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Politics Revision

Democracy, parties, elections, the constitution, political ideas and US politics.

A-Level Politics revision spans two political systems and three papers, and these lessons follow the Pearson Edexcel 9PL0 specification topic by topic. Paper 1 covers UK democracy, parties, electoral systems and voting behaviour, with conservatism, liberalism and socialism as the core political ideas. Paper 2 covers the constitution, Parliament, the Prime Minister and executive, with nationalism as the non-core idea. Paper 3 compares the US Constitution, Congress, presidency and Supreme Court with the UK through the rational, cultural and structural approaches.

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Lessons

Democracy and Participation

4

Political Parties

4

Electoral Systems

3

Voting Behaviour and the Media

3

Conservatism

3

Liberalism

3

Socialism

3

The Constitution

4

Parliament

4

Prime Minister and Executive

4

Relations Between the Branches

4

Nationalism

3

The US Constitution and Federalism

2

  • 17 min

    Lesson

    The US Constitution

    Paper 3A, 1.1 The nature of the US Constitution; 1.2 The key features of the US Constitution; 1.4 The effectiveness of the US Constitution

    2 hours ago

  • 17 min

    Lesson

    US Federalism

    Paper 3A, 1.3 The main characteristics of US federalism; 1.4 The extent to which the USA remains federal today

    2 hours ago

US Congress

4

US Presidency

4

US Supreme Court and Civil Rights

5

  • 13 min

    Lesson

    The US Supreme Court: Role and Judicial Review

    Paper 3A, 4.1 The nature and role of the Supreme Court

    2 hours ago

  • 12 min

    Lesson

    Appointing Supreme Court Justices

    Paper 3A, 4.2 The appointment process for the Supreme Court

    2 hours ago

  • 19 min

    Lesson

    The Supreme Court and Public Policy

    Paper 3A, 4.3 The Supreme Court and public policy; 4.6 Interpretations and debates (political versus judicial nature; Living Constitution as against originalism; the extent of the Court's powers and the effectiveness of checks and balances; successes and failures of measures to promote equality)

    2 hours ago

  • 13 min

    Lesson

    Civil Liberties and Rights in the USA

    Paper 3A, 4.4 The protection of civil liberties and rights in the US today; 4.6 Interpretations and debates (how effectively civil and constitutional rights have been upheld by the Supreme Court and the effectiveness of this protection)

    2 hours ago

  • 15 min

    Lesson

    Race and Rights in US Politics

    Paper 3A, 4.5 Race and rights in contemporary US politics

    2 hours ago

US Democracy and Participation

6

Comparative Approaches

6

Exam Technique

4

Frequently asked questions

By three written papers, each 2 hours, each worth 84 marks and 33.3% of the A-level, with no coursework. Paper 1 is UK Politics and Core Political Ideas, Paper 2 is UK Government and Non-core Political Ideas, and Paper 3 is Comparative Politics.

Paper 1 covers democracy and participation, political parties, electoral systems and voting behaviour, plus conservatism, liberalism and socialism. Paper 2 covers the constitution, Parliament, the Prime Minister and executive, and relations between the branches, plus one non-core idea. Paper 3 covers US politics and comparative approaches.

Three core ideas are compulsory on Paper 1: conservatism, liberalism and socialism. Paper 2 adds one non-core idea chosen from anarchism, ecologism, feminism, multiculturalism and nationalism. These lessons cover nationalism, the most widely taught of the five.

Yes. They are written against Issue 4 of the 9PL0 specification, for first teaching from September 2026. That matters because Issue 4 replaced the Supplementary Vote with the Closed Proportional List System and moved the US presidency reference window from 1992 to 2000.

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