Government & politics gce as level

2. Course description Summary: Government and Politics is the study of how the UK government works and how it affects ordinary people. Course description: Is the government right to raise tuition fees? Are tougher sentences the way to solve crime? Does it matter if politicians lie to the people? To what extent is the government to blame for the economic crisis? This course allows you to study UK government policy and its effectiveness. Topics include: - democracy - pressure groups - the purpose and effectiveness of Parliament - education, health and welfare policy - law and order policy - economic policy - the European Union and the UK. You are likely to enjoy and do well in this subject if you are interested in how government works, enjoy discussing current issues and are good at developing logical, reasoned arguments. You will need to keep up-to-date with current events by reading quality newspapers and watching the television news on a regular basis, as well as doing independent research using the internet and other sources. Government and Politics can be taken with any other subjects, but students often choose business studies, history, law, sociology or English. Assessment: Assessment is through written exams in each year, with a mixture of structured, short answer and data response questions in the first year and also essays in the second year.