AS Level: socialisation and identity, sociological theory and methods, social inequality. A Level extends to in-depth study of family, education, globalisation, mass media and religion.
| Topic | Sub-Topic | Confidence (1–5) | Last Reviewed | Next Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS1. Socialisation and identity (AS) | Definitions of culture, socialisation and identity | |||
| 1. Socialisation and identity (AS) | Primary vs secondary socialisation; agencies of socialisation | |||
| 1. Socialisation and identity (AS) | Nature vs nurture debate; feral children case studies | |||
| 1. Socialisation and identity (AS) | Theories of identity: structural and interpretive perspectives | |||
| 1. Socialisation and identity (AS) | Sources and types of social identity (age, gender, ethnicity, class) | |||
| AS2. Sociological theory and methods (AS) | Functionalism, Marxism, feminism and interactionism — key ideas | |||
| 2. Sociological theory and methods (AS) | Positivism vs interpretivism: methodological implications | |||
| 2. Sociological theory and methods (AS) | Research methods: questionnaires, interviews, observation, experiments | |||
| 2. Sociological theory and methods (AS) | Primary vs secondary data; quantitative vs qualitative | |||
| 2. Sociological theory and methods (AS) | Reliability, validity, representativeness and ethics | |||
| AS3. Social inequality (AS) | Stratification systems: class, caste, slavery, gender, ethnicity | |||
| 3. Social inequality (AS) | Measuring social class; life chances | |||
| 3. Social inequality (AS) | Gender inequality at work, home and education | |||
| 3. Social inequality (AS) | Ethnicity, racism and discrimination | |||
| 3. Social inequality (AS) | Age-based inequality and ageism | |||
| 3. Social inequality (AS) | Theories of inequality (functionalist, Marxist, feminist, Weberian) | |||
| ↓ A Level content begins. Papers 3 & 4 build on AS Level material. AS content is assumed knowledge. | ||||
| A Level4. The family (A Level) | Definitions and types of family (nuclear, extended, lone-parent, reconstituted) | |||
| 4. The family (A Level) | Functionalist, Marxist and feminist views on the family | |||
| 4. The family (A Level) | Changes in family structure: marriage, divorce, cohabitation | |||
| 4. The family (A Level) | Childhood as a social construct | |||
| 4. The family (A Level) | Power and inequality within the family (gender roles, domestic violence) | |||
| A Level5. Education (A Level) | Functions of education: economic, social, political | |||
| 5. Education (A Level) | Functionalist, Marxist and interactionist perspectives | |||
| 5. Education (A Level) | Inequality in education: class, gender, ethnicity | |||
| 5. Education (A Level) | Hidden curriculum and labelling theory | |||
| 5. Education (A Level) | Education and social policy: marketisation, privatisation | |||
| A Level6. Globalisation, media and religion (A Level) | Globalisation: causes, processes, cultural impacts | |||
| 6. Globalisation, media and religion (A Level) | Mass media: ownership, content and audience effects | |||
| 6. Globalisation, media and religion (A Level) | Media representations of class, gender, ethnicity | |||
| 6. Globalisation, media and religion (A Level) | Religion: definitions, types (church, sect, cult, denomination) | |||
| 6. Globalisation, media and religion (A Level) | Secularisation debate and religious fundamentalism | |||
| A Level7. Exam skills and assessment | Short-answer questions: definitions and brief examples | |||
| 7. Exam skills and assessment | Source-based questions: interpreting and evaluating data | |||
| 7. Exam skills and assessment | Essay structure: introduction, argument, evaluation, conclusion | |||
| 7. Exam skills and assessment | Use of sociological evidence, studies and statistics | |||
| 7. Exam skills and assessment | Synoptic links across topics and theories | |||
Use with our Past Paper Finder for Cambridge A Level Sociology 9699 past papers.
Quick answers about this free revision checklist, how to use it for exam prep, and how it relates to the official syllabus.
This revision checklist mirrors the official Cambridge A Level Sociology 9699 syllabus for the 2026 examination series. Every topic and sub-topic on the page is taken from the published syllabus document, so working through the list in order gives you full coverage of what your exam can assess. It is aligned to the AS & A Level tier expectations. For the authoritative version, always cross-check with the latest syllabus PDF on your exam board's website before your final revision push.
The number of top-level topic groups varies by subject, but you can see the exact count on this page — each major heading in the checklist corresponds to one syllabus topic group, and each row below it is a syllabus-level sub-topic. Use the confidence column (1–5) to flag which sub-topics need more work, and re-score yourself weekly to track real progress instead of guessing.
12–16 weeks of focused revision, working through one topic group per week with weekly past-paper practice, is a realistic target for most A Level students. Use this checklist to plan your weeks: filter by topics you have rated 1–3 and spend your first revision block there. Subjects with heavy practical or extended-writing components (e.g. sciences, English) need more past-paper time in the final block than the topic-by-topic phase.
Revise in roughly the order the syllabus lists the topics — exam boards build later topics on earlier ones, so taking them in syllabus order avoids gaps. Once you have rated every topic, switch to weakest-first: filter the checklist by confidence ≤ 2 and prioritise those topics in your next study block. This is more effective than re-revising topics you already score 4–5 on.
You can find past papers and mark schemes via Tutopiya's Past Paper Finder and on your exam board's official site. Once you have rated each sub-topic on this checklist, attempt past-paper questions on your weakest topics first — practising under timed conditions is the single best predictor of exam performance, more so than re-reading notes.
Use the Download CSV or Print PDF button at the bottom of the checklist. CSV opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets so you can sort by confidence and re-arrange revision order. The PDF is print-ready for offline use. A free Tutopiya account is required for download — this also unlocks the matching topic resources, notes and worked examples on the Learning Portal.
Yes, the checklist itself is free — you can view, score and re-score every topic on this page without an account. The CSV / PDF downloads and access to matching Tutopiya Learning Portal resources require a free account. There is no payment required at any point; teachers and parents can also use this checklist freely with their students.
Yes. The topics and sub-topics on this page are drawn from the current 2026 Cambridge A Level Sociology 9699 specification published by Cambridge. Exam boards occasionally tweak weighting or assessment structure mid-cycle, so do a quick sanity-check against the official syllabus PDF when you start your revision and again 4 weeks before the exam.