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American Politics revision: eight exam tips
5th June 2009
Some hints and tips with approaching the forthcoming US Politics exams
1. Be recent. Unfortunately a great many US politics responses generated in exam halls could have been over a decade ago. Whilst it is valid to use Newt Gingrich or Clinton’s impeachment as examples of increasing partisanship in the USA, it should also be said that the party line vote on Obama’s stimulus package, or the current furore over Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court are better examples.
The Politics blog has sought to help users in this regard, and will continue to do so, by providing up-to-date examples from the Obama presidency.
Obama and the separation of powers
2. Related to this, special mention must go to answers about racial equality in the USA. Whilst slavery and segregation are massively important issues when considering race and affirmative action in the USA today, examiners do not need/ want/reward long expositions on the Civil War and reconstruction.
3. Essays must have introductions. Ideally, Politics essays should include an introduction with a recent event or quote, with explicit reference to the main words in the question.
For example, in response to the question “What extent do pressure groups enhance democracy in the USA?” a student has written:
“Vile has stated that “pluralism is the theory of American politics”. This essay will consider the extent to which pressure groups in the USA, a country with a large number of access points, help to facilitate the pursuit of the pluralist democratic model and thereby enhance democracy.”
In the heat of battle it is understandable that candidates will struggle to fish out a relevant quote or recent event, so allude to both sides and use the words in the question. Here a student has said:
“At the heart of this question lies the debate about whether American democracy is elitist or pluralist. This essay will analyse pressure group behaviour in the context of this debate, in order to determine whether they do indeed enhance democracy.”
4. Essays must have a proper middle. Don’t ignore the need to look at different perspectives. A large number of answers by candidates tackle just one side of the debate, whether, say, arguing that the electoral college should be reformed, America is a two party system, or whatever. These types of answers very rarely secure more than half marks.
Use the words in the question throughout your essay. If you have written a paragraph illustrating that barriers to registration are an important factor in explaining why turnout in US elections is low, then end that paragraph by saying: “We can see, therefore, that registration is a major factor in explaining low turnout in US elections.” This helps you stay focused since using it makes you ask yourself as you go through your essay whether you have said enough on a particular point. A common mistake is to spend too long on one point, thereby preventing you achieving a good range in your responses.
5. Essays must have an end. Don’t sit on the fence by saying that the arguments are evenly balanced when it comes to saying that Bush was a successful President. Or: there are reasons to say he was and reasons to say he wasn’t. Even worse is a summary conclusion repeating the points for and against. If the arguments are evenly balanced then pick one out from either side that it is the most significant. Here is one on a synoptic question asking students to compare and contrast Congress and Parliament and the extent to which they are representative:
“Overall, then, it can be seen that both legislatures perform relatively poorly in terms of the “resemblance” model, but Westminster arguably does better on the basis of its party complexion reflecting electorate support. But in terms of the relationship between legislator and voter there is a closer relationship in the US than the UK, and perhaps Britain has something to learn in this respect.”
This would be considered as an attempt at evaluation and would be credited as such.
6. Short answers don’t require introductions or conclusions. But students often miss the fact that questions ask you to tackle two aspects in a single question. For instance, the how and why pressure groups target the Senate. Addressing just one aspect is unlikely to be rewarded with a top level mark. Sometimes questions ask for “push and pull” factors. Why do blacks support the Democrats, for instance, needs you to consider why so few support the Republicans instead. Also, credit is awarded for picking out the significance of reasons for and against in a question. If you are to outline the strengths and/or weakness of the primaries system, it is useful to highlight which strength/weakness is strongest.
7. In exams, as in most things in life, timing matters. Don’t spend too long on a question simply because you think you are better at it than on another one because you have revised it more thoroughly. Stick to the timing allocations suggested by the mark allocations and if you do happen to run out of things to say on a particular question then by all means return to one of the other ones and add more.
8. For synoptic responses, don’t attempt a question if your knowledge base on either the UK or US aspect really is quite weak. All too often candidates attempt questions on the judiciary, for example, with less than rudimentary levels of knowledge on UK judges. Unsurprisingly, these do not achieve high marks.