Your Guide to Alevel Politics Source Questions

Source questions are decietful, upon the eye they appear to be much easier to their straight-essay counterpart. However, under closer inspection, source questions often pose far more challenges and difficulties. Below, I list all of my best advice for acing these difficult questions

1. A game of Wordsearch

The source question provides you a little helping hand, in that the points you will use in your essay are already provided for you. However, the first challenge is finding them! I suggest bringing with you to the exam two highlighters, and dissecting the source as you read it. Identify both sides of the argument and write them in the margin of the exam.

2. Match your Pairs

Now you have all your points, you have to match them. This is not often emphasised but it is entirely important. You cannot have one point arguing that devolution has failed in scotland, but the opposing being that the human rights act is a succesful 1997 reform. Make sure every point you have is matched to it's pair. When this is done, you've got an essay plan and you're ready to write.

3. Start with a quote in the intro

For any quotations that you are not using for your points, if they are relevant, you could use them to frame your intro. In this you're directly referencing the source, showing engagement, but it also makes your introduction more interesting and professional.

4. ALWAYS QUOTE THE SOURCE

When you're making your point, remember it is not YOUR point. Your point is from the source therefore you need to reference that. Start every point with something along the lines of the following; "the source argues that" and then follow it up from the point from the source. In university writing, as you'll find out if that's your planned destination, acknowledging the ideas and argumentations are crucial. In this instance, it is similar. Directly quoting the source, is absolutely crucial. This needs to be done for every single point you make

5. Remember your evidence

Always utilise evidence in every single argument! The more current, the better.

Example Structure Below:

Intro:

definition + or source quote

current evidence or relevant current event linking to the topic

opposing argument

your argument

Paragraph Structure

"the source presents the argument that"

evidence (atleast two)

explanation

"however, the source presents a far stronger argument"

evidence

explanation (literally explain the point, what does it mean, what does it implicate)

why it is stronger

Conclusion

acknowledgement of opposite argument

why yours is clearly strongest

more evidence if you can find some

concluding statement

Best of luck-highlighters at the ready ;)