WHAT IS GENERAL STUDIES?
 Covers a variety of topic areas involving different
subject areas e.g. Law, Science , Art, Sociology etc
 Unit 1 – Challenges for Society – Exam in January 2013
 Unit 2 – The Individual in Society - Exam in May 2013
 Your AS General Studies course guide will give you a
complete overview of the subject – make sure you read
it and look at the exam format.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN
GENERAL STUDIES
 Attend all lessons with enthusiasm and interest
 Supplement learning in class by keeping up to date
with current affairs
 Familiarise yourself with the content of each unit
 Practice exam questions to prepare fully for module
examinations
 Use the edexcell website www.edexcel.org.uk
UNIT ONE – DEBATE FORMAT
 Unit one will be delivered through a debate format.
 You will be allowed to choose which debating topic
area you want to be involved in.
 Teaching groups will then be allocated on the basis of
your choice of debate.
 We hope that all students will be allocated their first
choice.
 The debates will take place in the common room in
front of the year group.
DEBATE FORMAT - STUDENT ROLES
 1 CHAIRPERSON
 4 PROPOSITION SPEAKERS (FOR)
 4 OPPOSITION SPEAKERS (AGAINST)
 2 NOTE TAKERS DURING DEBATE
 2 STUDENT LEADERS ONE FOR EACH SIDE
 RESEARCHERS/SUPPORTERS
DEBATING TOPICS
 “Science has done more harm than benefit to the
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Planet and Society”.
Medicine
Extermination of animals/Protection of species
War
Nuclear Power/Nuclear Bombs
Religious beliefs and modern
scientific ideas are incompatible.
 Darwinism V’s Creationism
 Materialism V’s Design theory
 Sense perception V’s The ‘leap’ of faith
 Scientific progress V’s The ‘myth’ of progress and the
issue of moral decline
There is more immoral behaviour in modern
society because fewer people are religious.
 What is immoral behaviour and who decides this?
 How does religion prevent immoral behaviour?
 Is there a connection between religion and morality?
 How do we define morality?
 How do we decide whether someone is religious?
 Is there any immoral behaviour as a result of religion?
 Are there any conflicting or additional factors in the
increase in immoral behaviour?
Does the increase in personal data
benefit society?
 Would you like someone following your every move? Would you really
like to be a part of something like Big Brother?
 In this debate you will look at whether the governments increase in the
use of personal data will benefit society. In 2006 the Identity Cards Act
was introduced which allowed individuals to have the choice to hold an
identity card. The main purpose of this identity card were to be used
instead of a British passport, although there was talk about the
government making it compulsory for everyone to have an identity card
and to carry it with them at all times, producing it if need be. Do you
think this would benefit society, having all your personal information
on one card?
 In 2010 the government started to scrap the
identity cards and in 2011 they were ceased to be
legal documents. Is this because the government
felt that the identity cards were of no good to the
public?
 This is your chance to look at things such as the
identity cards, the use of CCTV, DNA database,
human rights and the Data Protection Act 1998.
REHABILITATION IS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN RETRIBUTION
 Reform of the defendant v imprisonment
 Costs involved in imprisonment
 Is there any point in sending people to prison – is there
any benefit to society
 Capital punishment – purpose – is it a deterrent?
 Benefits of rehabilitation – public perception
ANIMAL USE IN SOCIETY IS WRONG
 Drug testing
 Farming
 Hunting
 Pets
 Zoos-captivity
 Selective breeding/crufts/kennel club
 Racing
We should stop funding the development of new health
treatments and instead spend all available money on
treating patients
 Current examples of expensive equipment; CAT scan, MRI,
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mass spectrometer, nuclear magnetic resonance.
Development of expensive drugs and their trials.
Do pregnant women need as many scans?
Is all cosmetic surgery necessary?
Standards of patient care falling; the elderly particularly
vulnerable.
Are nurses over trained – above tasks such as dealing with
bed pans.
More nurses needed.
Shortage of midwives.
Numbers of both smear tests and breast x-rays have been
reduced – cost cutting.
NOW YOU CHOOSE!
EXAMPLE OF PUBLIC SPEAKING
Link:
http://vimeo.com/channels/esupublicspeaki
ng
NOW YOU TRY!
JUST A MINUTE EXERCISE.