Learn from others: Browse anonymised top 3 and middle 3 answers. No candidate numbers shown.
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🃏 Knowledge Retrieval Starters
Begin lessons with a 5-question low-stakes quiz drawn from the weakest QLA questions. Rotate topics weekly. Use mini-whiteboards for instant class feedback.
✍️ PEEL Paragraph Drills
For all explain/evaluate questions: Point → Evidence → Explanation → Link. Provide sentence starters. Peer-mark using the mark scheme before class discussion.
🔄 Reteach-then-Redo
For red QLA questions: 10-min targeted reteach → students rewrite their original answer using the model answer as a scaffold → compare before/after.
🎯 Exam Technique: Timed Bursts
Set timed practice matched to mark allocation (approx. 1 min per mark). Focus on weakest question types first. Debrief with visualiser or shared screen.
💬 Cold-Call Questioning
Use random name generators to question on QLA weak spots. Scaffold with 'give me a reason… now develop it… now give me an example.' Builds verbal rehearsal.
📋 Exit Tickets
End each reteach lesson with one targeted exit ticket question (matched to the QLA weakness). Use responses to inform groupings for the next lesson.
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We decided on our goal to raise awareness about knife crime in our local area✅ Reason for goal: identifies a specific, relevant issue. (1 mark) because our secondary research showed that knife crime had increased by 20% in our borough, and we felt that educating students our age could realistically make a difference by changing attitudes before it was too late.✅ Development: links research findings to why the goal was realistic and important. (1 mark)
1. Some people may be less invested in the project✅ Problem identified: unequal commitment. (1 mark) resulting in less work being done by the deadline, which could cause the action to fail or be incomplete.✅ Development: specific consequence for the action. (1 mark)
2. There could be multiple people who feel like strong leaders and want to control who does what✅ Problem identified: leadership conflict. (1 mark) which can result in arguments and division within the group, meaning tasks are duplicated or not completed at all.✅ Development: explains the impact on the group's functioning. (1 mark)
We researched what different groups thought about our topic before choosing which viewpoints to include✅ Reason identified: research process. (1 mark) so our action would be balanced and appeal to a wider audience, for example including both people who had been directly affected and those who hadn't.✅ Development: explains how balance strengthened the action. (1 mark)
1. We conducted a survey of students in our year group✅ Method named: survey. (1 mark) and the results showed that the majority were unaware of the issue, which confirmed that our chosen topic was the right one to raise awareness about.✅ Development: explains how the finding directed the action. (1 mark)
2. We interviewed our form teacher✅ Method named: interview. (1 mark) who suggested we focus on a specific aspect of the issue rather than trying to cover everything, which helped us narrow down our goal to something realistic and achievable.✅ Development: shows how the interview shaped the decision. (1 mark)
1. E-petitions are easy to share on social media✅ Reason identified: shareability. (1 mark) so they can quickly reach thousands of people who might not otherwise have heard about the campaign, increasing the chance of gaining enough signatures.✅ Development: explains the impact (scale/reach). (1 mark)
2. If an e-petition on the official Parliament website reaches 10,000 signatures the government must respond, and if it reaches 100,000 it must be debated in Parliament✅ Reason identified: formal mechanism with specific thresholds. (1 mark) which means the campaign has a direct route to influencing government policy that a paper petition does not have.✅ Development: explains why this is significant. (1 mark)
1. They could have lobbied their local MP by writing a letter or email asking them to raise the issue in Parliament.✅ Valid method: direct political engagement. (1 mark)
2. They could have organised a protest or demonstration to attract media attention and put public pressure on decision-makers.✅ Valid method: direct action / public campaigning. (1 mark)
The source shows that the e-petition campaign led to campaigners being invited to meet the Petitions Committee and the Women and Equalities Committee in Parliament.✅ Evidence selected directly from source. (1 mark) This suggests the campaign was taken seriously by people in positions of power, and the issue was given formal attention at the highest level of government rather than being ignored.✅ Development: explains why the evidence supports the viewpoint. (1 mark)
One reason is that the government may simply choose not to act on it.✅ Point identified. (1 mark) Even if an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures and is debated in Parliament, the debate is not binding on the government — MPs can listen and simply vote against making any change.✅ Development using specific knowledge about the non-binding nature of debates. (1 mark)
Another reason is that the proposed change may conflict with current government policy or spending plans.✅ Point identified. (1 mark) For example, a petition calling for more funding in a particular area may be rejected because the government has already committed its budget elsewhere and is unwilling to renegotiate priorities.✅ Development: real-world political context. (1 mark)
A third reason is that the issue may only benefit a small section of society.✅ Point identified. (1 mark) Governments are more likely to act on issues that have broad public benefit; a petition that appears to only serve a specific group may be deprioritised in favour of wider national concerns.✅ Development: political reasoning. (1 mark)
In a democratic country, citizens have the right to vote in free and fair elections to choose who represents them in government.✅ Difference identified: free elections. (1 mark) In a non-democratic country this does not exist — it is usually a dictatorship where the leader holds power without the consent of the people, or elections are rigged so citizens have no real choice.✅ Development: explains the consequence for citizens. (1 mark)
1. UK citizens no longer have freedom of movement to live and work in EU countries without needing a visa or work permit.✅ Specific change: freedom of movement ended. (1 mark)
2. The UK has established new independent trade deals with countries outside the EU, such as Australia and New Zealand, which it could not do as an EU member.✅ Specific change: independent trade policy. (1 mark)
1. Press censorship may be used for national security purposes✅ Reason identified. (1 mark) for example to prevent details of military operations being published during wartime, which could endanger soldiers or give intelligence to enemy forces.✅ Development: specific example. (1 mark)
2. Censorship may also be used to protect the privacy of vulnerable individuals✅ Reason identified. (1 mark) such as preventing the identity of victims of sexual assault or children involved in court cases from being published in the press.✅ Development: specific legal context. (1 mark)
The United Nations is an international organisation with 193 member states whose primary aim is to maintain international peace and security.✅ Organisation named + primary role stated. (1 mark) It does this through its Security Council, which can authorise the deployment of peacekeeping forces to conflict zones, as it did in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.✅ Development with specific example. (1 mark) The UN also promotes human rights, sustainable development, and upholds international law through bodies such as the International Court of Justice.✅ Additional roles. (1 mark)
The World Trade Organisation has 164 member states and was founded in 1995 to oversee and regulate international trade.✅ Organisation named + primary role. (1 mark) It aims to reduce trade barriers such as tariffs between member nations so that goods and services can flow more freely across borders.✅ Development of core function. (1 mark) The WTO also provides a formal dispute resolution process, allowing countries to challenge unfair trade practices through agreed legal procedures rather than retaliating unilaterally.✅ Additional role: dispute settlement. (1 mark)
One reason international organisations like the UN should take action is because protecting human rights is one of its founding purposes — the UN drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.✅ AO1: Knowledge of founding purpose with specific evidence. (1 mark) This means it has both a legal and moral obligation to act when rights are violated, not just to publish declarations.
