Examiners’ Report g
Principal Examiner Feedback
g g
Summer 2022 g
Pearson Edexcel GCEIn
g g g
Politics (9PL0)
g g
Paper 2: UK Government and Non-
g g g g g
corePolitical Ideas
g g
,EdexcelgandgBTECgQualifications
EdexcelgandgBTECgqualificationsgaregawardedgbygPearson,gthegUK’sglargestgawardinggbody.gW
egprovidegagwidegrangegofgqualificationsgincludinggacademic,gvocational,goccupationalgandgspe
cificgprogrammesgforgemployers.gForgfurtherginformationgvisitgourgqualificationsgwebsitesgatgw
ww.edexcel.comgorgwww.btec.co.uk.gAlternatively,gyougcanggetgingtouchgwithgusgusinggthegdet
ailsgongourgcontactgusgpagegatgwww.edexcel.com/contactus.
Pearson:ghelpinggpeoplegprogress,geverywhere
Pearsongaspiresgtogbegthegworld’sgleadingglearninggcompany.gOurgaimgisgtoghelpgeveryonegpro
gressgingtheirglivesgthroughgeducation.gWegbelievegingeverygkindgofglearning,gforgallgkindsgofgpe
ople,gwherevergtheygaregingthegworld.gWe’vegbeenginvolvedgingeducationgforgoverg150gyears,ga
ndgbygworkinggacrossg70gcountries,ging100glanguages,gweghavegbuiltganginternationalgreputatio
ngforgourgcommitmentgtoghighgstandardsgandgraisinggachievementgthroughginnovationgingeduc
ation.gFindgoutgmoregaboutghowgwegcanghelpgyougandgyourgstudentsgat:gwww.pearson.com/uk
Summerg2022
PublicationsgCodeg9PL0_02_2206_ER
Allgthegmaterialgingthisgpublicationgisgcopyright
©gPearsongEducationgLtdg2022
,Principal Examiner Feedback
g g g
Summer 2022 g
Pearson Edexcel Advanced Level in Politics (9PL0/02)
g g g g g g g
Paper 2: UK Government and Non-core Political Ideas
g g g g g g g
Introduction
Ingmanygways,gthisgwasgaguniquegexamgseriesgasgthegexamsgtookgplacegforgthegfirs
tgtimegsinceg2019gwithgagcohortgofgstudentsgwhoghadgnogexperiencegofgexternalgex
aminations,gagdisruptedgtwogyearsgofgeducationgandghadgreceivedgthegAssessmentg
Informationgaboutgthegexamgseries.gOverall,gstudentsgshouldgbegcommendedgforgt
heirgresiliencegandghardgworkgingdealinggwithgthisguniquegexperience.gIngturn,gcent
resgshouldgbegapplaudedgforghowgtheygpreparedgtheirgstudentsgbothgforgthegpressu
regofgexamsgandgforgthegrequirementsgofgAglevelgPolitics.gItgwasgfantasticgtogseegm
anygstudentsgreallygtrygtogengagegwithgsomegofgthegbiggdebatesgingUKgpoliticsgsupp
ortedgwithgcontemporarygevidence.
Onegmaingareagthatgisgworthghighlightinggisgthegimportancegofgexamgtechniquegand
gtiming.gThisgisgperhapsgthegmostgnoticeablegareagwheregthegimpactgofghavingg nogex
periencegofgexternalgexaminationsgwasgvisible.gItgisgimportantgthatgstudentsgplangth
eirgtiming,gandgstickgtogit,gsogthatgtheygcangachievegtogtheirgfullgpotential.
Theregare,gasgwithganygexamination,ghowever,gseveralgareasgtogreflectgupongandgle
ssonsgtogbeglearned,gwhichgwillgenablegfuturegcohortsgtogaddressgthegexaminationg
effectively.
Questiong1(a)
ThisgwasgangoptionalgquestiongandgwasglessgpopulargwithgstudentsgasgQ1(b).gAgm
ajoritygofgstudentsgweregablegtogusegthegsourcegtogdevelopganganalysisgofgthegdiff
erentgopinionsgitgcontainedgingrelationgtogthegquestion.gIngparticular,gthosegansw
ersgwhichgcouldgclearlygfocusgonghowgbothgHousesgofgParliamentgweregeffectiveg
orgnotgingshapingggovernmentglegislation.
