AS Sociology₇₁₉₁

Find past papers and mark schemes, and specimen papers for new courses, on our website at aqa.org.uk/pastpapers

This specification is designed to be taken over one or two years with all assessments taken at the end of the course.

AS exams and certification for this specification are available for the first time in May/June 2016 and then every May/June for the life of the specification.

This is a linear qualification. In order to achieve the award, students must complete all exams in May/June in a single year. All assessments must be taken in the same series.

As set out in the Specification at a glance and Subject content sections, students must provide extended responses that draw upon the Integral elements and Core themes as threads throughout all written assessments for Sociology. Students are expected to draw links between these threads and subject content, and also between elements of subject content, in order to demonstrate the skills of application, analysis and evaluation.

All materials are available in English only.

4.1 Aims and assessment objectives

The study of Sociology must focus on contemporary society and foster the development of critical and reflective thinking with a respect for social diversity. It must provide an awareness of the importance of social structure and social action in explaining social issues. Students must be encouraged to develop their own sociological awareness through active engagement with the contemporary social world.

This specification has been designed with the clear objective of addressing the requirements above and will encourage students to:

• acquire knowledge and a critical understanding of contemporary social processes and social changes
• appreciate the significance of theoretical and conceptual issues in sociological debate
• understand and evaluate sociological methodology and a range of research methods through active involvement in the research process
• develop skills that enable individuals to focus on their personal identity, roles and responsibilities within society
• develop a lifelong interest in social issues.

4.2 Assessment objectives

Assessment objectives (AOs) are set by Ofqual and are the same across all AS Sociology specifications and all exam boards.

The exams will measure how students have achieved the following assessment objectives.

• AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
  • sociological theories, concepts and evidence
  • sociological research methods
• AO2: Apply sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods to a range of issues
• AO3: Analyse and evaluate sociological theories, concepts, evidence and research methods in order to:
  • present arguments
  • make judgements
  • draw conclusions.

Weighting of assessment objectives for AS Sociology

4.3 Assessment weightings

The marks awarded on the papers will be scaled to meet the weighting of the components. Students’ final marks will be calculated by adding together the scaled marks for each component. Grade boundaries will be set using this total scaled mark. The scaling and total scaled marks are shown in the table below.