higher politics essay plans

How to Structure Your A Level Politics Essay

Are you struggling to write your next politics essay? Hundreds of thousands of students take their A-levels each year, all of them aim to get the best possible grade. But how do you get started getting the best Politics A-level grade you can? Read on for our guide to structure the perfect A Level politics essay, useful for both AQA and Edexcel boards.

Understand the Politics Essay Question

First, you need to understand your essay question to formulate a proper response to it. Read the question very carefully, and don’t make assumptions about what you’re reading. It’s easy to answer the question that isn’t in front of you. Circle any keywords that appear in the question, and make sure you understand the command word (such as evaluate, analyse or to what extent).

Get Planning

Be sure to start your politics essay by making a plan. This involves gathering your thoughts about what could ‘support’ or ‘oppose’ the argument. You should also plan what case studies you need to bring in, alongside planning which side of the argument you sit on. There are up to 33% of marks available for your conclusions and which side of the essay you are on, so make sure to include this!

You can also look at past papers  to help you get an idea of what you should aim for when writing your own essay. A Level Politics past papers are a very useful resource as they allow you to see what the structure of the exam is, and the style of questions you could be asked.

Start Your Layout

The general layout of your politics essay should be as followed:

• Introduction: give definitions, the general outline of your argument, and the side you support.
• Point (AO1)
• Evidence (AO1/AO2)
• Explain (AO2)
• Conclusion: bring the argument back around and firmly state your opinion on the debate.

You’ll need at least two paragraphs to argue one side of the question you’re evaluating and at least two paragraphs to argue the other side of the question. Each separate point in your essay should be its own paragraph to ensure it’s readable and clearly understood, with relevant examples/evidence and detailed explanations. Each paragraph should finish by linking back to the question in order to give strong and substantiated judgement.

And, when you’re writing a politics essay, follow the directions down to the letter. If the question has a source included, make sure you use it to form the basis of your arguments. The “rubric” on the question will include guidance such as referring to specific points or using a source.

When you use a source to support an argument, make sure you explain why the fact that this source supports you matters — why a source is authoritative, in other words.

If you’re having trouble, start by laying out your answer in a table so that you can see exactly what you need to get done over the course of your answer to support your argument. And, that way, you’ll avoid missing anything important while you write your essay.

Master the Assessment Objectives

There are three Assessment Objectives (AOs) for your A Level Politics essays:

• AO1: knowledge & understanding
• AO2: analysis
• Ao3: conclusions & evaluation

It’s important to note that a large proportion of your marks come from assessment objectives other than knowledge. This means that you need to be able to analyse and evaluate your points rather than memorise facts. It’s therefore critical to practice your exam technique to maximise your marks in these assessment objectives.

Start Your Politics Essay Today

What are you waiting for? Begin writing your A-level politics essay, and with this formatting guide, you’ll be sure to get top grades.

By becoming a member , you can get access to a range of model essays. This will allow you to see what an A* politics essay looks like.

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• Past papers
• National Qualifications  >  Subjects  >  Politics  >  Higher  > Higher Politics

Higher Politics

Alternative certification model.

The alternative certification model is how National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses will be resulted this year, following the cancellation of the 2021 exams. It involves five different stages.

View the alternative certification model and see what will happen at each stage.

Essential Information

Course specification.

Explains the structure of the course, including its purpose and aims and information on the skills, knowledge and understanding that will be developed.

• Higher Politics course specification June 2020

Past Papers and Marking Instructions

Access all past papers by subject/level

Additional question papers resources

Illustrates the standard, structure and requirements of the question papers candidates will sit (includes marking instructions).

• Higher Politics Specimen Question Paper 1 July 2019
• Higher Politics Specimen Question Paper 2   August 2024
• Higher Politics Question Paper 1 (192 KB)
• Higher Politics Question Paper 2 (339 KB)
• Higher Politics Paper 1 Marking Instructions (370 KB)
• Higher Politics Paper 2 Marking Instructions (184 KB)

This section provides information on marking instructions and/or the coursework assessment task(s). It includes information that centres need to administer coursework and must be read in conjunction with the course specification.

• Coursework assessment task for Higher Politics August 2019
• Resource Sheet for Higher Politics July 2018
• Guidance on conditions of assessment

Information on the production and submission of SQA-assessed coursework for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher.

• Coursework for External Assessment (261 KB)

Understanding Standards ( 27/11/2023 )

• Examples of candidate evidence with commentaries

Further examples of candidate evidence and commentaries can be found on SQA's secure website and you can access these through your SQA co-ordinator.

Audio Presentation

• Overview - Presentation 1 (30.32 MB)
• Overview - Presentation 2 - Question Paper 1 (51.92 MB)
• Overview - Presentation 3 - Question Paper 2 (70.13 MB)
• Overview of course assessment (10 minutes) (14.60 MB)

Changes to Understanding Standards materials

• Changes to published Understanding Standards materials for all subjects

Please note: Understanding Standards material are regularly reviewed to ensure they remain up to date.