Thegstrongestgresponsesgweregablegtogfocusgingongthegquestiongbyganalysinggwhe
thergthegLordsgorgthegCommonsgaregeffectivegingshapingggovernmentglegislationg
andgthegrelationshipgbetweengthegtwogchambersgingtheglegislativegprocess.gThisga
llowedgstudentsgtogdevelopgagrangegofgdifferentgargumentsgfromgthegsourcegabout
gwhethergthegLords,gbackbenchersgingthegCommonsgandgpublicg billgcommitteesgha
dginfluencegoverggovernmentglegislation.gWheregthesegargumentsgcouldgbeghighli
ghtedgwithgexamples,gespeciallygmoderngexamples,gagstrongerglevelgofgdebategan
dgengagementgwithgthegquestiongwasgachieved.
Consideringgthisgdebate,ganswersgcouldgarguegforgagrangegofgdifferentgviewsginclu
dinggbothgchambersgbeinggeffective,gneithergbeingginfluential,gonegchamber
, beinggmoregpowerfulgthangthegothergorgthatgthegeffectivenessgofgParliamentgwasgla
rgelygdependentgofgthegsizegofgtheggovernmentgmajoritygingthegCommons.
InterestinglygstudentsgweregoftengstrongergongdebatinggthegrevisinggrolegofgthegHo
usegofgLordsgovergthegrolegofgbackbenchersgingthegCommons.gAgparticulargareagofgco
nfusiongingthegCommonsgwasgaroundgthegworkgofgpublicgbillgcommittees,gwhosegrol
egandgworkgweregoftengconfusedgwithgthatgofgselectgcommittees.gThisgmaygbeglinke
dgtogthegintroductiongofgnewgevidence-
gatheringgpowersging2007gforgthegcommittees,gwhichgaregnon-
specialistgandgtemporary,gbeinggcreatedgforgthegdurationgofgeverygbill,gandgthengdis
banded.gIngaddition,gstudentsgwhengdiscussinggthegCommonsgusedgexamplesgthatgf
ocusedgongthegscrutinygofggovernment,glikegdecisionsgtogtakegactiongingIraqgorgSyria
,gorgongPMQs,grathergthanghavinggaglaser-glikegfocusgongthegshapinggofglegislation.
Itgisgimportantgtognotegthatgargumentsgthatgweregintroducedgintogthegdebategthatgw
eregnotgdrawngfromgthegsourcegaregonlygrewardablegwithgAO1.gAggoodgexamplegofgt
hisgwasgdebatesgaroundgthegeffectivenessgofgprivategmembersgbills,gwhichgweregno
tgingthegsource,gandgweregoftengdebatedginghowgthegCommonsgmightgcreateglegisla
tiongwithoutgreallyglinkinggtogthegquestion,gwhichgfocusedgongthegshapinggofggovern
mentglegislation.
Onegverygpleasinggaspectgwasgthegabilitygofgstudentsgtogbringgtogethergcompetingga
rgumentsgfromgthegsourcegtogcreategeffectivegcomparativeganalysisgingordergtogbuil
dgsubstantiatedgconclusions.gThegmostgeffectivegapproachgtakengwasgtogpairgupgnat
urallygcompetinggargumentsgfromgthegsourceg(AO1),gdevelopgeachgpointgwithgwider
gknowledgegingordergtoganalysegcomparativelyg(AO2)gthegstrengthgofgthegargument
sgtogleadgtogsubstantiatedgconclusionsgthroughoutgthegessayg(AO3).gGivengthatgtheg
marksgaregsplitgevenlygbetweengthegthreegAOs,gthengthisgapproachgenabledgstudent
sgtogaccessgtheghighergmarkgbands.gThisgapproachgcouldgbeglaunchedgingagcleargintr
oduction,gdevelopedgthroughgthegbodygofgthegessaygandgdrawngtogagcleargjudgemen
tgingthegconclusion.
Agbroadgpointgthatgisgworthgconsideringgisgthegrolegofgintroductionsgandgconclusions,
gwhichgweregabsentgingseveralganswers.gIntroductionsgthatgworkgbestgaregpunchyg–
gdetailingganygkeygdefinitions,gsettinggupgthegdebategandgindicatinggthegviewgthatgwi
llgbegarguedg–
grathergthangoverlonggandgtryinggtogcovergallgthegideasgfromgthegsource.gConclusion
sgthatgworkgbestgaregalsogpunchygandgshouldgbegthegnaturalgconclusiongfromgallgtheg
evaluationgmadegthroughoutgthegessaygrathergthangattemptinggtogcramgallgthegeval
uationgintogonegparagraph,ggivengthatgAO3gisgworthgone-thirdgofgthegmarks.
