The Student Room Group

How hard will my AS/A levels be?

Scroll to see replies

Original post by Vixen47
I can only speak for English Lit as it's the only in that list that I do. I love it. I absolutely love it. It's my favourite subject because there's so much analysis! My lessons literally are a 60min conversation between my teacher and I over the book whilst the entire class listens (some occasionally join in at various points). My exam board is OCR and it's not too bad. If you enjoy analysing things like text and characters of books then you'll enjoy it.

I shall give this subject a sincere 12/10. Though, tbf I haven't got my AS results yet. :tongue:


I love Lit too! The reason for taking it. Want to study it at degree :biggrin:
Original post by Agenda Suicide
Not at all, having any interest helps massively :smile:. And well put it this way, Obama shouldn't lose any sleep. Mitt Romney is a walking joke. Yourself haha?


Personally think Obama will stay in power (he's my idol :tongue:) Even have a bobblehead of him that says snippets from his Yes We Can Speech in NH (a bit sad).

Romney won't get it, the Yanks are liberal - Obama is liberal (gay marriage and all) - win.
Reply 22
I'm doing the English Lit/Lang course and it's pretty easy if you keep up with the fast pace of it.
Original post by isaacworthington
I love Lit too! The reason for taking it. Want to study it at degree :biggrin:



Oh, brilliant! It's one of my options for uni! :biggrin: What would you do with an English Lit degree?
Reply 24
Gov and Politics : 3/10
English Literature: 6/10
Original post by Vixen47
Oh, brilliant! It's one of my options for uni! :biggrin: What would you do with an English Lit degree?


Depend on what uni I could go to (GCSEs: AAACCC) if I COULD go to a Russell Group one then I'd apply for journalism jobs.

However, I'll end up at a 1994 group (hopefully) and become either a secondary school teacher or a primary school teacher. Yourself?
Reply 26
Original post by fusionary
does colouring your text blue perhaps relate to your inner struggle of making yourself stand out in real life? Or perhaps suggest your fear of blending in with society? Or even to a greater extent, display your abhorrence with conformity? Bravo, sir, bravo.


i cant hear you over the loud sound of my online presence
Reply 27
AS Economics - In retrospect after doing A2 probably a 3, but about a 6 at the time.
A2 Economics - 8. With the exception of the Business Economics part, the content isn't that much harder at A2 but the lack of multiple choice questions makes it harder and you have to put in a lot more effort to get the same marks at A2 as AS (I say this as someone who got exactly the same UMS in Unit 1 and 3 and Unit 2 and 4 respectively.)
AS Literature - 9. Coursework is OK but on the board we did it seemed impossible to get the grade you were meant to get in the exam.
GCSE Maths - 10 with the teacher I had but change that to a 5 with MathsWatch.
GCSE Core Science - 2.
Reply 28
Original post by isaacworthington
AS/A level Economics
AS/A level English Language
AS/A level English Literature
AS/A level Government & Politics

Can you rate each one (difficulty) out of 10 please :smile:

Also, I am taking GCSE Maths - Higher Tier and GCSE Science - Core alongside these because I want a B in GCSE Maths and had didn't take any GCSEs in Science.

Rate the GCSEs as well /10 please?


my brother and I aren't particulary intelligent however we both bugged teachers as much as we could during our A levels. I got an A in AS economics (I dropped it for A2) and my brother got AA for E. Lit and E. Lang (he did A2 in both subjects). So even if the subjects are known to be "difficult" having good teachers can really help.

Can't comment on Gov&Pol because I didn't study it.
Reply 29
Original post by isaacworthington
AS/A level Economics
AS/A level English Language
AS/A level English Literature
AS/A level Government & Politics

Can you rate each one (difficulty) out of 10 please :smile:

Also, I am taking GCSE Maths - Higher Tier and GCSE Science - Core alongside these because I want a B in GCSE Maths and had didn't take any GCSEs in Science.

Rate the GCSEs as well /10 please?


Gov and politics is easy at AS but really hard at A2

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my HTC One X
Original post by isaacworthington
AS/A level Economics
AS/A level English Language
AS/A level English Literature
AS/A level Government & Politics

Can you rate each one (difficulty) out of 10 please :smile:

Also, I am taking GCSE Maths - Higher Tier and GCSE Science - Core alongside these because I want a B in GCSE Maths and had didn't take any GCSEs in Science.

