[CrazyGal95]

Hey everyone.
Just wondering if anyone else is sitting the Philosophy exam in January because I am and i'm pretty nervous about it :/....

Anyone have any idea what kind of questions will come uo?
I'm only doing the 'reason and experience' and 'why should i be governed' modules. Thought others who are taking this exam could discuss how their feeling about it so i'm not alone...lol

[CrazyGal95]

Also if anyone has any helpful resource that may help while revising please post them because there doesn't seem to be many websites that will help with Philosophy

[rivernile]

(Original post by CrazyGal95)
Hey everyone.
Just wondering if anyone else is sitting the Philosophy exam in January because I am and i'm pretty nervous about it :/....

Anyone have any idea what kind of questions will come uo?
I'm only doing the 'reason and experience' and 'why should i be governed' modules. Thought others who are taking this exam could discuss how their feeling about it so i'm not alone...lol

I have got my philosophy exam in january too and am really nervous, i don't really feel ready for it yet. I'm guessing you are doing the AQA exam judging by the topics you mentioned. I am doing 'reason and expirience' and 'the idea of God'.

I don't really know of any resources for philosophy except the AQA website, i've got some past papers from there. Also something i am finding quite useful is a philosopical dictionairy.

[CrazyGal95]

Yeah I agree with you, it does feel to soon...Even though I suppose it's an advantage because you can resit the exam in May but it still feels to soon...:/ Yes mine is AQA to, I have past papers and notes but that's all I have...I may try and find a philosophical dictionary though because that sounds helpful

[Fatchickens]

I'm rather worried too Six months ago we were doing GCSEs, and now.... THIS D:

I've been summing up each philosopher's arguments concerning the topic (namely, 'Reason and experience' and 'Why should I be governed?') and then producing criticisms of them. This has helped a lot for me.

I'm struggling with past papers. I don't seem to be producing a 'good' answer in the time, and i'm also unsure about the new mark scheme that'll be used. I hate to play the exam 'game', but at the end of the of the day, points mean prizes. I want a good grade, I just don't know how :/

Any helpful ideas would be warmly received.

[Solen.132]

(Original post by CrazyGal95)
Also if anyone has any helpful resource that may help while revising please post them because there doesn't seem to be many websites that will help with Philosophy

(Original post by rivernile)
I have got my philosophy exam in january too and am really nervous, i don't really feel ready for it yet. I'm guessing you are doing the AQA exam judging by the topics you mentioned. I am doing 'reason and expirience' and 'the idea of God'.

I don't really know of any resources for philosophy except the AQA website, i've got some past papers from there. Also something i am finding quite useful is a philosopical dictionairy.

(Original post by Fatchickens)
I'm rather worried too Six months ago we were doing GCSEs, and now.... THIS D:

I've been summing up each philosopher's arguments concerning the topic (namely, 'Reason and experience' and 'Why should I be governed?') and then producing criticisms of them. This has helped a lot for me.

I'm struggling with past papers. I don't seem to be producing a 'good' answer in the time, and i'm also unsure about the new mark scheme that'll be used. I hate to play the exam 'game', but at the end of the of the day, points mean prizes. I want a good grade, I just don't know how :/

Any helpful ideas would be warmly received.

Hey guys I did this exam last year, and I don't know what textbook you guys are using but in addition to the one the school recommended I also had this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AQA-Introduc...5081621&sr=8-3
and I found it really useful! I believe it covers all of the topics accept Tolerance, which is a topic for the PHIL2 exam, but I would really recommend it!

Good luck

[Fatchickens]

Thanks! x

What did you do to revise Solen.132?

[Solen.132]

(Original post by Fatchickens)
Thanks! x

What did you do to revise Solen.132?

I started off by taking notes from the books, and once I had gone through everything I started to try to 'teach' it to my sister (much to her annoyance :P ). Also plan lots of essays, and do the past papers in timed conditions, as it is hard to write 4 essays in 1 1/2 hours! Get people to test you on some definitions as well, to improve your on the spot knowledge.

