AS Unit 1
Acquiring Culture
- Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
- Socialisation and Its Agencies
- Socialisation and Identity
- Families and Households
- Youth Cultures
1 hour 15 minutes60 marks15%
WJEC AS Sociology, memorised in year one.
Everything the AS examines and nothing from the second year. Drill the 11 topics you are actually sitting in Wales this summer.
- AS of 601-5237-0
- 11 topics
- 122 subtopics
WJEC AS-Level Sociology 601-5237-0
Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
Topic overviewCulture as a way of lifeNorms, values and beliefsRoles, status and role conflictAspects of culture: dress, language, food and musicHeritage and cultural tradition in WalesHigh culture, popular culture and global cultureNature, nurture and the social construction of cultureCultural diversity and sub-cultures
Socialisation and Its Agencies
Topic overviewPrimary and secondary socialisationRole models, imitation and sanctionsFamilies and primary cultural transmissionPeer groups as an agency of socialisationEducation as an agency of socialisationReligion as an agency of socialisationThe media as an agency of socialisationWork, resocialisation and total institutionsFormal and informal social control
Socialisation and Identity
Topic overviewPersonal and social identityTheories of identity: structural, interactionist and postmodernGender socialisation and gender identityMasculinity, femininity and change in gender identitiesSocial class and identityClass change, mobility and the underclassEthnicity and identityNationality, national identity and BritishnessWelsh identity and the Welsh language
Families and HouseholdsAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewDefining families and householdsFamily forms and family diversity in England and WalesEthnic, cultural and religious diversity in family lifeMarriage, cohabitation and singlehoodDivorce and separationFertility, birth rates and family sizeLife expectancy, ageing and the beanpole familyThe domestic division of labourPower, decision-making and domestic violenceChildhood and parent–child relationshipsFunctionalist and New Right theories of the familyMarxist and feminist theories of the familyPostmodernism, the life course and personal life
Youth CulturesAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewYouth and the social construction of adolescenceThe media and the formation of youth cultureEconomic change, consumption and the youth marketGlobalisation and youth cultureSocial class and youth subculturesGender and youth cultureEthnicity and youth cultureNational identity, Welshness and youth cultureNeo-tribes and the changing nature of youth cultureYouth deviance, delinquency and crimeAnti-school subcultures and the labelling of youthFunctionalist and Marxist theories of youth cultureFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of youth culture
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
Topic overviewQuestionnairesStructured interviewsUnstructured and semi-structured interviewsFocus groupsParticipant observationNon-participant and structured observationThe social surveyEthnographic methodsLongitudinal studiesExisting sociological research as secondary dataOfficial statistics and Welsh Government dataPersonal and public documents
Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
Topic overviewTarget populations, sampling frames and accessSimple random and systematic random samplingStratified random samplingQuota samplingSnowball and volunteer samplingPurposive and opportunity samplingInformed consent, deception and the right to withdrawAnonymity, confidentiality and privacySensitivity, vulnerability and protection from harmPractical constraints: operationalisation, time and cost
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
Topic overviewValidity in sociological researchReliability and replicationRepresentativeness and generalisabilityObjectivity, value freedom and biasEthics as a criterion for judging researchPositivism and the scientific study of societyInterpretivism and verstehenRealism and the critical realist approachChoosing an approach: theory and method in practice
EducationUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of education in societySocial class and differential attainmentGender and differential attainmentEthnicity and differential attainmentParticipation, choice and the marketisation of educationEducation policy in England and Wales since 1944Welsh-medium education and the Curriculum for WalesMaterial factors and educational attainmentCultural capital and cultural deprivationLabelling, streaming and pupil subculturesFunctionalist and New Right theories of educationMarxist theories of educationFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of education
MediaUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of the media in contemporary societyModels of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effectsActive audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theoryMoral panics and folk devilsNew media, globalisation and the digital divideOwnership and control of the mediaMedia professionals, news values and agenda settingRepresentations of social class and ageRepresentations of genderRepresentations of ethnicity, nationality and disabilityMedia policy and regulation in Wales and EnglandPluralist and Marxist theories of the mediaFunctionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media
ReligionUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of religion in contemporary societyReligion in Wales: chapel, nonconformity and the Welsh languageReligion as a conservative force and as a force for changePatterns of religious participation by social class and ageGender and religiosityEthnicity and religiosity in England and WalesChurches, denominations, sects and cultsNew religious movements and new age movementsFundamentalism and religion in a globalised worldSecularisation in England and WalesReligion and social policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of religionWeberian, feminist and postmodernist theories of religion
What WJEC AS Sociology covers, and what it leaves out
WJEC AS Sociology is the first year of the 601-5237-0 course and a qualification in its own right, examined in 2 units, AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2. This page holds only what the AS examines: 11 topics across 122 subtopics, 1,722 active recall questions, starting with Culture and the Social Construction of Culture, Socialisation and Its Agencies and Socialisation and Identity. The 6 topics kept back for the second year are not shown, so nothing here is content you have not been taught yet.
