How hard really are A-levels?

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English Language and Literature - B
Citizenship - B
Spanish- D lol. (got B&C in the speaking exams but written exams kill me)

What was English Lit/Lang like? I'm taking it in september ;|

Reply 101

beth9901

I've only done my first year so far but I can honestly say that if you keep on top of things from the beginning and work hard, do all your work, revise from September and BELIEVE then they're really not tough. Make sure you are doing subjects you enjoy and find interesting, then it won't feel like as much work!

Reply 102

Yasdyxo

Original post by willsp8

What was English Lit/Lang like? I'm taking it in september ;|

Well I think the specification has changed.
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-language-and-literature-7706-7707/specification-at-a-glance
This is AQA's one.

Before it was 40% coursework and 60% exam.

The Anthology before was about "Food" but it looks like its on "Paris" now for AS.
Personally, in AS I didn't like it and i got a D or E in the exam.. but once you get to A2 your essay writing skills improve. I got a B in my re-take, thanks to A2 development of my skills. And obviously B overall.

It's not the most fun subject but its also not dreadfully boring, you just need to nurture your essay writing skills and you will be fine. The essays compared to GCSE are really different. I remember writing in GCSE "alliteration makes it more interesting to read on" or some BS like that. Obviously A Level is more analytical and its quite sad they have made it 100% exams. The coursework bit was stressful but it was fun to be creative.

So just try have fun with it, always practice your essays... Even if your teacher doesn't set homework, give them an essay you've done by yourself to keep improving :smile:

Reply 103

willsp8

Original post by Yasdyxo

Thanks so much! It is sad they have cut out coursework as I am a very creative writer and I know that lends quite nicely. Are the exams varied or are they all 'essay-y'? Is there some analysis of texts aswell as general language?

Reply 104

OGGUS

They're not too hard I revised the day before for maths and physics exams and found the exam easy. And for stats I didn't even revise and I'm pretty sure I'm getting full marks anyways it depends what subjects you do and how you work over the year. It's not hard trust me. People chat **** and like to moan that a levels are hard. Cuz people

Reply 105

Rajive

Original post by beth9901

What subjects are you doing ?

Reply 106

Tom22561

Original post by AppleB

They're not 'hard'
They require more work and effort.
If you're not willing to put in the work and effort then it's best not to do A Levels.
Revising from the start is best because you cannot catch up last minute.
There's a lot of work load.

Nothing is impossible or hard you just have to work for it.

Best of luck hope everything goes well for you!!

That's not true although you do have to work as hard as you will ever do (You wanted a honest opinion :biggrin:

), A-levels are really tough and even with a great work ethic you can be very disappointed on results day. My opinion can be slightly biased due to the subjects im studying. Not trying to put you off doing A-levels by any means but just giving a view from a perspective of a student and its quite the challenge to be successful especially If you're like me and trying to achieve grades like A*AA or AAA).
And good luck for next year :smile:

Reply 107

balanced

Original post by IKEAPanda37

They are a lot of hard work and really stressful, but if you're willing to put in the effort, you'll get good grades :smile:

Just 2 words of advice:
- Don't do 4 subjects (unless you feel that you can definitely cope with them)
- Don't take Geography

You can revise the whole geog course in like 3 days pretty well (this is aqa)

Reply 108

cbatothinkofone

If you work hard and start early, AS levels really aren't that hard. If you leave all your revision too a few weeks before, obviously they're going to be difficult.
A2s are a lot harder in terms of workload, but again, manageable if you put in the time consistently throughout the year. When you're doing them, it will feel like the hardest thing in the world, but looking back it's really not that bad.

Someone earlier in this thread said that second year A2 is harder than a degree. No one has ever been more wrong. :wink:

Reply 109

BTRB

Same here, considering getting ahead in my subjects in late August once I've had a break from the strain of GCSEs. I'm taking French, German, Geography and Economics next year and have bought a cgp textbook for economics which I'll read over the summer but I was wondering if there's anything I could or should do for geography? it's straightforward at gcse at least. And for the 2 languages, is just learning new vocab and grammar best? I'm good at languages so it shouldn't be too difficult

Reply 110

username2637499

Original post by Tom22561

That's not true although you do have to work as hard as you will ever do (You wanted a honest opinion :biggrin:

I am doing my A Levels.
And yes you have to put in lots of work.

