[Spaz Man]

It really depends on whether you keep up with the reading. The skills are mostly transferrable but just at a higher level.

[mathslive101]

In my experience GCSE doesn't really predict how well you will perform in sixth form college. But most A* student tend to do well at A level.


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[Lucy96]

(Original post by Junaid96)
You're the person who posted about Chemistry ya?

I put myself down for English A-level at this time. I had achieved super high marks coming up to the final exam (100% in year 10 exam, had ~95% in all the coursework), and thought my exams had gone great. I expected high 90%s in both lit and lang. On August the 24th, 2011, I then opened my envelope and saw an A in both. I had got low B's in those final two exams... I couldn't understand it. And that 100% I got in the year 10 exam was a resit. The first time I got a low C. For English, a resit doesn't really give you an advantage, so effectively I was just as good as when I sat it the first time round..
Moral of the story - essay subjects can be dodgy and unreliable - try to avoid them
I'd wait till August, and if you did well then go for it. I personally switched to Economics instead - still essay based for unis, but much more predictable and reliable grades. I wasn't going to take any chances.

I am Wow you did amazing haha! Aw well you still did very well, but that's exactly what I'm worrying about! I've been told by my teacher that I have an A* in English Language, but I'm not getting my hopes up as moderation could result in it going down to an A or so. Whereas with Literature, I only have 25% A* so it could go any way really. Sadly I'm going with History too- another subject which involves essays haha! Yeah that seems the best idea really, thank you I've never really looked into Economics, without sounding too uneducated, what does it involve?

[britchick]

I got an A in English Lit at GCSE and got a B (albeit 2 marks off an A) at AS level. I didn't enjoy it much and was quite happy to drop it at the end of AS if I'm honest. I even re-sat the coursework to get higher to scrape the couple of marks but at the end of all that effort I got an even lower mark so was not worth it at all LOL.

I'm not quite sure why I took it for A-level... I didn't enjoy it much at GCSE but I loved English Lang which my school didn't offer so I guess I just took it because I thought I'd enjoy it just as much. I really didn't.

If you thoroughly enjoy it like you've said you will find it a lot easier to stay motivated and put in the effort when doing coursework and revision. There were girls in my class who absolutely loved it and found revision much easier for that reason. I, however, dreaded the lessons and homework and the exam, which meant I put in less effort and probably cost me the A grade. If you have a passion then go for it - that's definitely one of the most important factor when choosing A-level subjects

[The Polymath]

(Original post by Lucy96)
I am Wow you did amazing haha! Aw well you still did very well, but that's exactly what I'm worrying about! I've been told by my teacher that I have an A* in English Language, but I'm not getting my hopes up as moderation could result in it going down to an A or so. Whereas with Literature, I only have 25% A* so it could go any way really. Sadly I'm going with History too- another subject which involves essays haha! Yeah that seems the best idea really, thank you I've never really looked into Economics, without sounding too uneducated, what does it involve?

Don't worry about not knowing anything about Economics any preconceptions you may have will most likely be wrong. We don't look at stocks - no shares, no funky FTSE 100 graphs.

Economics is quite simple really - it is the study of the questions "What should we produce, how should we produce it, and who should we produce it for?"

e.g.
- Do we produce what is demanded for with money, or what we believe will benefit the world the most (so do we produce burgers or fruit, do we provide healthcare or cigarettes)
- Who for => should private companies be left to sell street lighting? Not really, as when trying to sell it to a neighbourhood no one will want to buy it as they each know that whoever buys it will provide light for the whole area, and won't be able to 'block' the light for some people. Therefore the government has to step in.
- How should we produce it => is it best to have government production means? e.g. the BBC can be controlled to produce quality, suitable products, or do we need private companies to provide competition and push innovation and creativity.
- Why do women buy wedding dresses they will only wear once? Simple - any company trying to rent out wedding dresses would have to stock hundreds of thousands of different dresses to suit all tastes and sizes, and the chances are each single dress will only be rented out once of twice due to ever changing fashion and design. The cost of renting such a specialised garment would therefore likely be more expensive than buying a dress (as there will be extra costs for storing dresses for years before they are rented out again).
- Is it worth investing £1bn into a company which is going to mine a planet full of gold? Nope, as when the gold comes back here, we'll have so much of it that it won't be worth anything. It's not like gold will be a rare valuable substance any more, and you'll have lost all your money.
Economics is all about thinking and common sense - there's NO maths whatsoever in the AS-level. All you have to do is figure out how to sketch rough graphs (no points or plotting, just sketching a diagonal line to show how demand roughly decreases as price goes up) and then find percentage increases in prices within a table (....)

