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Students who get an A* grade in English are more clever than those doing Math/Science

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Original post by Xotol
Tbf, I've done Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths all to A-level, as well as first year medicine... and I still consider GCSE English Lit as the hardest exam I've sat. I think I'm a little better at English now, but I was completely out of my comfort zone. I seriously respect anyone who gets an A* in English Lit GCSE. :gthumb:

EDIT: Actually BMAT was the hardest, but still **** English Lit.


No way, Chem A level is much harder than eng lit gcse.

Eng lit gcse was a piece of piss - to which I had not ever read the excerpt that came up and still came out with an a star.

Original post by yellowcopter
Yep. :smile: It's why your typical A* Maths student (from what I've seen, obviously there are exceptions) is usually on a B grade in English, and the opposite way around for your A* English students.


Not true, least of all for all the TSRians, in irl maybe.
I got an A* in maths at GCSE and a C in English. I do not however think English is harder it just requires different skills (that I don't have).

I know this is a joke thread by the way, you really had me going through the whole of it though :biggrin:.
Original post by fnatic NateDestiel

Not true, least of all for all the TSRians, in irl maybe.


Yeah, I'm talking about real life not TSR. :tongue:
Original post by Reptilian
A* in English and sciences and maths GCSE checking in. Master race status


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Seriously? For GCSEs? Get off 4chan
Original post by Melon girl
What a joke. English is way easier than Maths and Sciences. Too many comedians on the student room.


Hahaha...
Reply 85
I find it amusing that in the OP where you try to slate English as a subject you managed to make so many basic errors in grammar. Simple things like question marks seem to elude you entirely. Please try harder.

Reality check kid - in the real world you need to be able to present your ideas in a respectable format if you want them to be taken seriously.
Reply 86
Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
No way, Chem A level is much harder than eng lit gcse.

Eng lit gcse was a piece of piss - to which I had not ever read the excerpt that came up and still came out with an a star.


It's called an opinion and people have different experiences based on their skills and abilities. I was actually talking more about relative difficulty - if I were to dedicate the same amount of time preparing for gcse english lit exams and my medicine ones and sit them both now - I'd obviously do better in english lit. At the time, my 16 year old self found it more difficult. I'd certainly do worse in an English degree.

Personally didn't find A level chemistry hard at all, but that's just me.
Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
EDIT - This is at GCSE and A Level standard

Couldn't fit the title I wanted in its entirety so see below.

So students who get an A* grade in English are more clever than students getting an A* grade in subjects such as Math and Science.

Don't you all think that I am correct. I've been talking to other TSRians and wanted to pose the aforementioned question.

Subjects such as Maths,Science etc. are easy, a piece of cake to metaphorise(my new word) it.. Anyone can remember trends in ionisation energies but it is obvious that remembering quotes requires a higher skill of dexterity. And also for subjects such as Maths - past papers are in abundance, and there are websites which spoon-feed you the material, i.e. Exam Solutions. Not like English - where you have to do all the work independently.

Subjects like Biology are particularly easy revise the book and there is your A*, not like English Lit where you could get asked so many different types of questions.

Subjects like Eng lit requires both hard work and natural talent - something that you only really need a bit-part work ethic to do for Maths and Science subjects.

It's much more difficult to remember the PEE structure and to quote what where and talk about all of the linguistic devices - whilst keeping under time management. On the flipside rearranging equations is second nature to everyone - not too difficult imo. I'll tell you what's difficult the amount of time you have to set aside in reading, and writing for REAL subjects like English Literature and History :yep:

I consider myself to be correct in my reasoning here, and so I don't want all you mathsy students having a go at me. There are no right or wrong answers in english, making it even more difficult to attain an A* and we have coursework making a large percentage of our final grade - whereas maths students - edexcel - have their grade solely based on the exams they take.

Lastly all of you maths and science students seething behind your computer screen, or phone screen if you are out and about - sit down you know I'm right :yep: I hope you are not too mad. :colone:

Spoiler



Now discuss.

Spoiler



Didnt even read the thread since it is utterly bull****(mind you I typed *, no swearing definitely)

Oh I did catch a line, something about remembering quotes, I can easily remember an entire Jane Austen novel than to remember all my muscles/nerves/vessels for Anatomy in medical schools, and anatomy is only one of the gosh how many subjects we have.

oh, I got 98% UMS overall for A level literature, sorry but if you have a brain like mine where you remember just 10 quotes for each genre, eg nature, characters, etc for each novel, you can always fit it into an essay and man, it is such a piece of cake.