Reply 111

sunshine774

Original post by 142701

currently revising for A2 lol it will be the death of me
WHATEVER YOU DO DONT TAKE CHEMISTRY

I want to take Chemistry. What is so bad about it? :s-smilie:

Reply 112

Seh123

If you do arts/ social sciences it's not really that difficult. Sciences and maths will be challenging but not too bad as long as you revise a lot

Reply 113

lcarter98

I would personally say DO NOT DO CHEMISTRY A LEVEL unless you really have to. I understand if you disagree, but in my experience it's been that you'll really struggle regardless of your capability.

I go to a really great independent school, and I got 6A*s and 4As at GCSE. At A-Level, I completely misunderstood the concept of a 'jump' and managed to get ACCE in my AS Levels. You may have guessed that the E was in Chemistry... It's annoying because chemistry was my favourite subject at GCSE (I got 100 UMS as well).

So, having re-evaluated the level of work needed this year, I'm approaching A2s with much more caution. I'd advise that you just take the amount of work you think you need to do and times that by about 5 (in a normal person's case at least). Don't let it scare you too much, just keep on top of your work and make sure you always understand everything as you're taught it. Don't make the same mistake as me and say 'it's cool I'll go over it myself when I'm revising' -- you probably won't.

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 114

habibtii

Well, I wouldn't say A levels are hard. I think the process of building up the determination and discipline to study to the best of your ability - is the difficult part. I used to rely on motivation and not succeed without it but I have realised that motivation is fickle as heck, and such reliance doesn't provide you with a stable routine. A better way to deal with getting A levels done is through discipline. Far too many people fail due to mere fact that their motivation and expectations were not enough. If you approach something with "no motivation" you are convinced that you wont get much out of it. It is psychology. you internalise a negative factor and live up to it.
Discipline is subjective, you'll need to construct it yourself.

Anyway, I am actually struggling with A levels atm. AS levels. I'm taking 5 and I definitely don't think it's a good idea. I would recommend anyone to stick to 3 or 4. I'll be dropping one so I'll be left with 4 A2 levels, which I'm still skeptical about but discipline helps =P

Reply 115

Yasdyxo

Original post by willsp8

Yeah AS exam was comparing 2 unseen texts... looking at purpose, how that purpose is achieved through language layout etccc.
Then compare 2 texts from the anthology related to a theme, how writers persuade.... how writers present food as an enjoyable experience..

But I guess with the Paris anthology it will be maybe about travel? advertising? etc im not sure :smile:

A2 exam was talk in life and literature...
Q1. Based on a book you studied, we did The Crucible, so an extract was taken from the book and you analysed it.
Q2. Comparing 'real life' talk (transcripts etc) with literature... poems, play scripts or novel. Real Life Vs Literature also unseen

So yeah haha

Reply 116

Gogregg

Why is everyone hating on chemistry AS level? It's wonderful!

Reply 117

Platopus

I think they are a significant improvement on GCSEs

Reply 118

lcarter98

Original post by Gogregg

Why is everyone hating on chemistry AS level? It's wonderful!

No hate, just saying it's hard.
Wait until you do A2 :biggrin:

Reply 119

memoriial

Original post by Wan Hury

Wagwan. I was wondering if I could get some honest feedback of how life is like whilst studying for your A-levels. I'm starting them in September (hopefully) and I wanted to know what people think of it. I already know it's one of the toughest things anyone could ever do, but other than that, is there anything else? Thanks

Varies by subject. Sciences are hard, I'm not going to lie: I got an A* in the B3 exam and I'm having to really work to get A/B/C. Other subjects (eg. Geography) are easier but require a lot of work to memorise information. You need to start working from September ideally and even then you won't feel prepared (see; me right now).

I'd hardly say its the toughest thing I could ever do. University work is surely harder/requires more effort. Then again, I'm only at AS - ask me again next year.