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People who get A* in Eng Lit are smarter than the people who do the same in Science?

Who else agrees? I was having this argument with a couple people; me and my friend do writing subjects and are predicted A/A*'s and the people who we were debating with are Science/Maths students predicted the same.

I think subjects like Maths and Science especially are synoptic, it's more to do with being able to remember things like atoms and molecules than raw talent. Maths is a lil different because you have to be smart to understand mathematical concepts etc, but overall i think it's synoptic. I think if your mind can absorb loads of knowledge easily then you will excel at both subjects.

English Literature on the other hand takes raw talent, English students who do well have the ability to interpret a piece of Literature in numerous ways, which takes skill. It's not just knowing what the makes an atom or what x + y is which can be learned through intense revision. It's more to do with raw talent, English Students writing is stylized, cohesive and structured, it takes skill to be able to structure a piece of writing and analyse texts etc.

I dunno, that's just what i think, i'm not saying it's right so don't go all crazy on me, i just want opinions.

HEY, don't you think i should get a medal or some shiz for creating such a LEGEN...wait for it...DARY, thread? I mean i brought so many of you TSR users together, one of you be a dear and start a petition for me :smile:

O yeah, i still stand by my statement and stop commenting on the title, we're all susceptible to typos.

Lol i cannot believe this thread is still going, look at my negs...my days. I still believe English Literature is superior btw nothing changing my mind, however i do appreciate the fact the the science's are not ALL about memorizing facts but still being able achieve an A* in English Lit takes natural skill while Science doesn't require as much natural skill.

Aww this was such a legendary thread :smile:

(edited 11 years ago)

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Reply 1

Username_valid

Disagree. Try doing physics, you could read through everything and memorise everything but if you don't understand what you're reading and can't interpret and apply what you've learnt, then you'll most definitely struggle.

Reply 2

The Doggfather

It's hard to compare the subjects, completely different and require different skills. It's why you'll rarely see someone doing something like English Lit, History, Chemistry, Maths! But I definitely think that Sciences are much harder, it's not just about memorising large pieces of information, there's alot of application too.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 3

SJS101

Well lets put it this way.....

Which subjects will result in you getting a better job (also better paid) - maths and science

partly it could be argued that english is all opinions and therefore does not test actual knowledge

also to get c's in maths and sciences, fair enough you need to remember stuff, but to get a's and a*'s you need to understand the information and knowledge and then apply them in different new ways.

All my opinion however , and the subjects i do are: Maths, further maths, physics, products design and computing

Reply 4

_music<3

I think this really depends on how the individual defines the word 'smart' as it may hold totally different meanings for different people...as the differences in opinion clearly show.

Reply 5

Xmb

You said sciences are just memorising... English lit for me is just memorisation as well... So what you said really doesn't carry much weight.

Reply 6

dada55

Some people are better at Maths/Science while others are better at Essay subjects like English. There are a few that are good at both.

I find Maths/Science easier then English lit, not neccesarily because it's easier for me but because analysing what a author wrote is pointless and they never meant the stuff that people come up with. This frustrates me having to make up some random "analytical skill based" fiction to hopefully score some marks based on what some bored to death examiner gives you. Even if you do the perfect essay, you probbably still won't get full marks due to subjective marking and you will still never know how well you did until results come out.
For English lit, you also don't have to revise that much either, just go on the day and make up some random stuff the author never meant and you can get an average grade.

This is just my biased opinion, when I just done 11/12 of my gcse summer exams, 2 being English lit.

Reply 7

Alevelsareboring

Original post by Username_valid

I agree, i think physics is extremely hard but when i look at these subjects, it comes down to skill set. What skill set do you need to excel at these subjects, and for me the skill you need to excel in Science is to be able to absorb and retain information. I think there are probably more people getting A*'s in English than getting the same in Physics for example. This is where i think this whole theory that people who do the Sciences are automatically smarter originated from.

I do not doubt that Maths/Science are hard they are really hard but the skills needed to get A's in those subjects are not as good as the skills you need to excel at English Lit for example.

Reply 8

lsaul95

Original post by Alevelsareboring

I disagree, there is a different skill set required for both and so they are incomparable.

You are incorrect about Sciences. Sure, you can do alright by just learning through revision, but you have to understand the concepts behind what you're learning, be able to analyse situations, graphs, etc, and apply the knowledge you have learnt to that for making predictions, creating theories, etc.

If you get an A* in Eng Lit, does that also mean the skills you have from that can easily get you an A* in the sciences? I beg to differ.

Reply 9

RainReader

I'm not sure if people who get an A* in English Lit are smarter than those who do in a science but I think it is probably rarer. In science exams there are right and wrong answers, but in English there aren't...who knows what 100 percent in that looks like? It's more down to the marker.

Generally though they just mean people have different skills. I guess only the people that do a science and English together can compare them properly.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 10

allypallywally

People who don't do science or maths seem to thing it is all about remembering things, where as I would disagree completely, I think it take more intense concentration at the point of learning and you can't fake understanding in the exam, but as for the amount of work, essay subjects seem to require more, as there is an infinite of information you can absorb, which doesn't have a logical progression such that you can learn one thing and derive the rest.

Reply 11

YoshBanosh

You could easily compare Maths and Science together but NOT with English. I mean think about it, would you say getting an A* in Art is as hard as getting an A* in Maths Science or English. You probably would say no, but that's not true! It is as hard! They're just totally different skills that need to be applied! You could never compare these subjects...

Reply 12

Alevelsareboring

Original post by Xmb

You said sciences are just memorising... English lit for me is just memorisation as well... So what you said really doesn't carry much weight.

How is English memorizing, there is a reason why not many people get A's in English Literature, Maths and Science etc at A Level, because they require different skills.

English has little to do with memorizing, you can remember a quote from Macbeth but to know how to apply it and interpret the language etc is a different skill.

Reply 13

Xmb

Original post by Alevelsareboring

I memorise essay patterns, quotes, explanations, etc. Mark schemes, etc.. I do more thinking for science tbh.

Reply 14

Alevelsareboring

Original post by dada55

Hmmm, i understand you but disagree, the interpretations you get from a quote for example have to be relevant. You saying you have to make up random stuff is the reason why i think English Lit is harder, first you can't make up random stuff or you will get 0. Second being able to interpret a quote in several ways takes skill and talent. More talent than memorizing how to work out the square root or indices etc.

Reply 15

fuze-mo25

WOW!

really? your title don't even make sense its do not does!!!

Reply 16

audi_turbo

Original post by Alevelsareboring

I guess that what you're saying is true, but in English we get told many sophisticated points by the teachers and then if you put this in your exam then the skill that's been used is memorising.

Reply 17

Josh93

I did English Lit and I did Human Biology and Chemistry - I would say that they were all equally challenging in their own ways.

You could argue that English requires more of a natural talent but then the same could be said for the sciences, it really comes down to what an individual is best at.

Reply 18

Lorem Ipsum

Sciences are harder, I've taken all the traditional humanities for A-Level, and from what I've seen of those taking them, the sciences seem much harder to attain a good, if sometimes any, grade in.

Reply 19

Xmb

Original post by audi_turbo

I guess that what you're saying is true, but in English we get told many sophisticated points by the teachers and then if you put this in your exam then the skill that's been used is memorising.

For me, english lit was ALL memorisation, along with english language. You would read my essay and think it's **** but due to the mark scheme it'd be an A*.