Consequences of poverty (health, education, crime)

    AQA
    GCSE

    Candidates must analyze the correlation between poverty and life chances across health, education, and crime. The study necessitates a critical evaluation of material deprivation versus cultural explanations (e.g., Lewis's 'Culture of Poverty' vs. structural inequality). Analysis must extend to the 'cycle of deprivation' and the role of state intervention. Candidates are expected to apply sociological perspectives (Marxist, Functionalist, New Right, Interactionist) to explain why lower socioeconomic groups disproportionately experience morbidity, educational underachievement, and criminalization.

    0
    Objectives
    4
    Exam Tips
    3
    Pitfalls
    3
    Key Terms
    4
    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Credit explicit use of the term 'life chances' (Weber) when discussing outcomes in health and education
    • Award marks for distinguishing between material deprivation (housing, diet) and cultural deprivation (values, language codes)
    • Responses must link poverty to crime using sociological theory, such as Merton's Strain Theory or Cohen's Status Frustration, rather than biological assumptions
    • High-level responses will critique the link, noting that white-collar crime proves poverty is not the sole driver of deviance

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Credit explicit use of the term 'life chances' (Weber) when discussing outcomes in health and education
    • Award marks for distinguishing between material deprivation (housing, diet) and cultural deprivation (values, language codes)
    • Responses must link poverty to crime using sociological theory, such as Merton's Strain Theory or Cohen's Status Frustration, rather than biological assumptions
    • High-level responses will critique the link, noting that white-collar crime proves poverty is not the sole driver of deviance

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡When using the Item (source), explicitly quote the relevant phrase before developing the sociological link
    • 💡For 12-mark questions, ensure a 'juxtaposition' of theories (e.g., contrast Murray's Underclass theory with Marxist structural inequality)
    • 💡Use the 'PERC' structure for paragraphs: Point, Explain, Refer to sociologist/study, Critique
    • 💡Allocate strictly 1 minute per mark; do not over-write on the 3-mark or 4-mark questions at the expense of the 12-marker

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Confusing 'absolute poverty' (subsistence) with 'relative poverty' (social exclusion) in the UK context
    • Providing anecdotal or common-sense explanations (e.g., 'poor people are lazy') instead of sociological concepts like the 'poverty trap'
    • Failing to critique the view that poverty causes crime by ignoring corporate or state crime

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

    Identify
    Describe
    Explain
    Discuss how far
    Examine
    Evaluate

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