Additional Resources session 2020-22

Further information can be found on the Understanding Standards Website.

Course reports ( 14/09/2023 )

Provides information on the performance of candidates - which is useful to teachers, lecturers and assessors in their preparation of candidates for future assessment.

Course Reports

• 2023 Higher Politics Course Report September 2023
• 2022 Higher Politics Course Report September 2022
• 2019 Higher Politics Course Report   September 2019
• Politics: Quality Assurance - external verification

Verification Reports

• Politics Qualification Verification Summary Report   June 2023

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Tips for writing Politics essays

15 February 2023 by Kitty

Hiya! I’m Kitty, and I study Politics with International Relations at the University of York! In my blog post, I share the methods I’ve developed to write a good Politics essay. Academic writing is very different to anything I had done before, and it took me a while to understand how to go about developing the correct skills.

Expectations vs reality

When I started university, I felt confident that I’d have no issues with writing essays, as it was something I was well practised in thanks to my A levels. When I received feedback suggesting that my approach to academic essays and writing wasn’t quite right, I felt my confidence waver and I was unsure how to adapt my skills. Through a bit of trial and error, I have developed an approach to essays which has drastically improved my confidence and skill.

Essay preparation

Throughout first year, I noticed that my skills improved as I read more academic articles. These exposed me to academic writing, and just through reading them for seminar work, I noticed that I was becoming more accustomed to the style. When I first started writing essays, I found looking back at articles an easy way to remind myself of the style and format.

I also started putting more effort into the formative assessments, as this is the main opportunity to receive feedback on your essay style. If the feedback is ever unclear or leaves me with questions, I make sure to go to the tutor’s feedback and guidance hours. I often find verbal discussions more useful than written feedback, so I try to make a note of any important information. This way, I am able to remind myself of what was said while I’m writing the essay.

Do some wider reading

When I plan an essay, I like to start by reading some of the key resources on the topic to ensure that I have a good understanding of the central debates. I usually look through the reading list on the VLE, as this tends to have the most relevant resources. As I’m reading these, I will make a note of the resources they reference, as this is another quick way to find the relevant texts. While reading, I make notes of any nuggets of information or quotes that I think could be useful to include in my essay. I always try to note the page numbers as I go, to save myself from having to search through again later.

Give your essay some structure

Once I feel that I have read enough resources to give me a good overview of the topic, I think of how I want to structure my essay, using the existing literature to develop my own argument. I start by creating a rough structure of the essay using bullet points and brief notes of what will be said where. I then start to expand the bullet points by adding in references to resources and my own opinion. Slowly the bullet points transform into sentences, paragraphs, sections, and eventually an essay.

Often, I find that I need to adapt the essay as I write, and I always try to leave enough time to have a few days break from it. This allows me to re-read the essay with fresh eyes. Having some distance from my work helps me identify any errors in the writing or overall structure, and gives me time to make any changes I see necessary. I also try to get a friend or family member to read over the essay to ensure it’s understandable to someone who’s not as close to the topic. This is important, as sometimes I phrase something in a way which I think is digestible, but actually isn’t very clear.

I have developed this approach to essays through a lot of trial and error, but find that a methodical and steady style works best for me.

Best of luck in your future essays!

Read more student experiences of studying Politics at York.

About Kitty

I’m Kitty, and I study Politics with International Relations at the University of York! I’m in my final year, and have found the course incredibly engaging and enjoyable!

Reader Interactions

16 August 2023 at 2.00 pm

this is really helpful thank you 🙂

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SQA Higher Politics

posts#titleClicked'>Welcome to the Higher Politics Course

Why study Politics?

1. Government and politics impacts nearly every aspect of our lives.

Whether we like it or not, government plays a huge role in our daily lives, ranging from the amount of tax you pay for your morning coffee, to the types of light bulbs you’re allowed to purchase.

Since we know that government impacts various choices we make, why not take the time to understand how the process works? Who makes these laws and how do they impact you?

Having this understanding can help you determine the best course of action for yourself and your family regarding a wide range of issues. (Most of which are more important than your coffee and light bulbs.)

If you don't take an interest in Politics, it will take an interest in you.

Everything in the world is touched by Politics, so to be interested in Politics is to be interested in life.

2. Having knowledge of politics helps make you an informed voter.

For those who do vote, it’s important to go to the polls armed with the facts. 

The Higher Politics course consists of three areas of study:

• Political theory (Power, Authority and Legitimacy, Democracy & Political Ideologies)
• Political systems (Constitutions, the Legislative Branch & Executive Branch)
• Political parties and elections (Dominant ideas of political parties, Political campaign management strategies & Theories of voting behaviour)

A broad range of skills can be developed in this course such as: 

• researching, analysing, evaluating and synthesising information from a wide range of political sources
• using a wide range of sources of information to draw detailed and balanced conclusions about political concepts and ideologies
• comparing and contrasting different political systems, making generalisations, where appropriate, on the political process
• interpreting and evaluating a wide range of electoral data
• drawing on factual and conceptual knowledge of political theory, political systems, and political parties and elections. 

