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How to approach essays on political ideology
1. Getting your head around the Political Ideologies units for A2 Edexcel
For many students, studying Edexcel’s A2 Political Ideologies units can be a daunting prospect. While
success in AS can be achieved through memorising facts and figures, the ideologies modules involve far
more abstract, conceptual thinking. This is a challenging step for many, but once you’ve got your head
around the topics this is an eminently rewarding course to take. It helps students understand the ideas
lying behind all political systems, and provides ample opportunity for heated intellectual debate.
When approaching a new ideology, such as conservatism, socialism or anarchism, the most important thing
to do from the outset is to consider what adherents of that ideology think about human nature. This is a
great starting point since someone’s believe in human nature determines the rest of their political outlook,
such as their views on the state, the economy and society.
Here’s what the four ideologies you will study in unit 3B think about human nature:
1. Liberalism: humans ultimately seek liberty.
2. Conservatism: humans ultimately seek security
3. Socialism: humans ultimately seek community
4. Anarchism: humans ultimately seek liberty (for individualist anarchists, the liberty that comes from a state-
free, market-led world; for collectivist anarchists, the liberty that comes from a state-free, community-led
world).
Once you have considered what an ideology thinks about human nature, move on to think about the other
‘core themes’ which form the basis of that ideology. For this I recommend using Political Ideologies: An
Introduction, by Andrew Heywood, published by Palgrave Macmillan. It lays out the core themes of each
ideology in a clear, straightforward manner. For example, the core themes of conservatism are:
- Tradition
- Human imperfection
- Organic society
- Hierarchy & authority
- Property
A very common 15 mark question in the exam takes the form of:
Why does [insert ideology] believe in [insert core theme]?
To prepare for these questions, ensure that you have roughly three distinct reasons for why each ideology
believes in each of its core themes, supplemented with key thinkers and real world examples.
Once you are ok with the core themes, move on to think about the different branches and sub-branches of
the ideology. Every ideology will have various branches and sub-branches, and it is in identifying the
degree of similarity and difference between these that students pick up marks for what the exam board
calls ‘synopticity’. A typical exam question which requires you to consider the different branches of an
ideology is:
To what extent do anarchists disagree on the nature of a future stateless society? (January 2012)
For this question, you would need to distinguish between the main branches of anarchism: collectivist
anarchism and individualist anarchism. However, only the most basic essays would leave it at this. To get
top marks you need to go further and distinguish between the sub-branches of anarchism. We can split
collectivist anarchists into mutualists, anarcho-syndicalists and anarcho-communists. Individualist
anarchists can be considered in terms of their egoist, libertarian and anarcho-capitalist factions. The best
candidates will discuss all of these in the essay, and will consider the levels of agreement and
disagreement between them in a nuanced, sophisticated fashion.
There are a finite number of essay question types that the exam board will ask. Therefore, by making
detailed plans for each of the common essay questions (whilst of course remaining flexible enough to
2. answer the specific question set!) students can be confident when they go into the exam that they will be
ready for whatever they are presented with.
To summarise:
- Start by learning about what the ideology thinks about human nature
- Move on and consider the core themes
- Get a clear idea of the similarities and differences between all the branches and sub-branches.
Studying political ideologies at A-level can certainly be challenging, but for those who are willing to work at
it the benefits are more than worth the effort.
Good luck!
![Getting your head around the Political Ideologies units for A2 Edexcel
For many students, studying Edexcel’s A2 Political Ideologies units can be a daunting prospect. While
success in AS can be achieved through memorising facts and figures, the ideologies modules involve far
more abstract, conceptual thinking. This is a challenging step for many, but once you’ve got your head
around the topics this is an eminently rewarding course to take. It helps students understand the ideas
lying behind all political systems, and provides ample opportunity for heated intellectual debate.
When approaching a new ideology, such as conservatism, socialism or anarchism, the most important thing
to do from the outset is to consider what adherents of that ideology think about human nature. This is a
great starting point since someone’s believe in human nature determines the rest of their political outlook,
such as their views on the state, the economy and society.
Here’s what the four ideologies you will study in unit 3B think about human nature:
1. Liberalism: humans ultimately seek liberty.
2. Conservatism: humans ultimately seek security
3. Socialism: humans ultimately seek community
4. Anarchism: humans ultimately seek liberty (for individualist anarchists, the liberty that comes from a state-
free, market-led world; for collectivist anarchists, the liberty that comes from a state-free, community-led
world).
Once you have considered what an ideology thinks about human nature, move on to think about the other
‘core themes’ which form the basis of that ideology. For this I recommend using Political Ideologies: An
Introduction, by Andrew Heywood, published by Palgrave Macmillan. It lays out the core themes of each
ideology in a clear, straightforward manner. For example, the core themes of conservatism are:
- Tradition
- Human imperfection
- Organic society
- Hierarchy & authority
- Property
A very common 15 mark question in the exam takes the form of:
Why does [insert ideology] believe in [insert core theme]?
To prepare for these questions, ensure that you have roughly three distinct reasons for why each ideology
believes in each of its core themes, supplemented with key thinkers and real world examples.
Once you are ok with the core themes, move on to think about the different branches and sub-branches of
the ideology. Every ideology will have various branches and sub-branches, and it is in identifying the
degree of similarity and difference between these that students pick up marks for what the exam board
calls ‘synopticity’. A typical exam question which requires you to consider the different branches of an
ideology is:
To what extent do anarchists disagree on the nature of a future stateless society? (January 2012)
For this question, you would need to distinguish between the main branches of anarchism: collectivist
anarchism and individualist anarchism. However, only the most basic essays would leave it at this. To get
top marks you need to go further and distinguish between the sub-branches of anarchism. We can split
collectivist anarchists into mutualists, anarcho-syndicalists and anarcho-communists. Individualist
anarchists can be considered in terms of their egoist, libertarian and anarcho-capitalist factions. The best
candidates will discuss all of these in the essay, and will consider the levels of agreement and
disagreement between them in a nuanced, sophisticated fashion.
There are a finite number of essay question types that the exam board will ask. Therefore, by making
detailed plans for each of the common essay questions (whilst of course remaining flexible enough to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/gettingyourheadaroundthepoliticalideologiesunitsfora2edexcel-161130072016/85/How-to-approach-essays-on-political-ideology-1-320.jpg)
