What is Citizenship Action in OCR J270?

Citizenship Action is a required practical project. Every student chooses a citizenship issue they care about, researches it, plans and takes action (such as a campaign, advocacy or a practical project), and evaluates the impact against their aims. Learners must complete a Citizenship Action project to be awarded the GCSE, and the skills and experience are assessed through Paper 2, Citizenship in action.

What is the difference between advocacy and direct action?

Advocacy means speaking or acting on behalf of yourself or others to influence decision-makers, for example through lobbying, petitions and campaigns. Direct action means taking practical steps yourself, such as volunteering, fundraising or organising an event. Many citizenship actions combine both, for example fundraising while also lobbying a council.

What is the difference between primary and secondary research?

Primary research is information you gather yourself, first hand, such as surveys, questionnaires or interviews. Secondary research is information that already exists, gathered from sources others have produced, such as websites, news reports, books and official statistics. A strong project uses both, and checks sources for reliability and bias.

What makes a citizenship campaign effective?

An effective campaign has a clear, realistic aim, is directed at the right target (the person or body with the power to make the change), uses methods that fit the aim such as petitions, lobbying and media work, builds wide public support, and is well organised and persistent. Effective campaigns usually combine several methods.

How do you evaluate a citizenship action?

You evaluate by comparing what actually happened against your original aim, using the evidence you gathered. You measure the impact (such as signatures collected, money raised or a decision changed), weigh strengths and weaknesses, distinguish the action from its outcome, and reflect on what you learned, the skills you gained and what you would do differently next time.

EnglandCitizenship Studies

OCR GCSE Citizenship Studies: Citizenship in action - a complete section overview

A complete overview of OCR's GCSE Citizenship Studies Citizenship in action section and the Citizenship Action requirement. Covers what active citizenship is, researching an issue, planning, advocacy and campaigning, taking and recording action, and evaluating it, plus how this is assessed in Paper 2.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min readJ270-section4Updated 2026-06-02

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What this section demands
What active citizenship is
Researching and planning
Advocacy, campaigning, taking action and evaluating
Check your knowledge

What this section demands

Citizenship in action is OCR's Section 4 and the basis of the required Citizenship Action project, assessed through Paper 2 (Citizenship in action), the largest paper. It covers what active citizenship is, then walks through the cycle of a citizenship action: research, planning, advocacy and campaigning, taking and recording action, and evaluation. The marks come from understanding each stage, knowing the methods of campaigning, and being able to draw on your own action. This overview ties the six dot-point pages together.

What active citizenship is

Active citizenship is taking action to bring about change on an issue you care about, rather than just holding an opinion. It can take the form of advocacy (influencing decision-makers through lobbying, petitions and campaigns) or direct action (practical steps such as volunteering and fundraising). It matters because it gives people a voice between elections, holds power to account and improves communities. Every J270 student must carry out a Citizenship Action project.

Researching and planning

The cycle starts with research: choosing a citizenship issue, then gathering evidence through primary research (surveys, interviews you carry out) and secondary research (existing sources such as statistics and news), using sources critically to check reliability and gathering different viewpoints. This leads to a clear aim. Planning sets a specific, realistic aim, chooses methods that fit the aim, identifies who has the power to make the change, assigns roles within a team, agrees a timeline, and anticipates risks.

Advocacy, campaigning, taking action and evaluating

Advocacy and campaigning use methods such as petitions, lobbying, demonstrations, the media and social media, and pressure groups; a campaign is effective when it has a clear aim, the right target, suitable methods, wide support and good organisation. Taking action draws on collaboration, communication and problem-solving, while keeping a record and evidence of what was done. Evaluation compares the result against the aim using evidence, measures impact, distinguishes the action from the outcome, and reflects on what was learned and the skills gained.

OCR's Citizenship in action section, the basis of the Citizenship Action project assessed in Paper 2, covers what active citizenship is (taking action to bring about change, through advocacy that influences decision-makers or direct action that does something practical), researching an issue (choosing it, using primary research you collect and secondary research that exists, checking reliability and gathering viewpoints, and forming an aim), planning (a specific realistic aim, methods that fit it, the right target, team roles, a timeline and anticipating risks), advocacy and campaigning (petitions, lobbying, demonstrations, the media and pressure groups, effective when focused on the right target with wide support and good organisation), taking and recording action (collaboration, communication and problem-solving while keeping evidence), and evaluation (comparing the result against the aim using evidence, measuring impact, distinguishing the action from the outcome, and reflecting on learning and skills). Know your own action in detail for Paper 2.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall questions covering the whole section. Attempt them, then check the solutions.

What is active citizenship? (2 marks)
What is the difference between advocacy and direct action? (2 marks)
What is the difference between primary and secondary research? (2 marks)
Give one feature of a good aim for a citizenship action. (1 mark)
Name two campaigning methods. (2 marks)
Name two skills used when carrying out a citizenship action. (2 marks)
Why is it useful to keep evidence of your action? (2 marks)
What is the difference between the action and its outcome? (2 marks)

Solutions

Q1: Taking action to bring about change on an issue you care about, rather than just holding an opinion or only voting.
Q2: Advocacy influences decision-makers (lobbying, petitions, campaigns); direct action is practical (volunteering, fundraising, events).
Q3: Primary research is collected by you first hand (surveys, interviews); secondary research already exists (websites, statistics, reports).
Q4: It is specific and realistic (and ideally measurable), so the action has a clear purpose and can be evaluated.
Q5: Any two of: a petition, lobbying an MP or councillor, a lawful demonstration, the media or social media, working with a pressure group.
Q6: Any two of: collaboration/teamwork, communication, problem-solving, negotiation/persuasion.
Q7: It provides evidence of what was done, by whom and when, which is needed to evaluate the action against its aim and to describe it accurately.
Q8: The action is what you did (such as running a petition); the outcome is what changed as a result. A well-run action does not always achieve its aim.

Sources & how we know this

OCR GCSE (9-1) Citizenship Studies J270 specification — OCR (2016)