It's also incredibly straightforward in terms of structure - you just learn the book and you're sorted.

Lastly, you'll finally understand the news! The next time the economics editor on BBC talks about injecting £50bn to stimulate investment and consumer expenditure and promote growth in GDP, you'll be able to not only understand them, but critique the policy

[Lucy96]

(Original post by Junaid96)
Don't worry about not knowing anything about Economics any preconceptions you may have will most likely be wrong. We don't look at stocks - no shares, no funky FTSE 100 graphs.

Economics is quite simple really - it is the study of the questions "What should we produce, how should we produce it, and who should we produce it for?"

e.g.
- Do we produce what is demanded for with money, or what we believe will benefit the world the most (so do we produce burgers or fruit, do we provide healthcare or cigarettes)
- Who for => should private companies be left to sell street lighting? Not really, as when trying to sell it to a neighbourhood no one will want to buy it as they each know that whoever buys it will provide light for the whole area, and won't be able to 'block' the light for some people. Therefore the government has to step in.
- How should we produce it => is it best to have government production means? e.g. the BBC can be controlled to produce quality, suitable products, or do we need private companies to provide competition and push innovation and creativity.
- Why do women buy wedding dresses they will only wear once? Simple - any company trying to rent out wedding dresses would have to stock hundreds of thousands of different dresses to suit all tastes and sizes, and the chances are each single dress will only be rented out once of twice due to ever changing fashion and design. The cost of renting such a specialised garment would therefore likely be more expensive than buying a dress (as there will be extra costs for storing dresses for years before they are rented out again).
- Is it worth investing £1bn into a company which is going to mine a planet full of gold? Nope, as when the gold comes back here, we'll have so much of it that it won't be worth anything. It's not like gold will be a rare valuable substance any more, and you'll have lost all your money.
Economics is all about thinking and common sense - there's NO maths whatsoever in the AS-level. All you have to do is figure out how to sketch rough graphs (no points or plotting, just sketching a diagonal line to show how demand roughly decreases as price goes up) and then find percentage increases in prices within a table (....)

It's also incredibly straightforward in terms of structure - you just learn the book and you're sorted.

Lastly, you'll finally understand the news! The next time the economics editor on BBC talks about injecting £50bn to stimulate investment and consumer expenditure and promote growth in GDP, you'll be able to not only understand them, but critique the policy

Wow that actually sounds very interesting! Even if it did take my little brain a while to process it But yes, it does sound great and appears to be a great subject due to the fact it seems as if it considers everyday issues and thoughts! I've always been put off it after hearing some of the content is mathematical in AS, but clearly I shouldn't believe everything I hear. Thank you for actually going into it in depth, sounds like a new consideration

[MisanthropicLemon]

There's likely to be some sort of correlation between the two grades but really nothing's set in stone. I got an A in literature GCSE and now I'm predicted an A* at A2, which is much harder. That's not an enormous change but really there's not too much of a link is the point I'm trying to make. Firstly I'd say you can be pretty average at GCSE and do really well, and A-level is a completely different subject in my opinion - you really have to know what you're talking about or you won't even get half marks. I do know people who got As and A*s at GCSE and ended up with Cs and Ds at AS, it really depends how you respond. Having said that, these people were the sort of people that do it grudgingly, the most important thing with English is that you enjoy it, as you've said you do. If you enjoy talking about poetry and rhyme schemes and rhythms and all that wonderful stuff then you can basically make your own notes on the texts which is fantastic, it's always good to have something unique to say. It also means you're far more likely to remember quotes and things (depends what exam board you do but my A2 exam was closed-book and if you didn't know the texts you're confined to around 30-50% of the marks!)

