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Power and Stratification

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do sociologists explain crime and deviance, why do official statistics show patterns by class, gender, ethnicity and age, and how is crime controlled?

Crime and deviance (Component 3, Section B option): defining crime and deviance; theories of crime (functionalist and strain, subcultural, Marxist, interactionist and labelling, realist, feminist); the social distribution of crime by class, gender, ethnicity and age; the problems of measuring crime; and crime control, punishment and social order.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on crime and deviance: defining crime and deviance, functionalist, strain, subcultural, Marxist, interactionist, realist and feminist theories of crime, the patterning of crime by social class, gender, ethnicity and age, the problems of measuring crime, and crime control, punishment and the maintenance of social order.
16 min answer →

How are health, illness and disability socially constructed, why do health inequalities follow class, gender and ethnicity, and how is power exercised through medicine?

Health and disability (Component 3, Section B option): the social construction of health, illness and disability; the biomedical and social models; inequalities in health and life expectancy by class, gender, ethnicity and region; the medical and social models of disability; the power of the medical profession; and sociological perspectives on health.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on health and disability: the social construction of health, illness and disability, the biomedical and social models, inequalities in health and life expectancy by class, gender, ethnicity and region, the medical and social models of disability, the power of the medical profession, and functionalist, Marxist, feminist and interactionist perspectives.
15 min answer →

How is power distributed in society, what shapes voting and political participation, and how do social movements and the state exercise and challenge power?

Politics (Component 3, Section B option): defining power, authority and the state; theories of the distribution of power (pluralism, Marxism, elite theory, feminism); voting behaviour and the social bases of party support; political participation, parties, pressure groups and new social movements; and ideology and power.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on politics: defining power, authority and the state, pluralist, Marxist, elite and feminist theories of the distribution of power, voting behaviour and the social bases of party support, political participation through parties, pressure groups and new social movements, and the relationship between ideology and power.
14 min answer →

How is society stratified by class, gender, ethnicity and age, how do sociologists explain inequality, and is the class structure changing?

Social differentiation and stratification (Component 3, Section A): systems of stratification; dimensions of inequality (social class, gender, ethnicity and age); theories of stratification (functionalist, Marxist, Weberian and feminist); social mobility and life chances; and the changing class structure.
The compulsory Section A content of WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3: systems of stratification, inequality by social class, gender, ethnicity and age, functionalist, Marxist, Weberian and feminist theories of stratification, social mobility and life chances, and debates about the changing class structure.
15 min answer →

How do sociologists explain global inequality and development, what role do aid, trade and transnational corporations play, and how does globalisation reshape power?

World sociology (Component 3, Section B option): defining development and global inequality; theories of development (modernisation, dependency, world-systems, neoliberal); the role of aid, trade, transnational corporations and global institutions; globalisation and its consequences; and gender, the environment and development.
The WJEC A-Level Sociology Component 3 option on world sociology: defining development and global inequality, modernisation, dependency, world-systems and neoliberal theories of development, the role of aid, trade, transnational corporations and global institutions, the causes and consequences of globalisation, and the place of gender and the environment in development.
15 min answer →