OCR A-Level Sociology answers, written to the spec
10 topics · specification H580 · explanations and examiner marking in OCR’s own language
Studying OCR A-Level Sociology? Pick your board once and every answer, mark and flashcard elid gives you follows that specification. Free to start, no card needed. Open elid →
This is the full OCR A-Level Sociology specification, code H580, as elid holds it — 10 topics, each with the terminology OCR marks against. Every explanation and every mark elid gives you is written against this list, not a generic A-level one, because the same question answered in AQA or CAIE language loses marks it should have earned.
The OCR A-Level Sociology specification, topic by topic
Social Inequalities
Assessed in Paper 2
Inequalities related to social class, gender, ethnicity, and age in contemporary society.
Specification terms elid matches
Social class inequality
Gender inequality
Ethnic inequality
Age inequality
Wealth
Income
Life chances
Social mobility
Intersectionality
Absolute poverty
Relative poverty
Social class stratification
Glass escalator
Racial disadvantage
Named studies and theories
Marx
Weber
Oakley
Walby
Rex and Tomlinson
Socialisation, Culture and Identity: Introducing Socialisation
Assessed in Paper 1
Culture, socialisation, and identity formation from various sociological perspectives.
Specification terms elid matches
Norms
Values
Norms and values
Primary socialisation
Secondary socialisation
Agencies of socialisation
Social control
Formal social control
Informal social control
Agents of socialisation
Socialisation process
Gender role socialisation
Canalisation
Verbal appellations
Named studies and theories
Oakley
Parsons
Mead
Goffman
Althusser
Socialisation, Culture and Identity: Youth Subcultures
Assessed in Paper 1
The emergence and function of youth subcultures, including class, gender, and ethnic dimensions.
Specification terms elid matches
Youth subcultures
Spectacular youth subcultures
Delinquent subcultures
Anti-school subcultures
Gangs
Deviance
Resistance
Status frustration
Focal concerns
Subcultural style
Subcultural resistance
Anti-school pupil subculture
Criminal youth subculture
Youth delinquent subculture
Named studies and theories
Cohen
Jefferson
Hebdige
Willis
Lacey
Socialisation, Culture and Identity: Families and Relationships
Assessed in Paper 1
Changing family roles, symmetrical family structures, demography, and relationship diversity.
Specification terms elid matches
Family diversity
Conjugal roles
Symmetrical family
Domestic division of labour
Childhood
Divorce
Marriage
Cohabitation
Nuclear family structure
Extended family system
Single-parent households
Reconstituted families
Conjugal role division
Demographic family changes
Named studies and theories
Young and Willmott
Oakley
Rappoport and Rappoport
Chester
Aries
Contemporary Debates: Globalisation and Digital World
Assessed in Paper 3
The impact of digital communication and globalisation on relationships, identity, and power structures.
Specification terms elid matches
Globalisation
Digital communication
Social media
Digital divide
Cultural convergence
Cultural divergence
Glocalisation
Muted group theory
Cyber-Feminism
Digital communication technology
Global cultural homogenization
Digital divide inequality
Online identity performance
Surveillance state digital
Named studies and theories
Castells
McLuhan
Giddens
Haraway
Contemporary Debates: Crime and Deviance
Assessed in Paper 3
The social construction and explanations of crime and deviance, and crime prevention strategies.
Specification terms elid matches
Functionalism and crime
Marxism and crime
Interactionism and crime
Realism and crime
Anomie
Strain theory
Labelling
Subculture
Relative deprivation
Surveillance
Victimology
White-collar crime
Corporate financial crime
Institutional racism policing
Named studies and theories
Durkheim
Merton
Becker
Lea and Young
Foucault
Christie
Contemporary Debates: Education
Assessed in Paper 3
Role of education in class and gender selection, and the impact of school processes and state policies.
Specification terms elid matches
Functionalism and education
Marxism and education
Feminism and education
New Right and education
Meritocracy
Hidden curriculum
Correspondence principle
Marketisation
Educational policies
Educational achievement gap
Teacher labelling process
Self-fulfilling prophecy education
Educational marketisation policies
Ethnocentric curriculum bias
Named studies and theories
Durkheim
Parsons
Bowles and Gintis
Chubb and Moe
Althusser
Bourdieu
Research Methods in Context
Assessed in Paper 2
Quantitative and qualitative methods, primary/secondary data, and research ethics in practice.
Specification terms elid matches
Methodological pluralism
Triangulation
Positivism
Interpretivism
Quantitative data
Qualitative data
Ethics
Validity
Reliability
Representativeness
Primary research methods
Secondary research data
Participant observation method
Questionnaire surveys
Named studies and theories
Durkheim
Weber
Barker
Venkatesh
Identity Formation: Postmodernism, Late Modernity and Structural Debates
Assessed in Paper 1
Postmodern and late modern accounts of identity construction vs. persistent structural influences.
Specification terms elid matches
Postmodernism
Late Modernity
Reflexive modernisation
Hyperreality
Simulacra
Neo-tribes
Bricolage
Pick and mix identity
Individualisation thesis
Structure vs Agency
Consumer Culture identity
Fluid identity construction
Hybrid cultural identity
Structural identity constraint
Named studies and theories
Baudrillard
Maffesoli
Polhemus
Giddens
Beck
Judith Butler
Beliefs in Society: Secularisation and Social Change
Assessed in Paper 3
Debates surrounding secularisation, religious market theory, and the role of religion in social change.
Specification terms elid matches
Secularisation
New Religious Movements
New Age spirituality
Fundamentalism
Believing without belonging
Religious market theory
Desacralisation
Religious belief systems
Secularisation thesis
New age movement trends
Religious fundamentalist movements
Church and sect typology
Named studies and theories
Bryan Wilson
Steve Bruce
Heelas
Grace Davie
Giddens
How the papers are weighted
elid uses these weightings when it decides which topics deserve your revision time first.
Paper
Share of the qualification
Paper 1
30%
Paper 2
35%
Paper 3
35%
Marked the way OCR marks it
Paste an answer you have written and elid marks it point by point against the OCR scheme: which marking points you hit, which you missed, and the sentence that would have earned each missing one. It is the difference between being told an answer is “good” and being told exactly where the marks went.
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