Eduqas GCSE Sociology (C200): complete guide to the two components, topics and key thinkers

Eduqas GCSE Sociology (specification C200, set by WJEC) is a linear course assessed by two written papers at the end of Year 11. There is no coursework. This page is the index: below is a map of the two components, the six areas of content, the named thinkers, and the exam skills that run across the whole course.

The two components

Eduqas splits the course into two equally weighted papers, each worth 100 marks and 50% of the GCSE, each lasting 1 hour 45 minutes.

• Component 1: Understanding Social Processes. Covers the key sociological concepts and the process of cultural transmission, the family, education, and sociological research methods.
• Component 2: Understanding Social Structures. Covers social differentiation and stratification, crime and deviance, and the applied methods of sociological enquiry, drawing on the key perspectives throughout.

The six areas of content

This site breaks the course into six modules, each with dot-point answer pages, an overview guide and a quiz.

Key concepts and socialisation

Culture, norms, values, roles and status, primary and secondary socialisation, the agencies of socialisation, identity and the nature versus nurture debate, plus the functionalist, Marxist, feminist and interactionist perspectives. Key thinkers include Parsons, Marx, Oakley and Becker.

Families

The functions of families, the different family forms and diversity, conjugal roles and power, how family patterns have changed, and the theories and criticisms of family life. Key thinkers include Murdock, Parsons, Willmott and Young, and Ann Oakley.

Education

The functions of education, the processes within schools such as labelling and the hidden curriculum, the factors affecting achievement (class, gender and ethnicity), and the theories of education. Key thinkers include Durkheim, Parsons, Bowles and Gintis, and Becker.

Research methods

The research process, the primary methods (questionnaires, interviews, observation and experiments), secondary sources, sampling, reliability, validity and ethics, and the applied enquiry assessed on Component 2.

Social differentiation and stratification

Defining stratification and social differentiation, the theories that explain it, social class, gender, ethnicity and age, and life chances and poverty. Key thinkers include Marx, Weber, Davis and Moore, and Townsend.

Crime and deviance

Defining crime and deviance and their social construction, the theories that explain them, the data on crime, the social distribution of crime, and the agencies of social control. Key thinkers include Durkheim, Merton, Albert Cohen and Becker.

The skills that run across the course

Each topic rewards content knowledge, but the marks come from applying it through a fixed set of question types.

1. Knowledge and understanding (AO1). Define key terms precisely and recall the named sociologists and studies the specification expects.
2. Application (AO2). Use a printed item (an extract or a chart) and apply sociological ideas to it or to a given context.
3. Analysis and evaluation (AO3). Build a balanced answer that weighs the perspectives against each other and reaches a supported judgement on the longer discuss and evaluate questions.

How to study Eduqas Sociology

Sociology rewards evidenced argument and disciplined exam technique in equal measure.

1. Attach a thinker to every idea. A point backed by Murdock, Bowles and Gintis or Merton scores far higher than an unsupported assertion.
2. Master the four perspectives. Functionalism, Marxism, feminism and interactionism are applied to every topic, so learn what each says and how they criticise one another.
3. Drill each command word. Describe, explain, discuss and evaluate are marked very differently, so practise each against its mark scheme.
4. Use sources accurately. Many questions give an item or chart; quote or paraphrase it precisely rather than ignoring it.
5. Rehearse the essay shape. The fifteen-mark discuss and evaluate questions need an introduction, three developed paragraphs and a conclusion, written to time.

The topics, dot point by dot point

Each module has an overview guide, dot-point answer pages and a quiz. Browse the full set at /gcse-eduqas/sociology/syllabus.

For the official specification

Eduqas publishes the full specification (C200), past papers and mark schemes at eduqas.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and Eduqas's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.