There have been major changes to the Higher Politics course following John Swinney's announcement in the Scottish Parliament yesterday (7/8/2020).

You need to be aware of the following:

1. The coursework aspect of the course - the Assignment - is no longer necessary to complete.

2. The Political Parties and Elections unit will contain the only 12 mark essay question in Paper 1.

3. The Political Parties and Elections section of the exam will contain all three topics (dominant ideas of political parties, political campaign strategies and theories of voting behaviour). You will be able to choose one of these topics to write about.

4. The 20 mark questions in Paper 1 will only be from Unit 1:Political Theory and Unit 2: Political Systems.

So, what this means is that you can choose to just learn and revise one of these topics and only as a 12 mark essay and you do not need to the Assignment.

Should you have any questions, please email me at [email protected]

Essential Information for your teacher, SQA Coordinator or school's Business Manager:

The SQA Course Assessment Specification for Higher Politics 2020-2021 can be found  here .

Higher Politics SCQF: level 6 (24 SCQF credit points) 

The SQA Course code for Higher Politics is C858 76, the Course Assessment Code is X858 76 

If you are only being entered for Units. You will need the following information:

The Unit code for Political Theory is J20E 76 (6 SCQF credit points)

The Unit code for Political Systems is J20F 76 (6 SCQF credit points)

The Unit code for Political Parties and Elections is J20G 76 (6 SCQF credit points)

Get updates on the course on Twitter  here

posts#titleClicked'>What Will You Study in the Higher Politics Course?

Click through the sides above to see all of the topics that are covered in this course.

Politics makes a distinctive contribution to the curriculum through its study of important political concepts and ideologies, the comparison of different political systems, and the evaluation of factors that impact on the electoral performance of political parties.

Candidates develop knowledge and understanding of key political concepts. The theoretical perspective of the course enables candidates to identify, explore and analyse political issues in order to develop their own views and perspectives. Candidates develop analysing and evaluating skills during the course which help them to interpret and understand political issues.

Candidates develop:

• knowledge and understanding of:

— significant political concepts and ideologies

— political systems through comparative study

— political parties and elections

• the ability to analyse and evaluate political ideas, events, issues, systems, parties and electoral performance
• a range of research, data-handling and evaluating skills.

If you going to sit the final examination you will be expected to answer questions in two separate question papers:

Paper 1: 

This question paper has three sections: Political theory, Political systems, and Political parties and elections. Candidates demonstrate the application of skills and breadth of knowledge and understanding from across the three sections of the course. 

There are two 20 mark extended response questions to and one 12 mark extended response question to answer. The 12 and 20 mark questions may appear in any section of the paper.

This question paper has a total mark allocation of 28 marks. This is 26% of the overall marks

for the course assessment.

This question paper enables candidates to demonstrate the following skills:

• comparing information about political theories, systems and parties
• interpreting, evaluating and synthesising a wide range of electoral data

In this question paper, candidates answer two source-based, information-handling skills questions. One question is worth 8 marks and consists of two sources, and one question is worth 20 marks and consists of up to seven sources. Sources may be written, numerical, graphical or pictorial.

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St Joseph's Academy Higher Politics

East Ayrshire Council site

Political Theory

Essay plans 12 mark Question Direct Democracy Power, Authority, Legitimacy

1-Power-Authority-Legitimacy1

2-Different-Definitions-of-Power

3-Lukes-on-Power

4-Conflict-Theory

5a.-Authority-Max-Weber-Traditional-Authority2

5b-Charismatic-Authority & Legal-Rational

6-Legitimacy

Legitimacy-and-Electoral-Systems-worksheet

P-A-L-20-marker

PAL-Essay-Plan-2019

7-Democracy

Handout- Democracy-Theorists & Features of Direct Democracy

Reading Direct & Representative Democracy:

Direct-Democracy & Representative Democracy 

If you are absent please ensure you catch up on any notes missed.

20 mark Question Democ plan

Key Features of Representative Democracy

Key Features of Direct Democracy

12 mark Question Direct Democracy

ESSAY PLANS:

PAL: 12 mark Power, 12 mark Authority & 20 mark PAL.

PAL essay plans

Democracy essay plans: 12 mark Direct, 12 mark Representative & 20 mark comparison of Representative & Direct

Democracy essay plans

Political Ideologies:

Political Theory Ideologies

Miss Gibson

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SQA’s Higher Politics qualification gives learners the opportunity to study important political concepts, theories, ideologies and systems through Scottish, British and international contexts. Learners compare different political systems, evaluate the factors that impact on the electoral performance of political parties, and develop knowledge and understanding of how different political ideologies, systems and parties resolve the timeless pursuit of power, authority and legitimacy.

23 Nov 2023 Higher - Question Paper:  candidate evidence and commentaries  published   

23 Nov 2023 Higher - Assignment:  candidate evidence and commentaries  published   

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