Principal Examiner Feedback
g g
Summer 2022 g
Pearson Edexcel GCEIn
g g g
Politics (9PL0)
g g
Paper 2: UK Government and Non-
g g g g g
corePolitical Ideas
g g
,EdexcelgandgBTECgQualifications
EdexcelgandgBTECgqualificationsgaregawardedgbygPearson,gthegUK’sglargestgawardinggbody.gW
egprovidegagwidegrangegofgqualificationsgincludinggacademic,gvocational,goccupationalgandgspe
cificgprogrammesgforgemployers.gForgfurtherginformationgvisitgourgqualificationsgwebsitesgatgw
ww.edexcel.comgorgwww.btec.co.uk.gAlternatively,gyougcanggetgingtouchgwithgusgusinggthegdet
ailsgongourgcontactgusgpagegatgwww.edexcel.com/contactus.
Pearson:ghelpinggpeoplegprogress,geverywhere
Pearsongaspiresgtogbegthegworld’sgleadingglearninggcompany.gOurgaimgisgtoghelpgeveryonegpro
gressgingtheirglivesgthroughgeducation.gWegbelievegingeverygkindgofglearning,gforgallgkindsgofgpe
ople,gwherevergtheygaregingthegworld.gWe’vegbeenginvolvedgingeducationgforgoverg150gyears,ga
ndgbygworkinggacrossg70gcountries,ging100glanguages,gweghavegbuiltganginternationalgreputatio
ngforgourgcommitmentgtoghighgstandardsgandgraisinggachievementgthroughginnovationgingeduc
ation.gFindgoutgmoregaboutghowgwegcanghelpgyougandgyourgstudentsgat:gwww.pearson.com/uk
Summerg2022
PublicationsgCodeg9PL0_02_2206_ER
Allgthegmaterialgingthisgpublicationgisgcopyright
©gPearsongEducationgLtdg2022
,Principal Examiner Feedback
g g g
Summer 2022 g
Pearson Edexcel Advanced Level in Politics (9PL0/02)
g g g g g g g
Paper 2: UK Government and Non-core Political Ideas
g g g g g g g
Introduction
Ingmanygways,gthisgwasgaguniquegexamgseriesgasgthegexamsgtookgplacegforgthegfirs
tgtimegsinceg2019gwithgagcohortgofgstudentsgwhoghadgnogexperiencegofgexternalgex
aminations,gagdisruptedgtwogyearsgofgeducationgandghadgreceivedgthegAssessmentg
Informationgaboutgthegexamgseries.gOverall,gstudentsgshouldgbegcommendedgforgt
heirgresiliencegandghardgworkgingdealinggwithgthisguniquegexperience.gIngturn,gcent
resgshouldgbegapplaudedgforghowgtheygpreparedgtheirgstudentsgbothgforgthegpressu
regofgexamsgandgforgthegrequirementsgofgAglevelgPolitics.gItgwasgfantasticgtogseegm
anygstudentsgreallygtrygtogengagegwithgsomegofgthegbiggdebatesgingUKgpoliticsgsupp
ortedgwithgcontemporarygevidence.
Onegmaingareagthatgisgworthghighlightinggisgthegimportancegofgexamgtechniquegand
gtiming.gThisgisgperhapsgthegmostgnoticeablegareagwheregthegimpactgofghavingg nogex
periencegofgexternalgexaminationsgwasgvisible.gItgisgimportantgthatgstudentsgplangth
eirgtiming,gandgstickgtogit,gsogthatgtheygcangachievegtogtheirgfullgpotential.
Theregare,gasgwithganygexamination,ghowever,gseveralgareasgtogreflectgupongandgle
ssonsgtogbeglearned,gwhichgwillgenablegfuturegcohortsgtogaddressgthegexaminationg
effectively.
Questiong1(a)
ThisgwasgangoptionalgquestiongandgwasglessgpopulargwithgstudentsgasgQ1(b).gAgm
ajoritygofgstudentsgweregablegtogusegthegsourcegtogdevelopganganalysisgofgthegdiff
erentgopinionsgitgcontainedgingrelationgtogthegquestion.gIngparticular,gthosegansw
ersgwhichgcouldgclearlygfocusgonghowgbothgHousesgofgParliamentgweregeffectiveg
orgnotgingshapingggovernmentglegislation.