Rate the GCSEs as well /10 please?


Economics : As in a case of any subject, the level of difficulty perceived by an individual varies. It requires a substantial amount of effort in order to understand the key concepts. This can be a huge put off at first, however if you do manage to overcome this stage, then it will become more straightforward.

English language:
It's an essay style subject, but some science people take it as it's quite a scientific essay subject. Difficulty is very subjective, some people take to it like a duck to water and instantly grasp the style and structure required, others it takes a lot of work before the structure just clicks.

English literature: The main difference in difficulty in the step up from GCSE to A-Level is in the level of response expected of you as students. No longer can you come to lessons and reply with "I thought it was ok". The onus is on you to engage with the texts you will be reading and formulate your own opinions and interpretations. Furthermore, you will be expected to communicate these ideas effectively, not just in essays and exams, but also during verbal discussions, which tend to make up a large part of the teaching structure.

Politics:
Whilst there is a lot to learn on most politics courses, few people consider it a particulary difficult course when compared to some A levels. This said,there is some complex vocabulary and concepts to be learnt. There can, however, be a large volume of material to memorise for exams, so make sure you're prepared for that.

Hope I helped ( new on TSR )... Good luck :biggrin::smile:
Reply 31
GCSE Triple Science - 7/10 (for GCSE students aged 15-16) - just remember the concepts and apply to scenarios.
GCSE Maths - 6/10 - (for GCSE students aged 15-16) - just remember the formulas and use it to work out things.

GCSE Economics - 5/10 - (For A-Level students) - If you know the details, structure your answer well, then it's simple stuff really.

Haven't done English Language, Literature and Government politics, so don't know about those three.

Well clearly if you sit GCSE exams at A-level, they should be very simple indeed, like imagine doing SATS in GCSE.
Personally I thought economics is much harder than I thought it would be but it's because it took me a long time to understand the concepts as in my case I was given about 20 new concepts in the first 2 weeks. Once you've got the jist of the concepts then you should be fine :smile:

Gcse maths and science = practice makes perfect!
Original post by Agenda Suicide
...


What exam board do you do for Gov + P?
Original post by Agenda Suicide
Not at all, having any interest helps massively :smile:. And well put it this way, Obama shouldn't lose any sleep. Mitt Romney is a walking joke. Yourself haha?


What exam board do you do for Gov + P?
Original post by isaacworthington
Depend on what uni I could go to (GCSEs: AAACCC) if I COULD go to a Russell Group one then I'd apply for journalism jobs.

However, I'll end up at a 1994 group (hopefully) and become either a secondary school teacher or a primary school teacher. Yourself?


Ahh, that's awesome!

I was considering teaching, but a room full of kids who are so obviously bored of the lesson would throw me off teaching them! I'd just get pissed off and walk out of the room! :tongue:

I actually don't know what I'd do with an English Lit degree. I'm put off going for one because I can't imagine a stable job other than teaching that I could get with the degree. It's confusing stuff, but if I ever did go for the degree then I'd do it because it genuinely does interest me.
English Literature, I'd give like an 8. Especially at A level, at least on my course - you have to memorise a bunch of quotes from 3 texts that need to be relevant to a variety of different possible questions, and then you need to write coherently and whatever about it in a very small time frame. The coursework wasn't easy either, although at least you get to submit a few drafts of that to get it as good as possible.

I wouldn't be able to rate English Language, although I've heard it's not as difficult as English Lit/Lang which in turn is slightly easier than plain Literature apparently.


Hope that helps!
Original post by isaacworthington
What exam board do you do for Gov + P?


AQA if that's any help.
Original post by yakuzakitty
English Literature, I'd give like an 8. Especially at A level, at least on my course - you have to memorise a bunch of quotes from 3 texts that need to be relevant to a variety of different possible questions, and then you need to write coherently and whatever about it in a very small time frame. The coursework wasn't easy either, although at least you get to submit a few drafts of that to get it as good as possible.

I wouldn't be able to rate English Language, although I've heard it's not as difficult as English Lit/Lang which in turn is slightly easier than plain Literature apparently.


Hope that helps!


It does, but what exam board for Lit? :smile:
Original post by Agenda Suicide
AQA if that's any help.


Awesome, same exam board :biggrin:

Quick Reply

Latest