I bang one night stands every night and english is easier than that. Oh, not to mention how rigorous science are



By the way did I mention I am international, never studied in an english country before I came to the UK for university and I got A* in CIE english lit, so tell me how hard the subject is again
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(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
EDIT - This is at GCSE and A Level standard
X




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Mind you, you can never do math if you dont have talent, it is just utterly impossible, why do you think so many fail it but ace English

100% in all further math modules master race checking in
Stopped reading when you started a sentence with "And".

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Original post by fnatic NateDestiel
x


It's funny, and in this post I am not joking/being sarcastic, because you actually bring up a point which everyone seems to dismiss: by the way I'm a maths student applying for maths and I don't even do english; I've done maths/further maths/econ/physics for AS (and done maths A2).

I can't help but agree that in maths A level you are doing almost nothing more than 'the task': such as integrate this, solve this; using very standard skills which very often are just repeats of questions from past papers but with different numbers. You almost don't need to think to do an A level paper basically (apart from maybe one question per paper) It turns out that in fact, pretty weak mathematicians are able to come out with very high UMS in maths provided that they practice enough: they don't even need any sort of intuition, barely any problem solving skills, etc. which are all skills a 'mathematician' should have.

On the other hand, while I can't comment too much as I don't take English, English A level papers don't seem to have this repetitive nature and actually require thought to write a decent essay. Also (I looked this up just now) 3.0% of people who did A level English in Summer 2013 got an A*, whereas 16.7% of people who did A level Maths in the same time frame got an A*. Doesn't it tell you something about the difficulty of the exams, and therefore the value in the grade of the subject? Or maybe because just the dummies do A level English. Discuss.
Original post by universal_set
Hahaha...

I'm so serious. GCSE English was possibly the easiest thing I've ever done. It was easier than my Media GCSE. I did both in year 9 and got A*s. I did Maths in year 10 and got an A. I had to retake it in year 11 to get an A*. So whoever has said A-Level Sciences and the first year of medical school are easier than GCSE English.. Comedian.
Original post by Omghacklol
It's funny, and in this post I am not joking/being sarcastic, because you actually bring up a point which everyone seems to dismiss: by the way I'm a maths student applying for maths and I don't even do english; I've done maths/further maths/econ/physics for AS (and done maths A2).

I can't help but agree that in maths A level you are doing almost nothing more than 'the task': such as integrate this, solve this; using very standard skills which very often are just repeats of questions from past papers but with different numbers. You almost don't need to think to do an A level paper basically (apart from maybe one question per paper) It turns out that in fact, pretty weak mathematicians are able to come out with very high UMS in maths provided that they practice enough: they don't even need any sort of intuition, barely any problem solving skills, etc. which are all skills a 'mathematician' should have.

On the other hand, while I can't comment too much as I don't take English, English A level papers don't seem to have this repetitive nature and actually require thought to write a decent essay. Also (I looked this up just now) 3.0% of people who did A level English in Summer 2013 got an A*, whereas 16.7% of people who did A level Maths in the same time frame got an A*. Doesn't it tell you something about the difficulty of the exams, and therefore the value in the grade of the subject? Or maybe because just the dummies do A level English. Discuss.

Think about it. Maths is the difficult subject universities want. People aiming to do competitive courses such as Medicine, Dentistry, Maths etc. Will all pick Maths. English is taken by people who got an A* and probably fancied carrying it on. Many of them don't go on to these competitive courses that require higher grades such as AAA or even A*AA.
Original post by Spencotom
Stopped reading when you started a sentence with "And".

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Hahaha! That's exactly what I did too.
I'm glad the OP was joking, because it is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my life.

I got 14A* at GCSE (13 if we don't count short-course PE) and 100% in Eng Lit, history, maths, all science exams (but not coursework! **** you coursework.) and 299/300 in geography (I was not happy on results day). So I think my opinion, that English is a lot easier, carries some weight.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Med_medine
Didnt even read the thread since it is utterly bull****(mind you I typed *, no swearing definitely)

Oh I did catch a line, something about remembering quotes, I can easily remember an entire Jane Austen novel than to remember all my muscles/nerves/vessels for Anatomy in medical schools, and anatomy is only one of the gosh how many subjects we have.

oh, I got 98% UMS overall for A level literature, sorry but if you have a brain like mine where you remember just 10 quotes for each genre, eg nature, characters, etc for each novel, you can always fit it into an essay and man, it is such a piece of cake.

