I remember reading sooo many of these religiously right before the start of year 12, so I thought I’d add to these especially since global politics is a relatively niche subject with ~2000 enrolments. Here are the 5 things I wish I knew from the very first SAC.
1. Details, depth, and evidence!Global politics is one of those subjects where it’s easy to write descriptive answers with sophisticated writing, but with little *actual* content, evaluation and critical analysis. To score well, however, ‘good’ writing skills alone will not get you over the line. It is important to mention names, dates, and most importantly quotes. Let’s have a look at the types of evidence you can have to help push your responses into full marks territory.
Dates (eh)- every student will have these, and they’re usually there for context but do not show a detailed understanding of the content. Fill your work with these (within the 10 year period of course) but try to aim for varied types of evidence that I’ll mention below.
Names (better) - these are finer details that are a good way to show your comprehensive knowledge of the political world. Authoritative figures from NGOs, TNCs, IGOs, states and political scientists can aid your responses
Quotes (best) - these lie at the pinnacle of the evidence pyramid. Quotes are the only type of evidence that will directly and conclusively support your contentions, and lend credibility to your arguments and evaluations.
For example, you can mention that:The Global Compact on Refugees has limitations because of state prioritisation of national interest
orrrrr you can say that
The Global Compact on Refugees is
“not a silver bullet that will solve all the problems” (UN Refugee Agency UNHCR Chief, Filippo Grandi, 2018) due to the continued state prioritisation of national interests above lofty cosmopolitan ideals.
As you can see while both responses convey similar meanings, one response shows a comprehensive and detailed understanding with sufficient evidence belonging to a student who ‘knows their stuff’, whilst the other has “paltry” evidence (yes this was the exact word that one of the examiners reports used to describe poor scoring responses).
2. Have contemporary case studiesCase studies are needed in any short answer response that is 2+ marks. It is important to make sure that in the October/November period you find a handful of recent events that fit into the course to demonstrate a continued interest in the subject. These case studies are bound to impress examiners. With that being said, it can often be difficult to find recent examples similar to 2011/2013 Libya and Syria resolutions etc, so don’t abandon older case studies as they are often really helpful for evaluations, but try to include a handful of recent case studies where possible.
3. Work on 8 marker and essay responses!I can not stress this point enough. These questions are where the greatest spread of results occur in the exam, and are therefore the greatest point of differentiation. Only 5% of responses each year will score between 18-20/20 in the essay component which makes up 25% of your exam! To stress this further, the A+ cut off usually sits at 71-72/80 in Global Politics, so losing 5-6 marks in the essay section alone will be detrimental to your exam score. It’s a good idea to start working on this part early. This was by far the most difficult area to see improvement in. Often times, the global politics content is not difficult but knowing what you need to write to access full marks is very difficult.
This is how I felt I was being marked throughout the year;
Evaluate style questions (8 marks)
- 2 marks: strengths/points for
- 2 marks: weaknesses/points against
- 2 marks: overall contention/summation/judgement
- 2 marks: for wow factor (detailed evidence, very sophisticated contention, ‘pretty’ writing, length)
4. SACs are important, but are not the be all and end all
Having received my statement of study scores, it is clear that SACs in this subject matter. The Global Politics cohort is bright, most students are interested and keen, year 11s often dedicate every inch of their existence to this subject as their 3/4, the cohort is small and competitive. Whilst it does feel like the odds are against you on paper, it is important to note that someone out there will receive those 40+ scores and there’s no reason why it can’t be you! Having been through the roller coaster of Global Politics SACs, my marks were initially inconsistent but by unit 4 I had found my bearings. Did this cost me some study score points? Certainly. But sometimes you need that singular 15/20 in a SAC to speak to your teacher, figure out what the problem is, fix it and then smash it in the end of year examination.
5. Speak to your teacherYour Global Politics teacher is knowledgeable, they know the course inside out, they are one with the study design, and, are always really helpful with questions. Take their advice and feedback on board, and proactively take steps to apply this feedback. When it comes to practice exams, it is really important that you submit some of your responses to you teacher instead of self-marking. A fresh set of eyes can provide you with insight that you perhaps might not have thought of.
To everyone studying Global Politics in 2020 and beyond, good luck!
Mod edit: removed the advertisement part from your post. Please see the forum rules if you are unsure why this happened. You may link to your post in the selling section within your signature if you wish.
Apart from this, great post & thank you for sharing your insights.