The UN has the practical capacity to intervene, for example through its peacekeeping forces or the International Criminal Court, which prosecuted officials responsible for the Rwandan genocide in which over 800,000 people were killed.✅ AO2: Specific example demonstrating intervention capacity. (2 marks) Without intervention, those responsible would have faced no consequences.
However, critics argue that UN intervention violates national sovereignty — the principle that countries have the right to govern their own affairs without external interference.✅ AO3: Counter-argument: sovereignty. (1 mark) This view is reinforced by the fact that Security Council resolutions can be vetoed by the five permanent members (USA, UK, France, Russia, China), meaning action is often blocked for political rather than humanitarian reasons.✅ AO3: Developed with specific knowledge of Security Council structure. (2 marks)
Overall, whilst UN intervention is imperfect due to the veto system, the alternative — allowing human rights abuses to continue unchallenged — is worse. International organisations remain the most credible mechanism for holding states accountable.✅ AO3: Substantiated conclusion weighing both sides. (1 mark)
Some argue that too much media influence is undemocratic because media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals such as Rupert Murdoch, who owns outlets reaching millions of voters.✅ AO1: Knowledge of media ownership concentration. (1 mark) This means that the political views of one wealthy proprietor can skew public opinion on a massive scale, undermining the principle that in a democracy all citizens' views should carry equal weight.✅ Development: why ownership = undemocratic influence. (1 mark)
The spread of fake news and media sensationalism also threatens democracy. During elections, misleading headlines can distort public perception of candidates.✅ AO2: Point with relevant context. (1 mark) For example, during the 2016 EU Referendum, claims such as '£350m a week to the NHS' were widely circulated and not effectively challenged, potentially influencing millions of voters based on inaccurate information.✅ AO2: Specific contemporary example. (2 marks)
On the other hand, media scrutiny is essential for democracy. Without it, governments could act without accountability.✅ AO3: Counter-argument — scrutiny function. (1 mark) For example, investigative journalism exposed the 2009 MPs' expenses scandal, leading to prosecutions and reforms that protected taxpayers' money and restored some public trust in Parliament.✅ AO3: Specific example of media holding power to account. (2 marks)
Furthermore, regulatory bodies such as IPSO and the BBC's Royal Charter provide checks on media power, ensuring some degree of accuracy and impartiality.✅ AO1: Knowledge of regulatory framework. (1 mark)
In conclusion, whilst media influence can be harmful when it misleads or manipulates, the solution is stronger regulation rather than less media. A free but accountable press remains essential to a functioning democracy; it is the abuse of media power, not media power itself, that is undemocratic.✅ AO3: Substantiated, nuanced conclusion. (2 marks)
Award 1 mark for stating the reason and 1 mark for further development (AO2).
Do not accept generic answers that do not clearly relate to the specific action.
1 mark for each problem stated (AO2) and 1 mark for further development.
Do not accept generic answers like "we argued".
Points in support:
Counter Points:
Do not credit e-petitions.
Correct Answer: D — Specialist court set up to settle disputes.
Correct Answer: B — Independent Press Standards Office (IPSO).
Correct Answer: A — Geneva Convention.
Max 3 marks if only one organisation discussed.
United Nations: Maintain peace and security | Promote sustainable development | Protect human rights | Uphold international law.
WTO: Agree world trade rules | Settle trading disputes | Promote free trade | Reduce tariffs/barriers.
Arguments to Support: Founding aim | Peacekeeping capacity | International law (R2P) | Moral duty.
Arguments to Oppose: National Sovereignty | Veto power (Security Council) | Different cultural views on rights | Individual governments should act.
Support (Too much influence is undemocratic): Ownership concentration (Murdoch) | Fake News | Echo chambers | Agenda-setting.
Counter (Influence is necessary/democratic): Scrutiny/accountability | Investigative journalism (expenses, Partygate) | Regulation (IPSO, Royal Charter) | Social media diversifies voices.
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