Starting the second year? The full WJEC A-Level Sociology page adds the A2 topics on top of everything here.
WJEC GCE AS and A Level Sociology (Wales), qualification number 601/5237/0, first teaching 2015. Read the WJEC specification ↗
How it is assessed
AS Unit 2
Understanding Society and Methods of Sociological Enquiry
- Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
- Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
- Key Concepts and Theories of Research
- Education
- Media
- Religion
2 hours90 marks25%
The full specification
11 topics, 122 subtopics. Open any topic to see what is inside it.
01Culture and the Social Construction of Culture8 subtopicsOpen topic
- Culture as a way of life
- Norms, values and beliefs
- Roles, status and role conflict
- Aspects of culture: dress, language, food and music
- Heritage and cultural tradition in Wales
- High culture, popular culture and global culture
- Nature, nurture and the social construction of culture
- Cultural diversity and sub-cultures
02Socialisation and Its Agencies9 subtopicsOpen topic
- Primary and secondary socialisation
- Role models, imitation and sanctions
- Families and primary cultural transmission
- Peer groups as an agency of socialisation
- Education as an agency of socialisation
- Religion as an agency of socialisation
- The media as an agency of socialisation
- Work, resocialisation and total institutions
- Formal and informal social control
03Socialisation and Identity9 subtopicsOpen topic
- Personal and social identity
- Theories of identity: structural, interactionist and postmodern
- Gender socialisation and gender identity
- Masculinity, femininity and change in gender identities
- Social class and identity
- Class change, mobility and the underclass
- Ethnicity and identity
- Nationality, national identity and Britishness
- Welsh identity and the Welsh language
04Families and HouseholdsAcquiring Culture13 subtopicsOpen topic
- Defining families and households
- Family forms and family diversity in England and Wales
- Ethnic, cultural and religious diversity in family life
- Marriage, cohabitation and singlehood
- Divorce and separation
- Fertility, birth rates and family size
- Life expectancy, ageing and the beanpole family
- The domestic division of labour
- Power, decision-making and domestic violence
- Childhood and parent–child relationships
- Functionalist and New Right theories of the family
- Marxist and feminist theories of the family
- Postmodernism, the life course and personal life
05Youth CulturesAcquiring Culture13 subtopicsOpen topic
- Youth and the social construction of adolescence
- The media and the formation of youth culture
- Economic change, consumption and the youth market
- Globalisation and youth culture
- Social class and youth subcultures
- Gender and youth culture
- Ethnicity and youth culture
- National identity, Welshness and youth culture
- Neo-tribes and the changing nature of youth culture
- Youth deviance, delinquency and crime
- Anti-school subcultures and the labelling of youth
- Functionalist and Marxist theories of youth culture
- Feminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of youth culture
06Research Methods: Primary and Secondary12 subtopicsOpen topic
- Questionnaires
- Structured interviews
- Unstructured and semi-structured interviews
- Focus groups
- Participant observation
- Non-participant and structured observation
- The social survey
- Ethnographic methods
- Longitudinal studies
- Existing sociological research as secondary data
- Official statistics and Welsh Government data
- Personal and public documents
07Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues10 subtopicsOpen topic
- Target populations, sampling frames and access
- Simple random and systematic random sampling
- Stratified random sampling
- Quota sampling
- Snowball and volunteer sampling
- Purposive and opportunity sampling
- Informed consent, deception and the right to withdraw
- Anonymity, confidentiality and privacy
- Sensitivity, vulnerability and protection from harm
- Practical constraints: operationalisation, time and cost
08Key Concepts and Theories of Research9 subtopicsOpen topic
- Validity in sociological research
- Reliability and replication
- Representativeness and generalisability
- Objectivity, value freedom and bias
- Ethics as a criterion for judging research
- Positivism and the scientific study of society
- Interpretivism and verstehen
- Realism and the critical realist approach
- Choosing an approach: theory and method in practice
09EducationUnderstanding Society13 subtopicsOpen topic
- The role and function of education in society
- Social class and differential attainment
- Gender and differential attainment
- Ethnicity and differential attainment
- Participation, choice and the marketisation of education
- Education policy in England and Wales since 1944
- Welsh-medium education and the Curriculum for Wales
- Material factors and educational attainment
- Cultural capital and cultural deprivation
- Labelling, streaming and pupil subcultures
- Functionalist and New Right theories of education
- Marxist theories of education
- Feminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of education
10MediaUnderstanding Society13 subtopicsOpen topic
- The role and function of the media in contemporary society
- Models of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effects
- Active audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theory
- Moral panics and folk devils
- New media, globalisation and the digital divide
- Ownership and control of the media
- Media professionals, news values and agenda setting
- Representations of social class and age
- Representations of gender
- Representations of ethnicity, nationality and disability
- Media policy and regulation in Wales and England
- Pluralist and Marxist theories of the media
- Functionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media
11ReligionUnderstanding Society13 subtopicsOpen topic
- The role and function of religion in contemporary society
- Religion in Wales: chapel, nonconformity and the Welsh language
- Religion as a conservative force and as a force for change
- Patterns of religious participation by social class and age
- Gender and religiosity
- Ethnicity and religiosity in England and Wales
- Churches, denominations, sects and cults
- New religious movements and new age movements
- Fundamentalism and religion in a globalised world
- Secularisation in England and Wales
- Religion and social policy in England and Wales
- Functionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of religion
- Weberian, feminist and postmodernist theories of religion
How you work through it
Pick the mode that fits the time you have.
Try three questions
No account needed. Answer from memory first.
Your recallNot started
Key term
How does culture differ from society?
Key term
Explain why sociologists reject the idea that human behaviour is fixed by instinct.
Key term
Why does dress so often become a site of cultural conflict?
Spaced Repetition Schedule
How reviews are timed
Levo will automatically distribute all of your progress into a spaced repetition calendar. Once you’ve answered, it’s scheduled for you on the next day in the spaced repetition schedule. Over time, the gaps between your recall get bigger, from a day to three years, reinforcing memorisation over a long period of time.
Interval sequence
- 1 day
- 3 days
- 7 days
- 14 days
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 4 months
- 8 months
- 1 year
- 2 years
- 3 years
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material
Sociology revision questions
Common questions about revising WJEC AS-Level Sociology. Tap any to open it.
What is on WJEC AS Sociology?
11 topics across 122 subtopics, examined in AS Unit 1 and AS Unit 2. They are all listed on this page, and each one opens to the subtopics inside it. The full topic list is Culture and the Social Construction of Culture, Socialisation and Its Agencies, Socialisation and Identity, Families and Households, Youth Cultures, Research Methods: Primary and Secondary and more.
Does AS Sociology count towards the full A level?
Yes. In Wales the AS units are marked as a standalone AS qualification and also carry forward into the full WJEC A level, which is why the first year matters more here than it does in England. Check the current weighting on the 601-5237-0 specification, as it is set by the board rather than by us.
What is the difference between AS and A level Sociology?
AS is the first-year units only. The A level adds 6 further topics, among them Crime and Deviance, Health and Disability, World Sociology, and expects you to connect them back to the AS material. Work the AS content here, then move up to the full A level page when you start the second year.
When do you sit WJEC AS Sociology?
Normally at the end of Year 12, in the summer series. That gives you one year to memorise 1,722 questions' worth of material, which is roughly 9 questions a day across an academic year if you start in September.
How should you revise for AS Sociology?
By retrieval, not rereading. Cover the answer, pull it from memory, then check. Levo runs that loop across all 11 AS topics and brings each question back on a spaced schedule, so what you learn in September is still there in June.
Is it worth revising AS content again for the A level?
Yes, and it is the mistake most students make. The second-year papers assume the first year, and in Wales the AS marks usually count towards the final grade as well. Keeping the AS material on a spaced schedule through Year 13 costs far less time than relearning it.
How many questions are there for WJEC AS Sociology?
1,722, written from the 601-5237-0 subject content and grouped into 122 subtopics so you can work one small area at a time rather than a whole topic at once.
Can you use Levo for just the AS year?
Yes. Pick your subject, choose the AS topics on the topic screen, and every mode — the 3-step method, Cram, Blank Blitz, Build It and Test It — works only that material. Add the second-year topics when you get to them.
Every question in Sociology, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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