There will be one 12-mark extended response style question in the final examination.

The question that you will answer will be:

Analyse the concept of power with reference to the work of Steven Lukes.

(12 marks)

Under examination conditions, the writing of a response to this style of question should take no more than 25 minutes.

You are not going to write your response to this question under examination conditions, so you should expect this task to take around 1 hour to complete.

For 12-mark responses, a maximum of 8 marks can be awarded for knowledge and understanding (description, explanation and exemplification) and the remaining four marks for demonstration of the higher-order skill of analysis. 

Analytical comments can take a number of forms. You need to consider the implications of the K points that you include, any contradictions, references to why theK point is important/significant etc.

You can spin this analytical/evaluation wheel to give you some ideas to help you construct analytical sentences. An example could be:

This means that .....because....

As a result of this......

This is significant because it reveals...

This is important as it shows that Lukes' theories are.....because....

It is advisable to include 4 descriptive points, 4 examples and 4 pieces of analysis.

You should include three separate paragraphs about Lukes' concept of power (one paragraph should be allocated to each 'face' of power). 

There is no requirement for you to write an introduction or conclusion for a 12-mark extended response style question.

Now that the SQA has confirmed that one of the 20 mark essays will appear in the Political Theory unit, it is a good idea to prepare a response to the following question.

The concepts of Power, Authority and Legitimacy all remain highly relevant in the 21st century.

Discuss with reference to the ideas of Steven Lukes and Max Weber

This essay can be approached in a number of ways, but what you need to make sure of is to include the ideas of Lukes and Weber. You can write paragraphs about the faces of power according to Lukes and a paragraph about Weber's types of authority, but these need to be connected to the question asked.

Think about the relevance of Lukes' theory. Where are the faces of power seen specifically? You can use international or UK examples. Are some of his faces of power more relevant in the past or today? How are his ideas linked to the concept of legitimacy? How are they linked to authority? This is how you can gain analysis marks.

Think about the relevance of Weber's theory. Where are the types of authority seen specifically? You can use international or UK examples. Are some of his types of authority more relevant in the past or today? How are his ideas linked to the concept of legitimacy? How are they linked to power? This is how you can gain analysis marks.

Think about how consistent their theories are. Are there any limitations to their theories? Check back on your notes that you made. Are their theories relevant to only certain parts of the world or certain types of political systems (democracies, authoritarian regimes, etc)?

Are there any other theorists that you can bring in, perhaps to use as an alternative view?

Try to include detailed examples in your essay. This essay will not allow examples that are not 21st century.

We are looking for 8 knowledge points in total (a mixture of K (facts) and Kegs (examples), 6 analytical points, 4 conclusions points and 2 structure points (include a line of argument in your introduction and write in paragraphs that flow)

If you have any questions about how to approach this essay, just get in touch via email or add a comment in the space below.