So if you're too lazy to read all that, quite likely, then your grade will basically reflect how you approach A-level. Anything's possible. Sustain your passion for the subject and I promise that will put you at an advantage above so many others, it should be evident in your writing.

[Lit teacher]

Check which syllabus you'll be studying. I only know AQA; if this is the one on offer you will be studying either Victorian lit, war lit or 20th century lit on the theme of the search for identity. The key for doing well is wider reading. If you have enjoyed reading texts from the topic on offer, this should not be a problem. However, I have had one or two students who have chosen lit but a few weeks into the course admitted that they don't really like reading.
Whilst it's not easy to predict exactly how well you will do in an exam, your future school or college should be able to give you model answers from the exam board which give a clear indication of the skills needed for different grades.

[Sean9001]

Irrespective of your GCSE grade, work hard and you will be fine. If you are driven, you don't even need to enjoy the course. I had A*A in Lang and Lit at GCSE, but got 98% in AS despite loathing fiction. I knew it was a respected subject, and was motivated to endure it for that reason.

[Boom.Squish]

(Original post by Lucy96)
Congratulations on your amazing grades! That was really helpful and you've encouraged me to a further extent and made me look forward to it even more. Yes I agree that it can be strange like that! Thank you for everything, much appreciated Also good luck, I'm sure you'll get your A*

Bah, I'm not too sure about that! Thanks though
Oh, I forgot to say, one of the other odd things was that a girl who only (I say "only" - but it's a really great grade, just that the rest of us got A*s) got an A at GCSE, is dyslexic and didn't do that well in class all year was the one who ended up getting full marks in the AS exam! So you can really never tell. But I guess that's half the fun of it!

[tashazzz]

I got an A* at GCSE and dropped to a D in my AS exam with my coursework pulling me up to a C over all. I can honestly say I gained a much better knowledge of what was expected of me in the final months of my A2 year which, had I have known last year, would have resulted in me preforming a lot better in the exam. Speak to other students. It's a subject which I enjoyed but really struggled with at some points as the teachers I had weren't very good at clarifying what we had to do and the only time we ever lifted pen to paper was when we were drafting our coursework haha. Ask some of the other students you know who took it, if you have an interest in literature it's a great subject to have and you should enjoy it but be prepared to do quite a bit of work yourself if needs be outside of the classroom.

[Tsunami2011]

In my honest opinion, if you're a natural writer, English Literature is one of the easiest respected A-Levels. In AS, I literally, read my novel the week before, and my poems the day before and got a strong A. For A2, I didn't even bother reading one of the texts, skimmed through another, and for the last text I just used York notes. Also, got 98% on my A2 c/w despite not reading either of the 3 texts. In short, in you're able to bull**** with quotes you're fine.

[The Polymath]

(Original post by Lucy96)
Wow that actually sounds very interesting! Even if it did take my little brain a while to process it But yes, it does sound great and appears to be a great subject due to the fact it seems as if it considers everyday issues and thoughts! I've always been put off it after hearing some of the content is mathematical in AS, but clearly I shouldn't believe everything I hear. Thank you for actually going into it in depth, sounds like a new consideration

Yeah there is definitely no maths in it for AS as I said the most we do is percentage change (difference divided by original, times 100...). In our exam (can't remember the exact figures) it said that 25% of a country was unemployed. It also said that 15 million people couldn't find work. It then asked you to find the total possible people who can be employed.. 15 x 4 = 60 million TA-DAA.

Economics is also highly respected as an A-level - it's on Cambridge's "top tier" list of A-level along with the traditional subjects like Maths, History, English Lit, Languages, Sciences (does not include Psychology or Politics).

[Antifazian]

I initially struggled with the A Level course, because it is very different to GCSE, but once you work out the way it works and what the examiners want from you it's fine. TSR is excellent for that.

[Lucy96]

(Original post by Junaid96)
Yeah there is definitely no maths in it for AS as I said the most we do is percentage change (difference divided by original, times 100...). In our exam (can't remember the exact figures) it said that 25% of a country was unemployed. It also said that 15 million people couldn't find work. It then asked you to find the total possible people who can be employed.. 15 x 4 = 60 million TA-DAA.

