WASSCE Government · Paper 1 style

Pressure groups

One sample question with the full working. 3 more in the app, with instant feedback and repair sessions for the traps below.

Which method is commonly used by pressure groups to influence government policy?

APassing bills
BIssuing court judgments
CLobbying legislators
DContesting general elections to form government

Show the answer and working

Answer: C

Lobbying persuades officials directly.

Trap A Confuses legislative structures: Unicameral = one chamber (Ghana); bicameral = two (Nigeria: Senate + House of Reps). Speaker presides; whips enforce party discipline; quorum is the minimum number to transact business.

Trap B Misunderstands judicial independence: Independence is secured by security of tenure, salaries charged on the consolidated fund, appointment through a judicial service commission, and immunity for judicial acts.

Trap D Confuses pressure groups with parties: Pressure groups seek to INFLUENCE policy; political parties seek to CAPTURE and control government through elections.

Traps in Pressure groups

Confuses legislative structures
Unicameral = one chamber (Ghana); bicameral = two (Nigeria: Senate + House of Reps). Speaker presides; whips enforce party discipline; quorum is the minimum number to transact business.
Misunderstands judicial independence
Independence is secured by security of tenure, salaries charged on the consolidated fund, appointment through a judicial service commission, and immunity for judicial acts.
Confuses pressure groups with parties
Pressure groups seek to INFLUENCE policy; political parties seek to CAPTURE and control government through elections.
Assigns the function to the wrong body
Make a table: body → main function → membership. Match the function in the stem to the body, not the topic area.
Confuses electoral systems and bodies
Franchise = right to vote. First-past-the-post: highest votes wins a constituency. Proportional representation: seats in proportion to votes.
Picks a closely related concept
Learn related terms as contrasting pairs with one-line definitions, then identify which one the stem describes.
Reverses the principle or its effect
Ask what problem the principle is meant to solve; the right answer serves that purpose, the reversal defeats it.

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