The Cambridge AS & A Level Sociology (9699) May/June 2026 papers and mark schemes are out, and they’re free. All four papers, 9699/12 to 9699/42, can be downloaded and printed on the Tutopiya Learning Portal. Below is every question and essay title set in 2026 and how the mark scheme gave marks, taken from the papers themselves.

Key points from the 2026 9699 papers

• Identity and inequality linked the papers. Age identity and traditional identities on Paper 1, gender inequality in the family on Paper 2, ethnicity and attainment on Paper 3, and women’s inequality in religion on Paper 4.
• Marxist ideas were central twice: the Paper 3 essay named the Marxist view of education, and the Paper 4 colonialism question drew on Marxist theories of development such as Frank and Wallerstein.
• Research methods were only on Paper 1: qualitative methods, structured interviews, longitudinal studies, and an essay on researchers’ values and bias.
• Papers 1 and 2 share one format. A 4-mark question, an 8 and a 6, a 10 and a 6, then a choice of two 26-mark essays.
• Every long answer is levelled by assessment objective. You get a separate mark for knowledge (AO1), application (AO2) and evaluation (AO3).

All May/June 2026 9699 papers

Paper	Code	Duration	Marks	What it tests
Paper 1 Socialisation, Identity and Methods of Research	9699/12	1 hour 30 minutes	60	Identity and research methods (AS)
Paper 2 The Family	9699/22	1 hour 30 minutes	60	The family (AS)
Paper 3 Education	9699/32	1 hour 15 minutes	50	Education (A Level)
Paper 4 Globalisation, Media and Religion	9699/42	1 hour 45 minutes	70	Two essays from three sections (A Level)

Timings and marks are taken from the front cover of each 2026 paper. All four papers are answered in an answer booklet. For the full syllabus content, see the Cambridge International AS & A Level Sociology 9699 syllabus.

Which variant is this? Cambridge sets different versions of each paper (variants) for different time zones. The papers here are variant 2: 9699/12, /22, /32 and /42. All variants cover the same syllabus at the same difficulty, so variant 2 is just as good for practice as the one your school sat.

Download the 9699 May/June 2026 papers →

What came up in 9699 Paper 1 (Socialisation, Identity and Methods of Research), May/June 2026?

You answer all of Section A and one essay from Section B. Four questions, 60 marks.

Question	Topic	Marks
1	Describe two types of qualitative research method	4
2(a)	Two reasons why structured interviews are high in reliability	8
2(b)	One strength and one limitation of longitudinal studies	6
3(a)	Explain the view that education is the most important influence on age identity	10
3(b)	One argument against that view	6
4 (or 5)	Essay: whether traditional social identities are the most important influence on how people live today	26
5 (or 4)	Essay: whether the sociologist’s values lead to bias in research findings	26

Watch for: Question 3 is about age identity only. The scheme says points about class or gender identity, or about socialisation in general, need a clear link to age to earn credit.

What came up in 9699 Paper 2 (The Family)?

Paper 2 has the same layout as Paper 1: Section A in full, then one essay.

Question	Topic	Marks
1	Describe two changes that have led to more divorce in some societies	4
2(a)	Two ways the family benefits society, according to functionalists	8
2(b)	One strength and one limitation of functionalist views of the family	6
3(a)	Explain the view that parenthood today is different from the past	10
3(b)	One argument against that view	6
4 (or 5)	Essay: whether grandparents play an important role in the family	26
5 (or 4)	Essay: whether gender inequality still exists within family life	26

Watch for: Question 1 asked for changes. The scheme gave no credit for timeless reasons people divorce, such as affairs or falling out of love, because they aren’t changes.

What came up in 9699 Paper 3 (Education)?

Paper 3 had four compulsory questions worth 50 marks.

Question	Topic	Marks
1	Describe two ways schools prepare some pupils for working-class jobs	4
2	Two reasons why schools may fail to teach society’s norms to all pupils	8
3	Two arguments against the view that ethnicity has no effect on attainment	12
4	Essay: the Marxist view that education systems legitimise social inequality	26

What made it hard: Question 3 rewarded arguments against the view only. Explaining or supporting the view earned nothing.

What came up in 9699 Paper 4 (Globalisation, Media and Religion)?

You write two essays, each from a different section, at 35 marks each.

Section	Option 1	Option 2
A Globalisation	Q1: poverty in developing societies as a result of colonialism	Q2: whether global migration has only positive consequences for migrants
B Media	Q3: whether media representations stereotype some groups more negatively than others	Q4: whether studies show the media directly influences behaviour
C Religion	Q5: whether religion contributes to women’s inequality	Q6: whether religious organisations remain an important influence

Each title is a quoted view followed by “Evaluate this view”. The scheme’s key focus notes point to theories on both sides, for example Marxist theories of development against modernisation theory for Question 1, and hypodermic syringe models against uses and gratifications for Question 4.