Economics is also highly respected as an A-level - it's on Cambridge's "top tier" list of A-level along with the traditional subjects like Maths, History, English Lit, Languages, Sciences (does not include Psychology or Politics).

But BE WARNED. You may love it so much you want to do a degree in it (certainly happened to me ) and you MUST have maths A-level to even be considered by any top unis (it's a requirement). I'm alright because I do Maths and Further Maths, but I know someone who thought he was going to drop Economics for A2 without even knowing what it was about. Now he's trying to find courses which allow him in without having Maths, and he's having a really tough time finding one at decent unis.

How good are you at maths?

Oh that sounds absolutely fine! I think I'm okay when it comes to percentages. And that's even better haha, it's always good to do a subject that you love, and know will be respected! I'm quite fussy when it comes to choosing subjects that are respected ever since I looked into things such as Veterinary and History etc, so that's great.

See that's where I would also struggle as Maths has always been my weakest point, I will either end up with a low A or high B after looking at the unofficial mark scheme. It's a subject I lack confidence in because I just look at the questions and my mind just goes blank because I panic! having said that, I have dramatically improved this year after realising how important it is. I couldn't imagine being able to pass if I took it to A level though

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my HTC Wildfire

[Lucy96]

(Original post by Tsunami2011)
In my honest opinion, if you're a natural writer, English Literature is one of the easiest respected A-Levels. In AS, I literally, read my novel the week before, and my poems the day before and got a strong A. For A2, I didn't even bother reading one of the texts, skimmed through another, and for the last text I just used York notes. Also, got 98% on my A2 c/w despite not reading either of the 3 texts. In short, in you're able to bull**** with quotes you're fine.

Wow, your results are amazing! Congratulations I'd like to say I do have some natural ability, without sounding too arrogant of course. I went into my poetry exam with only having revised for an hour or so, and I flew through it. I just love using fruitful and descriptive language, and being able to interpret poems in different ways. That's why I love English, there are so many diverse opinions, yet they all connect in some way. So I hope I can apply some of that to the changes from GCSE to A level!

[mel0n]

I don't think there is a necessarily a correlation between the two because so much can affect the grade. Someone could have worked hard at GCSE but then slacked at A Level, reflecting in their English grade that they received or even vice versa. Someone might have not taken their GCSEs seriously and gotten a grade lower than their capability but then went on to do better at A Level.

Bottom line is, if you like it and you're good at it, go for it. If you actually have a passion (bleugh) for it, then hopefully you'll do well.

[danielcain-reed]

(Original post by Lucy96)
Hi, I'm doing English Literature in Sixth form starting September, and I am really looking forward to it as I thoroughly enjoyed it all the way throughout GCSE, especially the poetry analysis and comparison. I'd just like to know if I'd struggle with A level despite the fact I'm predicted an A* and have gained such a grade in controlled assessments and mocks. Obviously I don't know what final grade I will achieve until August, so perhaps shouldn't comment on my performance until then, but is there anyone who could kindly offer advice? I also know that I'd have to put the work in to succeed, of course Thank you.

I achieved A* in GCSE on the old specification with very little work other than reading literature constantly and understanding the specification, so judging by how much work you seem to be putting in I'd say you're destined to do well! I achieved a high grade A in my January exam after starting in September. I have to say that A Level is completely different! More so than I anticipated. You're required to actually spend extra time reading around the subject and the texts you study... shocking I know!!
I think that as long as you know your texts inside out from cover to cover, and understand literary elements and can apply them to your essay, then you can't go far wrong!! Although all that is far easier said than done!

I'd recommend finding out which set texts your centre study, and read them, for pleasure, not for analysis as you'll have to do come September. I really wish I'd read my texts in the summer break... would have made life far less stressful!! Also have a look at your specification, I did AQA LITB, I think this is quite a popular one...

Anyway, I'm rambling now!! I'm sure that if you put the extra effort in required for A level and engage with your texts then you'll perform really well!

Hope this is of some help!!