Write Like A Political Scientist

Writing Frames

• 30-Mark Source Questions (Paper 1 - Question 1a or 1b / Paper 2 - Question 1a or 1b):

• 30-Mark Essay Questions (Paper 1 - Question 2a or 2b / Paper 2 - Question 2a or 2b / Paper 3 - Question 3a or 3b or 3c):

• 24-Mark Political Ideas Questions (Paper 1 - Question 3a or 3b / Paper 2 - Question 3a or 3b):

• 12-Mark Comparative Questions (Paper 3 - Question 1a or 1b):

• 12-Mark Comparative Theory Questions (Paper 3 - Question 2):

Evaluative Phrases

• “This is a strong argument because...”
• “This is a weak argument because…”
• “This claim can be effectively countered by…”
• “This claim can be countered, but rather poorly, by…”
• “This point stands up to scrutiny as…”
• “This point fails to stand up to scrutiny as…”
• “The underlying assumption behind this reason is a convincing one…”
• “The underlying assumption behind this reason is doubtful…”
• “The two assertions are equally balanced…”
• “It is difficult to choose between the evidence here…”

Key Terms

Spellings and use of capital letters ought to be noted.

• Democracy & Participation (Paper 1):
  • Democratic deficit: A flaw in the democratic process where decisions are taken by people who lack legitimacy, not having been appointed with sufficient democratic input or subject to accountability.
  • Direct democracy: All individuals express their opinions themselves and not through representatives acting on their behalf. This type of democracy emerged in Athens in classical times and direct democracy can be seen today in referendums.
  • Franchise/suffrage: Franchise and suffrage both refer to the ability/right to vote in public elections. Suffragettes were women campaigning for the right to vote on the same terms as men.
  • Legitmacy: The rightful use of power in accordance with pre-set criteria or widely-held agreements, such as a government’s right to rule following an election or a monarch’s succession based on the agreed rules.
  • Participation crisis: A lack of engagement by a significant number of citizens to relate to the political process either by choosing not to vote or to join or become members of political parties or to offer themselves for public office.
  • Lobbyist: A lobbyist is paid by clients to try to influence the government and/or MPs and members of the House of Lords to act in their clients’ interests, particularly when legislation is under consideration.
  • Pluralist democracy: A type of democracy in which a government makes decisions as a result of the interplay of various ideas and contrasting arguments from competing groups and organisations.
  • Representative democracy: A more modern form of democracy through which an individual selects a person (and/or political party) to act on their behalf to exercise political choice.
  • Think tanks: A body of experts brought together to collectively focus on a certain topic(s) – to investigate and offer solutions to often complicated and seemingly intractable economic, social or political issues.

• Political Parties (Paper 2):
  • Old Labour (social democracy): Key Labour principles embodying nationalisation, redistribution of wealth from rich to poor and the provision of continually improving welfare and state services, which largely rejected Thatcherite/free-market reforms or a Blairite approach.
  • New Labour(Third Way): A revision of the traditional Labour values and ideals represented by Old Labour. Influenced by Anthony Giddens, the ‘Third Way’ saw Labour shift in emphasis from a heavy focus on the working class to a wider class base, and a less robust alliance with the trade unions.
  • One Nation Conservatism: A paternalistic approach adopted by Conservatives under the leadership of Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century and continued by David Cameron and Theresa May in the 21st century, that the rich have an obligation to help the poor.
  • New Right Conservatism: There are two elements – (i) the neo (or new) Conservatives who want the state to take a more authoritarian approach to morality and law and order and (ii) the neo-liberals who endorsed the freemarket approach and the rolling back of the state in people’s lives and businesses.
  • Classical Liberals: Classical liberalism is a philosophy developed by early liberals who believed that individual freedom would best be achieved with the state playing a minimal role.
  • Modern Liberals: Modern liberalism emerged as a reaction against free-market capitalism, believing this had led to many individuals not being free. Freedom could no longer simply be defined as ‘being left alone’.
  • Party Systems: The way or manner in which the political parties in a political system are grouped and structured. There are several variants that could apply to the UK, these include one-party dominant, two-party, two-and-a-half party and multi-party systems.
  • Left Wing: A widely-used term for those who desire change, reform and alteration to the way in which society operates. Often this involves radical criticisms of the capitalism made by liberal and socialist parties.
  • Right Wing: This term reflects support for the status quo, little or no change, stressing the need for order, stability and hierarchy – generally relates to Conservative parties.

Useful Conjunctions

• Addition:
  • again
  • also
  • and
  • another
  • as well as
  • furthermore
  • in addition
  • moreover
  • too
  • what is more

• Cause and effect:
  • as a consequence
  • as a result
  • as long as
  • because
  • consequently
  • depending upon
  • inevitably
  • since
  • therefore
  • whenever

• Comparison:
  • by the same token
  • comparatively
  • congruently
  • correspondingly
  • equally
  • equivalently
  • in the same way
  • just as
  • likewise
  • similarly

• Concession:
  • admittedly
  • despite this
  • in any case
  • in spite of
  • nevertheless
  • notwithstanding
  • on the other hand
  • regardless
  • still
  • while it is true that

• Contrast:
  • alternatively
  • although
  • despite this
  • however
  • in contrast
  • on the contrary
  • on the other hand
  • otherwise
  • whereas
  • yet

• Emphasis:
  • above all
  • especially
  • in fact
  • in particular
  • indeed
  • more important(ly)
  • notably
  • significantly
  • specifically
  • undoubtedly

• Illustration:
  • essentially
  • for example
  • for instance
  • in actual fact
  • it became clear that
  • such as
  • this means that
  • this shows that
  • thus
  • to illustrate

• Summary and conclusion:
  • after all
  • finally
  • in conclusion
  • in short
  • in the end
  • on the whole
  • overall
  • throughout
  • to summarise
  • ultimately

Punctuation

• Colon:
  • Appearance: ":"
  • Use: a colon is used to list, join two clauses when the second cannot stand alone, and before a quotation or direct speech.
  • Examples:
    • You will need: a calculator, ruler and pen.
    • I knew what to do: admit I had no book.
    • Sir said: “Mark is a very able statistician.”

• Semi-Colon:
  • Appearance: ";"
  • Use: a semi-colon is used in between two equal clauses, which are closely related but could stand alone.
  • Examples:
    • Lizzie went to town; I stayed at home.
    • Terry hates spiders; he finds them creepy.
    • I love dogs; however, I dislike their smell.

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