Themes and sub-themes — Edexcel A-Level Russian
Test yourself on Themes and sub-themes with PEARSON EDEXCEL A-Level practice questions.
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Themes and sub-themes explained
This row explains the scope of the four themes: they cover social issues and trends, and also political and artistic culture, in Russia and Russian-speaking countries.
Read the full explanation
It is guidance on what to study, not an assessed task. As you work through each theme, make sure you can discuss social topics such as changes in family life, education or employment, and cultural topics such as political structures, cinema, music or literature, always with reference to Russia and the wider Russian-speaking world. For example, when studying a social trend, collect current examples and the Russian vocabulary to describe causes and effects; when studying artistic culture, learn to describe a work, its creator and its significance. Keep your examples within the specified scope and avoid drifting into unrelated countries or periods.
Your focus
- Describe social issues and trends in Russia and Russian-speaking countries.
- Explain aspects of political and artistic culture in the same contexts.
- Select and use appropriate examples and vocabulary for both social and cultural topics.
Themes and sub-themes exam tips
Examiner Tips
- 💡For each theme, prepare at least one social example and one cultural example with the vocabulary needed to describe and evaluate them.
- 💡Keep a cultural log of Russian and Russian-speaking films, music, art or political developments, noting key facts and useful phrases.
- 💡When practising writing or speaking, check that your response addresses both the social and the cultural dimension where the task allows.
Common Mistakes
- Studying only social issues and neglecting political and artistic culture. Correction: the themes require both social and cultural coverage, so plan revision across both areas.
- Restricting examples to Russia alone and ignoring Russian-speaking countries. Correction: the scope explicitly includes Russia and Russian-speaking countries, so include examples from both.
- Treating the themes as a list of facts to memorise rather than topics to discuss. Correction: build the language to analyse trends, issues and cultural works, not just to recall information.