Although aimed mainly at AQA students (with some sections being relevant to OCR), this handy, pocket-sized, booklet identifies and briefly explains a range of key ideas and concepts. These are highlighted within the text which also uses bullet-point lists to draw student attention to significant information. Short self-test questions (with answers) are also included, making this a helpful way for students to structure their revision. Its size also makes it easy for students to revise in those "wasted moments" spent waiting for the bus, moving between classes or eating their lunch...

Published by Letts (who also publish Stephen Moore's A-level Sociology revision book), this is an interesting attempt to provide students with a cheap (£5), clearly-written and straightforward revision book. It concentrates on the most basic information required for each section of the syllabus (and you'd better believe me when I say basic - it makes most revision books look verbose and bloated by comparison) and also includes useful checklists of key terms. As well as being a revision text, it's also the kind of book that could be used to give students a grounding in a course area before more-detailed investigation / analysis is done.

Basically, it's a very simple idea. Identify a range of sociological concepts that have relevance to various course modules (family life, education, media and the like) and then design a series of questions for students to answer to reinforce their understanding of said concepts. Throw in a section with answers to the questions and that's about it really. I suspect the main use for the workbook will be end-of-course / module revision, but it could also prove useful as a "lesson closing" exercise whereby students spend a few minutes discussing the meaning of major concepts introduced during the course of a lesson...

This aims to provide students with a complete revision system for A-Level Sociology and, by and large, it succeeds in this aim. The planner is packed with sensible advice about the things that students preparing for the exam should (but rarely ever) do if they are to organise their revision efficiently. All the usual revision stuff is present (organisation checklists, tips on how to revise, etc.) and while the style and presentation is worthy rather than inspirational, it's a useful collection of ideas to have. If you want to check it out, there's a link to the publishers (Pearson) in the Links section of this site (under "Study Skills") that you can use to download 4 sample pages.

My favourite A-level revision book and one I highly recommend. There's good syllabus coverage (although there are omissions and, as you might expect, there's not always a great deal of depth involved) and the book is designed and laid-out clearly. It also features self-test questions and answers in each section, which is a quick and useful way of checking understanding. In general terms, this is probably the revision book to buy for students who have a good understanding of the syllabus.

Advanced Sociology Through Diagrams
T.Lawson,M.Jones,R.Moores (2000)

A deceptively simple idea, well-executed in the main, that consists of a series of diagrams (yes, really) covering each module and specification topic for both OCR and AQA. Each diagram is designed to encapsulate basic knowledge about a particular topic in a visual way. Although designed to be a revision book, the way the text summarises sections of the course makes it potentially useful as a teaching aide right the way through the AS / A2 course - it should even stimulate students into making their own visual revision charts if they find this type of approach helpful. I can also see diagrams being photocopied and used as wall charts (although this, of course, would be a breach of copyright...). I'm very positive about the value of this type of book - my one reservation with the book itself is that some of the text seems "incomplete" - as if it was rushed-out to meet the new specifications.

A rule of thumb I use when deciding whether to buy a book is that if it has a picture of the author on the back cover, don't buy it. This book has a picture of the author on the back cover (so be warned). As a revision book, its major failing is an over-concentration on the analysis of "student essay answers" as some sort of guide about what - and what not - to do in an exam. This technique gives the text an old-fashioned feel and is generally unattractive, both as a design feature and revision technique. Coupled with this, the knowledge-base is relatively small and restricted. It is, however, reasonably cheap.

The latest edition doesn't add anything substantial to the above. It still has: a nasty, difficult-to-read type face; the "student essay answers" technique as a central feature; minimal revision material.