How the 9699 May/June 2026 mark scheme gives marks

Short questions are point-marked; longer ones are levelled. Here’s what the 2026 schemes show.

1. The 8-mark “explain two” questions give 4 marks per point. Paper 2 Question 2(a) gave 1 mark for the way, 1 for explaining it, 1 for relevant sociological material (such as Parsons or warm bath theory) and 1 for explaining how that material supports the point. The scheme was clear that the fourth mark can’t be given without the material. Paper 3 Question 2 used the same structure, with Mac an Ghaill’s “Macho Lads” as an example.

2. Saying what reliability means isn’t a reason. In Paper 1 Question 2(a), “because they can be repeated” was treated as a definition, not a reason. You needed something like the same questions in the same order, then why that makes the interview easy to repeat.

3. Strength and limitation answers have three steps. Paper 1 Question 2(b) gave 3 marks for each: identify it, explain why longitudinal studies have it, and explain why it is a strength or limitation. Saying people’s views might change is not a weakness, because tracking change is the point of the method.

4. The 10-mark “explain this view” has three levels. On Paper 2 Question 3(a), Level 3 (8 to 10) needed two clear, developed points, both supported by sociological material focused on parenthood. Level 2 (4 to 7) had one developed point and one underdeveloped one. Talking about men’s and women’s roles with no link to parenting was held at Level 1.

5. The 6-mark “argument against” rewards one argument only. On Paper 2 Question 3(b), examiners credited only the strongest argument and marked any others as seen. Level 3 (5 to 6) needed one clear, developed argument with focused material.

6. The 26-mark essays split marks by AO. On Papers 1 and 2, AO1 is out of 8, AO2 out of 8 and AO3 out of 10. Paper 3 changes the split to 10, 6 and 10. For AO3, the top band (9 to 10) needs evaluation that is clear, explicit and sustained. The next band (7 to 8) is explicit but not sustained, or leans on describing the other side. Setting arguments side by side without focus (juxtaposition) sits at 5 to 6.

7. Range of points beats range of topics. For Paper 1 Question 4, the scheme said an essay on gender identities alone could still get full marks if it made a range of different points.

8. The Paper 4 essays use a 9, 11, 15 split. Each 35-mark essay gives up to 9 marks for AO1, 11 for AO2 and 15 for AO3. To reach the top AO3 band (12 to 15) you need clear, sustained analysis, detailed and explicit evaluation, and a range of contrasting views.

Which papers should you sit?

• AS Level: Paper 1 and Paper 2.
• Full A Level: Papers 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Paper 3 has no choice. On Papers 1 and 2 you pick one of two essays, and on Paper 4 you pick two essays from different sections. Revise at least two Paper 4 sections fully, so you still have a choice if one title looks hard.

How to use the 2026 papers as a mock

1. Keep them for last. Use older 9699 papers for topic practice and save May/June 2026 for a timed mock close to your exam.
2. Time the 26-mark essay. On Papers 1 and 2, leave about 40 minutes for the essay after Section A.
3. Use the point, explain, material, explain pattern. For each 8-mark answer, check you have all four steps for both points.
4. Mark each AO separately. Give your essay an AO1, an AO2 and an AO3 mark using the grids, then add them up.
5. Write an evaluation plan for every Paper 4 title. For all six, list two theories or studies on each side and a judgement.

More A Level Sociology resources

• A Level past papers 2026: all subjects

🔍 Looking for a specific past paper? Use our free Past Paper Finder to search by subject, year and exam board.

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Frequently asked questions

Are the 9699 May/June 2026 past papers free? +

Yes. All four question papers (9699/12, 9699/22, 9699/32 and 9699/42) and their official mark schemes are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

What came up in 9699 Paper 2 May/June 2026? +

Paper 2 (The Family) asked about changes that increased divorce, how the family benefits society according to functionalists, a strength and limitation of functionalism, and whether parenthood today differs from the past. The 26-mark essay choice was the role of grandparents or gender inequality in family life.

What were the 9699 Paper 4 essay titles in 2026? +

Globalisation offered poverty and colonialism or the consequences of migration for migrants. Media offered negative stereotyping of some groups or the direct influence of the media on behaviour. Religion offered religion and women's inequality or the influence of religious organisations. You answer two, each from a different section.

How is the 26-mark essay in 9699 marked? +

It is marked separately for each assessment objective. On Papers 1 and 2 that is 8 marks for AO1, 8 for AO2 and 10 for AO3. On Paper 3 it is 10, 6 and 10. The top AO3 band needs evaluation that is clear, explicit and sustained.

Why can't I find 9699/11 or 9699/13 for 2026? +

Only variant 2 of the May/June 2026 papers is on the portal at the moment. Cambridge sets different variants for different time zones; variants 1 and 3 test the same syllabus in the same format, so variant 2 prepares you just as well.

When will the October/November 2026 9699 papers be available? +

Cambridge usually releases the October/November papers in the new year. We add them to the Learning Portal once they are published.

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