I bang one night stands every night and english is easier than that. Oh, not to mention how rigorous science are



By the way did I mention I am international, never studied in an english country before I came to the UK for university and I got A* in CIE english lit, so tell me how hard the subject is again
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Original post by DomStaff
I'm glad the OP was joking, because it is the most ridiculous thing I have heard in my life.

I got 14A* at GCSE (13 if we don't count short-course PE) and 100% in Eng Lit, history, maths, all science exams (but not coursework! **** you coursework.) and 299/300 in geography (I was not happy on results day). So I think my opinion, that English is a lot easier, carries some weight.


I don't quite understand what you're trying to say here... where is your evidence to back this up, other than your incredible GCSE A* grades? For someone who finds English so easy, you seem to be finding it very difficult to construct a coherent argument.

Personally I hate maths and science with a passion, and having to do it to A-level standard, let alone degree level, would be my idea of a living Hell. Sometimes it feels as though my brain is wired for neither of them! However, I am very strong with regards to language and linguistics, which is why I'm studying English and French at university. It's true that STEM subjects are very desirable and in all likelihood will make it much easier for you to get a job, but that's not why I'm studying English. I'm studying it because I enjoy constructing arguments, discovering new texts, honing my communication skills and, above all else, because I'll never grow tired of it. Some people will say similar things about why they choose to study STEM subjects, and by no means am I discrediting these students. However, I'd say that to negatively judge someone based on the subject they study is petty and in all honesty very pretentious. I'd much rather study something I love and risk being ostracised than study something I despise because it's a prestigious subject.
Reply 96
Can confirm; English grad with a 1st. But there's no need for you to mock us; we're far more aware of our lesser intelligence and lack of career prospects than you'll ever be. You're kicking people who are already down.
This thread is absolutely silly.
Original post by CongressTart




I don't quite understand what you're trying to say here... where is your evidence to back this up, other than your incredible GCSE A* grades? For someone who finds English so easy, you seem to be finding it very difficult to construct a coherent argument.

Personally I hate maths and science with a passion, and having to do it to A-level standard, let alone degree level, would be my idea of a living Hell. Sometimes it feels as though my brain is wired for neither of them! However, I am very strong with regards to language and linguistics, which is why I'm studying English and French at university. It's true that STEM subjects are very desirable and in all likelihood will make it much easier for you to get a job, but that's not why I'm studying English. I'm studying it because I enjoy constructing arguments, discovering new texts, honing my communication skills and, above all else, because I'll never grow tired of it. Some people will say similar things about why they choose to study STEM subjects, and by no means am I discrediting these students. However, I'd say that to negatively judge someone based on the subject they study is petty and in all honesty very pretentious. I'd much rather study something I love and risk being ostracised than study something I despise because it's a prestigious subject.


Observe the closing sentence of my post. I did not discredit you in any way, nor did I attempt to diminish your intelligence. Granted, there exist people that study English whose intellect is far superior to that which I possess; I do not deny this. What I am saying is that it clearly is an easier subject, not that choosing English reflects a person with a poor intellect nor the converse. I disagreed with the OP's post because it is not true, not because I believe us science/maths students possess a far better brain than you.


Now, with regards to your attempted insult: I wasn't aware I was obliged to write in a 'coherent' prose which would be fit for demonstrating my English capabilities. Perhaps, in future, one should draft, and redraft, one's posts such that one avoids critical, and pointless, comments like the one you addressed towards me.
Reply 99
Original post by Med_medine
Didnt even read the thread since it is utterly bull****(mind you I typed *, no swearing definitely)

Oh I did catch a line, something about remembering quotes, I can easily remember an entire Jane Austen novel than to remember all my muscles/nerves/vessels for Anatomy in medical schools, and anatomy is only one of the gosh how many subjects we have.

oh, I got 98% UMS overall for A level literature, sorry but if you have a brain like mine where you remember just 10 quotes for each genre, eg nature, characters, etc for each novel, you can always fit it into an essay and man, it is such a piece of cake.

I bang one night stands every night and english is easier than that. Oh, not to mention how rigorous science are



By the way did I mention I am international, never studied in an english country before I came to the UK for university and I got A* in CIE english lit, so tell me how hard the subject is again
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Sure, son.

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