Thegstrongestgresponsesgweregablegtogfocusgingongthegquestiongbyganalysinggwhe
thergthegLordsgorgthegCommonsgaregeffectivegingshapingggovernmentglegislationg
andgthegrelationshipgbetweengthegtwogchambersgingtheglegislativegprocess.gThisga
llowedgstudentsgtogdevelopgagrangegofgdifferentgargumentsgfromgthegsourcegabout
gwhethergthegLords,gbackbenchersgingthegCommonsgandgpublicg billgcommitteesgha
dginfluencegoverggovernmentglegislation.gWheregthesegargumentsgcouldgbeghighli
ghtedgwithgexamples,gespeciallygmoderngexamples,gagstrongerglevelgofgdebategan
dgengagementgwithgthegquestiongwasgachieved.
Consideringgthisgdebate,ganswersgcouldgarguegforgagrangegofgdifferentgviewsginclu
dinggbothgchambersgbeinggeffective,gneithergbeingginfluential,gonegchamber
, beinggmoregpowerfulgthangthegothergorgthatgthegeffectivenessgofgParliamentgwasgla
rgelygdependentgofgthegsizegofgtheggovernmentgmajoritygingthegCommons.
InterestinglygstudentsgweregoftengstrongergongdebatinggthegrevisinggrolegofgthegHo
usegofgLordsgovergthegrolegofgbackbenchersgingthegCommons.gAgparticulargareagofgco
nfusiongingthegCommonsgwasgaroundgthegworkgofgpublicgbillgcommittees,gwhosegrol
egandgworkgweregoftengconfusedgwithgthatgofgselectgcommittees.gThisgmaygbeglinke
dgtogthegintroductiongofgnewgevidence-
gatheringgpowersging2007gforgthegcommittees,gwhichgaregnon-
specialistgandgtemporary,gbeinggcreatedgforgthegdurationgofgeverygbill,gandgthengdis
banded.gIngaddition,gstudentsgwhengdiscussinggthegCommonsgusedgexamplesgthatgf
ocusedgongthegscrutinygofggovernment,glikegdecisionsgtogtakegactiongingIraqgorgSyria
,gorgongPMQs,grathergthanghavinggaglaser-glikegfocusgongthegshapinggofglegislation.
Itgisgimportantgtognotegthatgargumentsgthatgweregintroducedgintogthegdebategthatgw
eregnotgdrawngfromgthegsourcegaregonlygrewardablegwithgAO1.gAggoodgexamplegofgt
hisgwasgdebatesgaroundgthegeffectivenessgofgprivategmembersgbills,gwhichgweregno
tgingthegsource,gandgweregoftengdebatedginghowgthegCommonsgmightgcreateglegisla
tiongwithoutgreallyglinkinggtogthegquestion,gwhichgfocusedgongthegshapinggofggovern
mentglegislation.
Onegverygpleasinggaspectgwasgthegabilitygofgstudentsgtogbringgtogethergcompetingga
rgumentsgfromgthegsourcegtogcreategeffectivegcomparativeganalysisgingordergtogbuil
dgsubstantiatedgconclusions.gThegmostgeffectivegapproachgtakengwasgtogpairgupgnat
urallygcompetinggargumentsgfromgthegsourceg(AO1),gdevelopgeachgpointgwithgwider
gknowledgegingordergtoganalysegcomparativelyg(AO2)gthegstrengthgofgthegargument
sgtogleadgtogsubstantiatedgconclusionsgthroughoutgthegessayg(AO3).gGivengthatgtheg
marksgaregsplitgevenlygbetweengthegthreegAOs,gthengthisgapproachgenabledgstudent
sgtogaccessgtheghighergmarkgbands.gThisgapproachgcouldgbeglaunchedgingagcleargintr
oduction,gdevelopedgthroughgthegbodygofgthegessaygandgdrawngtogagcleargjudgemen
tgingthegconclusion.
Agbroadgpointgthatgisgworthgconsideringgisgthegrolegofgintroductionsgandgconclusions,
gwhichgweregabsentgingseveralganswers.gIntroductionsgthatgworkgbestgaregpunchyg–
gdetailingganygkeygdefinitions,gsettinggupgthegdebategandgindicatinggthegviewgthatgwi
llgbegarguedg–
grathergthangoverlonggandgtryinggtogcovergallgthegideasgfromgthegsource.gConclusion
sgthatgworkgbestgaregalsogpunchygandgshouldgbegthegnaturalgconclusiongfromgallgtheg
evaluationgmadegthroughoutgthegessaygrathergthangattemptinggtogcramgallgthegeval
uationgintogonegparagraph,ggivengthatgAO3gisgworthgone-thirdgofgthegmarks.
