feminisms. At times the paragraphs feel a little list like rather than all…

    • Essay length: 1502 words
    • Submitted: 12/04/2012
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Matthew Wilkin 04/12/1999
  2. Marked by a teacher

    Examine the weakness of different types of documents used in a sociological research. Examine why positivist prefer quantitative data whilst interpretivists prefer qualitative data.

    4 star(s)

    This is a good answer showing a strong understanding of the methodological issues in both question one and two. The candidate should try to use more named examples to give…

    • Essay length: 865 words
    • Submitted: 16/02/2012
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Lesley Clark 27/02/2012
  3. Marked by a teacher

    'Assess sociological explanations of changes to the class structure

    4 star(s)

    This is a tricky essay as it asks you to outline the changes to the class structure, and then explain them, and then assess each explanation. The last of these…

    • Essay length: 1407 words
    • Submitted: 17/02/2011
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Lesley Clark 27/02/2012
  4. Marked by a teacher

    secondary sources of data

    4 star(s)

    Overall this is a good essay that covers reliability, representation and validity and some good key studies. There is both advantages and disadvantages but a little more on the advantage…

    • Essay length: 993 words
    • Submitted: 19/05/2009
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Matthew Wilkin 09/04/2013
  5. Marked by a teacher

    Outline and asses sociological explanations for workplace inequalities between men and women

    4 star(s)

    This essay shows excellent understanding of Durkheim and Merton, and the Functionalist perspective generally. The grade could be improved by using other theoretical perspectives to evaluate - such as Interpretivism…

    • Essay length: 1553 words
    • Submitted: 11/06/2008
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Lesley Clark 27/02/2012
  6. Peer reviewed

    Produce an essay identifying the different sociological approaches to secularisation with reference to Marxism, Webber and Durkheim.

    4 star(s)

    I have always been told that this is not the best way to do an introduction. At A Level the examiners don’t really like candidates to use the words “I”…

    • Essay length: 1909 words
    • Submitted: 18/04/2012
    • Reviewed by: (?) 14/09/2012
  7. Peer reviewed

    Evaluate Sociological Explanations of the Relationship between Religion & Social Change

    4 star(s)

    The writer definitely answers the specific question asked, as they explain how religion can be viewed as both a conservative force and as a radical force for social change. By…

    • Essay length: 1029 words
    • Submitted: 11/08/2009
    • Reviewed by: (?) cwhite 23/03/2012
  8. Peer reviewed

    Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of religion to social change (18 marks)

    3 star(s)

    The introduction is on the whole pretty good: it’s concise and gives a real indication that the writer will be answering the specific question set. However it could be improved…

    • Essay length: 1338 words
    • Submitted: 16/04/2012
    • Reviewed by: (?) cwhite 14/09/2012
  9. Peer reviewed

    Assess the functionalist view that religion benefits both society as a whole and its individual members.

    3 star(s)

    The writer demonstrates that they have a lot of sociological knowledge in the introduction – this is because they concisely state how religion is seen by Functionalists as both beneficial…

    • Essay length: 823 words
    • Submitted: 01/03/2011
    • Reviewed by: (?) cwhite 13/09/2012
  10. Peer reviewed

    Evaluate the Contribution Marxists Have made in Understanding the Role religion plays in Society

    3 star(s)

    The writer answers the specific question asked, as they explain how religion is viewed by Marxists as a conservative force – a tool for the upper class to institutionally control…

    • Essay length: 1066 words
    • Submitted: 11/08/2009
    • Reviewed by: (?) cwhite 23/04/2012
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UK trends - gender

  1. 1 Men tend to outperform women in terms of income, wealth, promotion at work; they are more likely to have full time and /or permanent contracts.
  2. 2 In the home men do less housework than women and are much less likely to suffer domestic violence than women. Men are more likely to have control of finances and power in decision making in the family.
  3. 3 Women have better life chances in terms of life expectancy, preferential treatment by courts when awarding custody of children, some evidence of greater leniency in sentencing, more time off paid work with their children, lower suicide rates and are doing better in schools.

Key UK trends - social class

  1. 1 At work, those in the working class are more likely to have a below average paid job, a temporary contract and work part time.
  2. 2 In terms of policing and the criminal justice system, the working class are more likely to be stopped and searched by the police and to be arrested.
  3. 3 In the family people from working class backgrounds are more likely to marry younger and to get divorced.
  4. 4 In terms of health the working class are more likely, more likely to smoke, to miscarry their baby, to die of an accident at work and to die before their first birthday.
  5. 5 In education the working class are more likely to be placed in lower streams or sets at school, to leave school with fewer educational qualifications, and much less likely than the middle class to go to university.

Key UK trends - ethnicity

  1. 1 African Caribbean Britons are at high risk of being stopped and searched, getting longer custodial sentences, being excluded from school, being unemployed, living in a single parent family and achieving the lowest average GCSE scores.
  2. 2 British Bangladeshis and Pakistanis have the highest rates of poverty, living in cramped housing and female unemployment.
  3. 3 British Indians and British Chinese have higher than average educational success rates.
  4. 4 White Britons have better life chances than ethnic minorities in nearly all areas, with the exception of the British Indians and British Chinese.
  5. 5 There are significant differences WITHIN ethnic groups, so men and women, people from different social classes and ages have significantly different life chances.

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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.

  1. Do they use key words from the title or question?
  2. Do they answer the question directly?
  3. Can you work out the question or title just by reading the conclusion?

  • Assess the extent to which religion produces social change. Many sociologists such as functionalists and Marxists would argue that religion doesnt affect social change and is a conservative force.

    "In conclusion, many sociologists such as functionalists and Marxists would argue that religion doesn't affect social change and is a conservative force. Functionalists would say religious does this by keeping social solidarity in tact which prevents people needing a change; they also describe people of having a value consensus which is the shared beliefs in society which prevent social change. Marxists would argue that religion is ideological apparatus which distracts the working class from oppression and distracts people from seeing a need for social change. However internationalists would disagree as they see religion as causing radical changes such as the Calvinists being a major factor of the industrial revolution due to their similar ethics. Other sociologists would also argue that religion causes social change such as Neo-Marxist Gramsci, who claims religion is a relative autonomy and allows change to take place."

  • Identify & Discuss The Factors Which Will Influence A Researchers Choice Of Methods

    "In conclusion, there are many different viewpoints on how researchers should choose their methods when studying a topic. While both sides have their pro's and cons, either way can be used. Some circumstances call for one type of view to be used, for example Positivists, while another may need an Interpretivist viewpoint. Maybe a combination of the both can allow better results (triangulation)."

  • Discuss the view that conjugal roles are becoming joint in families.

    "In conclusion time provides the evidence in the last century that there has been a change in the conjugal roles meaning that they have become more equal which could be argued that this is due to the fact that more women are now in paid employment this has made a significant contribution to the way in which women are now portrayed as. They are seen to have a more equal status to men which has changed their position in the family. However this is debate is a complex one and it can also be argued that the equality of these conjugal roles depends a lot on age, class and ethnicity. Paman Sidhu"

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