Politics

Humanities Department

The course contributes to candidates’ understanding of society by helping them to develop an understanding of political theory, political systems in the UK/USA, and factors affecting the electoral performance of political parties. Candidates develop a critical awareness of the nature of politics and the relationship between political theories, systems and parties.

At Lanark Grammar, we teach Politics at Higher.

Assessment

Assignment

The Higher Course Assignment (30 marks - 27% of final grade)
1 hour 30 minutes write up, under exam conditions based on a topic of the pupil’s choice.

This is a topic chosen by the pupil and is an extended essay format.

Exam

Paper 1: Essay-based paper which lasts 1 hour 45 min (52 marks). In Paper 1 candidates need to complete two 20-mark questions and a 12-mark question from options provided.

Paper 2: Skills-based paper lasting 1 hour 15 minutes (28 marks). In Paper 2 candidates need to complete two information handling skills-based questions, one worth 8 marks comparing two sources and the other worth 20 marks based on handling electoral data.

Ideal Candidate

Has experience of Modern Studies at National 5 or Higher Level.
Has an interest in political affairs and how the country is run.
Has achieved well in English.

What you will learn

The course consists of three areas of study:

Political theory - we compare direct and representative democracy as well as examining the political theories of conservatism and socialism.

Political systems - we compare the political systems in the UK and USA in terms of the constitution and the legislature.

Political parties and elections - we look at the factors that make people vote the way they do as well as evaluating how political parties conduct an election campaign.

Candidates will also develop skills in: