On this page, you will find some recommendations on what to watch, read, listen and do to engage with your subject. As well as feeding your intellectual curiosity, these links may provide useful material for your UCAS statement. Once you have engaged with the links, make sure that you practise putting your thoughts into words with the writing activity at the end.
Watch
A Conservative’s Plea: Let’s Work Together
Are China and the USA Doomed to Conflict
Read
Listen
The Class Gap: Why it Pays to be Privileged
Is the Government More Entrepreneurial than you Think?
Do
- Visit a political institution – There are lots of opportunities to see the political process in action. These include both national and local government, including observing the Houses of Parliament or the Supreme Court in action. You can also observe local institutions such as councils and courthouses.
- Subscribe to a high quality broadsheet – Politics is an easy subject to follow; it happens every day and there is a huge amount of commentary around it. By subscribing to a high quality broadsheet you will be able to follow developments in contemporary politics easily.
- Join or support a campaign – One of the most interesting ways to learn about politics is to do it. In the age of social media and community organising, there are many campaigns that you can join or support, including through demonstrating, fundraising or lobbying. One website that brings campaigns together in one place is 38 Degrees.
Write
- To apply to university, you need to demonstrate that you are well informed about the subject and have a strong interest in studying it at greater depth. To get started, practice writing about your subject interests by composing short responses to the following questions:
- What have you watched, read or listened to that has inspired you?
- Why was it interesting?
- What new issues did you learn about?
- What do you want to find out next?
- What excites you about the subject?
- Why do you think studying the subject is important?