Honestly if you know all of the information you can't go wrong as there are only three sections in a topic that they will ask you about

[CrazyGal95]

Yeah I agree with you, it does seem to soon to be doing an exam but I want to try and do well

I'm also having trouble writing a good answer in the amount of time set in the exam...4 essays in 1 1/2 hours is a lot to ask for....
I'm just going to try and learn all of the key definitions and sum up all the arguments I need to know for each topic for now

[Larizzle]

Hey I am doing the exam in January, quite nervous about it my issue seems to be timing also. So I'm just doing timed essays and trying to be precise as I can with info. Here's a site with good resources for AS and A2

http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/ph...sources-as.asp

Good Luck

By the way I am doing 'reason and experience and why should I be moral'

[Fatchickens]

Some useful ideas and resources there, THANK YOU x

[CrazyGal95]

Thank you! Some useful information here thanks!
I'm doing reason and experience to, most of it's quite easy to get my head around but I feel conceptual schemes is quite difficult :/

[emmaaa88]

I'm doing this too! Retaking it as I completely messed it up last June. Is anyone learning three topics rather than two?

[CrazyGal95]

(Original post by emmaaa88)
I'm doing this too! Retaking it as I completely messed it up last June. Is anyone learning three topics rather than two?

No i'm only taking 2, reason and experience and why should i be governed?
This is my first exam though so if i mess up ill have to re-take it in may...which I don't want to have to do but might have to...

Anyone have any idea what kind of questions are likely to come up for this exam?

[Sarahalwan]

Hi everyone I'm doing the AQA philosophy paper that is apart of the philosophy and ethics courses and was wondering are you all putting religious examples within your answers? I'm doing psychology of religion and the cosmological argument!

[emmaaa88]

(Original post by Sarahalwan)
Hi everyone I'm doing the AQA philosophy paper that is apart of the philosophy and ethics courses and was wondering are you all putting religious examples within your answers? I'm doing psychology of religion and the cosmological argument!

The Philosophy exam is different from Philosophy and Ethics, I think everyone here is doing the former Maybe you should start a new thread?

[CrazyGal95]

Anyone have any good revision tips? Or useful ways to revise...because I keep reading over everything and not much seems to be sinking in...:/

[TheHeart]

Same

[Sheo]

Hello guys,

I did AS philosophy last year and January especially can seem extremely difficult because you're not used to the style of essay writing and certain philosophical concepts go straight over your head, because of their complexity.

In January I did 'Why should I be governed' and 'Reason and experience'. To revise, I wrote cards with the ideas of a philosopher on one side and then the criticisms on the other side. It just helped me organise my thoughts. Another thing I did was look at past paper questions. Make a table with two columns, where in one I would argue one point of view and then in the other, criticism of these points. Then I would consider what I could use to argue against to support my view. It helped me understand which arguments could be used where.

One things which was hammered into my head throughout the year is to remember to force a position and make sure you stay on one side of the argument at all times in the 30 mark question. If you try and justify two points of view you will lose a lot of marks. They want to see you use your knowledge to argue for one side. Also, try not to ramble on about one thing for too long even if you feel comfortable with that particular bit. You have limited time in the exam and they really want to see you explore philosophical ideas and argue them, not just show an understanding.

For the 15 mark question, remember it's just knowledge they want. They don't want an argument, they purely want you to explain. also, when they ask you to illustrate a philosophical concept they want you to provide examples, so interpret and apply the concept being discussed.


Also, it will get better, trust me. By June you'll be a lot better at essay writing. I achieved a C in January for Unit 1 and then a high A grade for Unit 2. This was also because I enjoyed those topics more than those in the January unit.

hope this helps.

[Sheo]

Also some resources I've previously found on TSR..

Some of it is relevant some not, but have a look through!