This task links to the Course Assessment Specification (CAS): The executive branch -the distribution of power, the function of policy-making & the relationship between the executive and other branches of government.

We are going to move on to really think about making clear comparative analyses of the UK and US executives. We need to consider the following areas of comparison:

1. The distribution of power, or what powers does the executive have especially in relation to making appointments (powers of patronage), passing legislation (laws) and fiscal powers (power relating to spending money and passing national budgets)

2. The function of policy-making and how easy it is for the executive to act upon these policies.

3. The relationship between the executive and the legislature (in the UK = Parliament and in the US = Congress)

4. The relationship between the executive and the judiciary (the courts of law. It is probably most straightforward to look at the highest court in each political system: the Supreme Court)

You may find the two pdfs attached to the top of this post helpful.

You should begin to organise your notes under the headings above. You can create your notes in any format. See some suggestions made for the previous task. You can copy and paste any of the notes above that I have written in the posts and add them under the relevant headings.

This will help you to prepare for the final task: the 12 mark extended response.