A Level Politics Taught by Oxford PPE Graduate

I have studied Politics successfully at both A Level and Oxford. I achieved full marks on half of my A Level Politics papers, alongside A*s in History, Economics and Maths. I also received full marks for an EPQ combining politics and economics, and again for my History coursework, which focused on a question of political ideology and leadership. I have worked with many successful applicants to Oxford for its Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) and History and Politics courses, including mature students and reapplicants. I then went on to study PPE at Oxford, where I had the time of my life! There, I focused particularly on Modern British Government and Politics, British Political History and Comparative Government. In my lessons, I focus on the following three things: 1. Building up my students’ knowledge and understanding of politics. Rather than simply memorising pages of notes, my students break topics down with me and explore the arguments, institutions and political developments behind them. I want them to understand why things happen, so that they can discuss them confidently rather than simply repeat learned material. 2. Teaching my students how to turn that knowledge into marks. We use past papers, mark schemes, specifications and examiner guidance to work out exactly what each exam board is looking for. I help students interpret questions, select the right material, structure essays, build clear arguments, use evidence effectively and reach convincing judgements. 3. Showing my students how to revise Politics effectively. Politics contains a huge amount of content, so revision needs to be active and well organised. I help students structure their knowledge, build a bank of useful examples and use active-recall techniques so that they can retrieve and apply what they have learnt under exam conditions. At the end of each lesson, my students receive a lesson pack containing the work we completed together, giving them a useful resource to revisit afterwards.