[Emily9542]

does anyone do critical thinking AS level

i'm starting the course in sept and i'm just wondering what people thought about it and is it difficult/easy or a waste of time

thanks

[Modulus]

Hey, I did as Critical Thinking. Its a complete waste of time IMO, having said that it shouldn't be that difficult to get an 'A' provided you put in a minimal amount of effort.

[Emily9542]

Originally Posted by Modulus

Hey, I did as Critical Thinking. Its a complete waste of time IMO, having said that it shouldn't be that difficult to get an 'A' provided you put in a minimal amount of effort.

is it really that bad

i've heard Uni's like it but that could just be to make more people take the course!!

I don't really understand what you have to do and what the work and exam will be like

[Modulus]

Originally Posted by Emily9542

is it really that bad

In hindsight I would never have taken it, but that just might be me.

Originally Posted by Emily9542

i've heard Uni's like it but that could just be to make more people take the course!!

I don't really understand what you have to do and what the work and exam will be like

If you look at some of the past papers you'll get a pretty good idea on what its all about. Here is a link. This website also seems pretty good.

[Emily9542]

thanks that really helped

[Modulus]

Originally Posted by Emily9542

thanks that really helped

glad I could be of assistance

[Wildebeest]

Originally Posted by Emily9542

is it really that bad

i've heard Uni's like it but that could just be to make more people take the course!!

I don't really understand what you have to do and what the work and exam will be like

The main point to make about taking Critical Thinking is that attitudes towards it among universities are varied, as is the case with General Studies. The two are often seen as 'extra' subjects (i.e. many take four AS levels plus Critical Thinking/GS through personal choice or because their school requires them to) and get treated as such. Some universities will accept these qualifications as part of their offers; many won't, but none express how much they 'like' them. Even though Critical Thinking might appear easier than more established subjects (again, there are diverse views on this), some comment on the skills it may help you with. As an example, the reasoning sections may help with preparation for certain university admissions tests. To echo the above posts, look over the material for your exam board to get a better idea of what the course is about.

This is more suited to the Exams & Qualifications forum, so moving this over now.

[pinkpenguin]

I hated this subject

The principle of the exams are really easy, but sometimes you get questions which make you nearly laugh they are so confusing!

But then again, it doesnt really mean that much, unis wont mind if you dont get an A. And its pretty easy to get a C!

[Emily9542]

thanks

[jhm91]

Everyone in our year who were unfortunate enough to do this AS hated it - we boycotted lessons.

[megan28]

I like to see it as general studies where you actually have to think.

Everyone at my sixth form had to do general studies (in addition to the chosen 3 or 4 subjects) and then the top 30 or so students did CT as well.
This was based on GCSE points.

But we never really had any lessons.
We all did GS on this "rolling tutorial" scheme. For only one hour a week, at a different time each week which was just really disruptive.

Any way....
We spent most of the time going over GS topics so no one was prepared for CT.
All but about 5 people failed so the school paied for resits.
But no one was allowed to cary on to A2, and its no longer offered to yr 12.

All in all its a waste of time!

[Gooner]

I found that due to dire teaching Critical Thinking was really hard. If you listen in class and buy a book to help you from the beginning of the course, it should be an easy enough course to pass, but I think it's one of those subjects where you need to be taught by somebody who knows what they are on about. The teachers in my school are really bad at teaching it, and therefore everybody other than one girl in my year group got below Cs.

[Lykabelle]

Well we had two lessons a week (quite a few lessons got cancelled though) of AS critical thinking and we took the exam in January. I don't think many people really took it seriously. You had to get above a certain GCSE point score to do it and the rest did general studies.

I didn't really like the subject but it can be fairly useful for some university entrance exams such as the TSA at cambridge and LNAT for Law (or so I've heard). I ended up getting 300 in it which still shocks me to date lol but just try and get alot of exam practice done and check the mark schemes to see what exactly the examiners want. I do know straight A students who ended up getting Cs in critical thinking. It could be down to not putting as much effort into it or the exam being quite tough/vague to them.

[Sophie_10]

Originally Posted by megan28

I like to see it as general studies where you actually have to think.

Everyone at my sixth form had to do general studies (in addition to the chosen 3 or 4 subjects).

But we never really had any lessons.
We all did GS on this "rolling tutorial" scheme. For only one hour a week, at a different time each week which was just really disruptive.

But no one was allowed to cary on to A2.

All in all its a waste of time!

it was a complete waste of time!

[x_mel_x]

Worst subject ever! A complete waste of my life.

[Vjyrik]

I loved it! It was one of my favourite subjects (after Maths & Physics, of course) - and am hoping to self study it to A2. It is very useful in terms of thinking skills, and benefited my thinking in general - I am able to analyse situations so much more quickly!