How To Choose The Right Examples In A Level Politics

In A-Level Politics, using up-to-date examples to justify some of the points in each essay is key to getting high marks. This is difficult, as you can’t find these examples in the vast majority of textbooks, which quickly become outdated.

Students often struggle with knowing how to choose the right examples in their essays. Whilst recent examples are useful, a broad range of examples across your essay demonstrates a depth of knowledge (A01) to the examiner and provides a foundation for effective analysis (AO2) by allowing you to analyse patterns, trends and changes over time. 

You should therefore always prioritise choosing the best example for the point, rather than just the most recent example possible for every point. Examiners look for a deep understanding of both current and historical events so including a broad array of examples allows you to evaluate politics effectively. 

A current example is sometimes the best one, however if it is inappropriate and doesn’t support the point effectively, then an older more relevant example is better and demonstrates a higher quality of knowledge.

Example Of An Ineffective Recent Example:

Evaluate The View That Valence Factors Are The Most Important Factors Determining Voting Behaviour In UK Elections. (30)

How competent voters perceive the current government to be is a key factor in how they vote. In an election, they are able to pass judgement on the government’s performance in power and replace them if they deem them to have been incompetent. For example, competence could be seen as an important factor as Prime Minister Keir Starmer was arguably shown to be incompetent and demonstrating poor leadership by offering a second state visit to Trump shortly before Trump embarrassed Zelensky in the White House. This could harm the Labour Government in the next election as voters may not trust him on the world stage. This shows how voters choose parties on the basis of how competently they govern, rather than on factors such as manifestos or social factors. 

• This fails to show what impact competency actually has electorally as it focuses on an election that hasn’t yet happened.

• It sacrifices backing up the point for recency and we don’t yet know what impact it will actually have on voting behaviour.

Example Of An Effective Older Example:

Evaluate The View That Valence Factors Are The Most Important Factors Determining Voting Behaviour In UK Elections. (30)

How competent voters perceive the current government to be is a key factor in how they vote. In an election, they are able to pass judgement on the government’s performance in power and replace them if they deem them to have been incompetent. For example, competence was an important factor in the 1979 election, when Labour was voted out due to the perception they were unable to manage the economy and trade unions in the 1979 ‘Winter of Discontent’, where there were widespread strikes and a sense of national paralysis. This provided the Conservatives with an irresistible theme: that the country needed a new direction and used the clever slogan ‘Labour Isn’t Working’. This shows how competence is a key factor in how voters decide who to vote for and how it can often result in incumbent governments being voted out in favour of an opposition who has different solutions.

• This effectively uses an older example to show how competence influences voting behaviour. The example is well selected and clearly backs up the point.