Summary and Exam Preparation

Graham Finlay
School of Politics and IR
 When and Where
Tuesday, December 13, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
RDS Shelbourne Hall, Anglesea Road
 Sample Questions:
from Syllabus
• 4 questions to choose from, please answer two
• Examples:
• Can a society be both free and equal?
• ‘The average person knows little about the affairs of state.
Therefore he or she should have little influence on
government policy.’ Is this a strong argument against
participatory democracy?
• Does democracy work only when people share certain
values?
• Are any of the essential differences between men and
women politically relevant?
 Practicalities

I suggest you prepare two theorists, not one

and not all three. You must refer to the
theorists! If you do not, you will fail.
The criteria for your answer:
Relevance: Does your essay answer the
question asked? Is everything in it relevant to the
question?
Structure: Is your essay well structured and
controlled? Does it have a clear direction and
cohesion?
 Practicalities

Knowledge: Does your essay show accurate knowledge

of the authors studied in the course? Does it indicate that
you have studied the required texts? Is it based on a
narrow or a wide range of knowledge of the texts?
Understanding: How good an understanding of the
authors and issues does the essay demonstrate? Do you
have a clear grasp of the problems and of how different
authors have dealt with them? Are your ideas clearly
expressed?
 Practicalities

Argument/Analysis: Does your essay

show an ability to argue a point of view
and to assess the strengths and
weaknesses of opposing arguments?
Does it take an analytical approach, as
contrasted with a descriptive approach?
 Practicalities

You do not have to give quotations or cite page

numbers.
You DO have to make some reference to the
readings in the module. Without that you will
fail the question.