Should i do A-Level Law?
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Law at A-level is not hard. There is relatively no concept within it that pushes your understanding/intellectual capabilities, but you need to know a lot of stuff and you need to know how to extrapolate key points and contextualize this onto other concepts. That is the key asset you can learn from A level law. You can also learn how law works, and as someone has already stated, going into law at uni without knowledge on what the subject is like is a recipe for disaster.
fox_the_fix
going into law at uni without knowledge on what the subject is like is a recipe for disaster.
This is wrong. Law A-level is not required by any unis as a entry requirement for studying law. As I have mentioned some unis even claim to 'not prefer' (read "dislike") it as a subject choice, even for a law degree. Tutors may prefer you to enter your study of law with an open mind that is untainted by what can only be a comparatively small-scale and vague knowledge of the subject gained from A-level.
Salparadise
This is wrong. Law A-level is not required by any unis as a entry requirement for studying law. As I have mentioned some unis even claim to 'not prefer' (read "dislike") it as a subject choice, even for a law degree. Tutors may prefer you to enter your study of law with an open mind that is untainted by what can only be a comparatively small-scale and vague knowledge of the subject gained from A-level.
I don't think thats quite what he meant
I do agree with him that going into law without some knowledge of what the subject is like is a very silly thing to do. However, you don't necessarily need to actually do the subject to know something about it. People who don't take law at A-level should definitely read a introductory book aimed at pre-undergraduates before they decide on the course, just so they have an idea about what they are getting themselves into.
Omg can't believe some of the people on this..
I do English Lit, History, German and Law for A Level. I could do a Law degree no problem then.
And it's not hard, but it's very time consuming. There are dozens of cases and principles, and because you need a minimum of a grade B at GCSE History / English to do it, its not offered as a soft subject would be to virtually anyone.
I got 100 UMS in the Law making and the legal system module, but that's because I revised for months. And along with History, which I got the equivalent of an A* grade in the first module. It's just working hard and revising.
And people who say Law is a doss and they've never taken it.. who do you think you are?
It's like Media Studies - people say it's a doss, they don't even study it. It may well be, but you wouldn't know if you didn't actually learn the subject.
From what I've heard, WJEC Biology is a doss. There you go then.
I do English Lit, History, German and Law for A Level. I could do a Law degree no problem then.
And it's not hard, but it's very time consuming. There are dozens of cases and principles, and because you need a minimum of a grade B at GCSE History / English to do it, its not offered as a soft subject would be to virtually anyone.
I got 100 UMS in the Law making and the legal system module, but that's because I revised for months. And along with History, which I got the equivalent of an A* grade in the first module. It's just working hard and revising.
And people who say Law is a doss and they've never taken it.. who do you think you are?
It's like Media Studies - people say it's a doss, they don't even study it. It may well be, but you wouldn't know if you didn't actually learn the subject.
From what I've heard, WJEC Biology is a doss. There you go then.
I did A Level Law, History and Government & Politics.
I didn't do AQA law, I did OCR law, but I can say that its a good subject.
Some people find it hard and there is a lot to remember but if you like it its good. I'm studying law at degree level, believe me, your A Level law will NOT help you at all... BUT if you're considering it as a degree you should do it at A Level, as it gives you a taste of what its like. Though if you only look at Criminal and not Contract law it isn't representative of most of your degree.
As for being easy... meh, depends on you as a person. I found it to be my easiest A Level and easiest GCSE. (I got the highest grade available.) Lots of people did find it hard though. It depends on how your mind works. I also found History easy as well though... it certainly wasn't any harder than Law. (My lowest grade being in History has nothing to do with the difficulty but the fact I screwed up my coursework by writing it on an impracticable question for the word limit)
Government & Politics I found to be the best topic for writing essays and looking at issues, but people ignore that subject. I found my skills from that more useful than the others.
For essay writing A Level law won't help though. At degree they want a lot more detailed analysis than you can expect at A Level. Problem questions are practically identical though, so that's helpful.
I didn't do AQA law, I did OCR law, but I can say that its a good subject.
Some people find it hard and there is a lot to remember but if you like it its good. I'm studying law at degree level, believe me, your A Level law will NOT help you at all... BUT if you're considering it as a degree you should do it at A Level, as it gives you a taste of what its like. Though if you only look at Criminal and not Contract law it isn't representative of most of your degree.
As for being easy... meh, depends on you as a person. I found it to be my easiest A Level and easiest GCSE. (I got the highest grade available.) Lots of people did find it hard though. It depends on how your mind works. I also found History easy as well though... it certainly wasn't any harder than Law. (My lowest grade being in History has nothing to do with the difficulty but the fact I screwed up my coursework by writing it on an impracticable question for the word limit)
Government & Politics I found to be the best topic for writing essays and looking at issues, but people ignore that subject. I found my skills from that more useful than the others.
For essay writing A Level law won't help though. At degree they want a lot more detailed analysis than you can expect at A Level. Problem questions are practically identical though, so that's helpful.
Law is a fantastic subject. It's intellectually stimulating and really interesting. Of course other subjects are perhaps more beneficial for law degrees, but it is a known fact that Law A Level does help to see if you are sufficiently interested in the law to want to pursue it to degree level - most people who have not taken it drop out because of how hard it is. And Cambridge and Oxford both accept the A Level, as long as you take other traditional subjects e.g. Maths, sciences, english, languages.
Since I've posted on this issue elsewhere recently, I might as well reproduce it here:
Tortious
I think that the A Level is useful for two reasons:
The official policy is that the A Level "offers no particular advantage or disadvantage" to your application; I interpret this as meaning that the university won't favour people with it. That's not the same as the subject not giving you an advantage when it comes to reading law at university.
As part of the AS, I looked at the role of lay people and legal professionals within the legal system and learned about the court structure and appeal routes, which is useful when you're reading a case to know whether or not there's a chance that the decision was reversed by a higher court (the name "Court of Appeal" suggests to a layman that it's the highest court in the land, which isn't the case!). I also did a little bit of tort law (negligence) and some criminal (non-fatal offences); admittedly this wasn't a lot and was pretty superficial but it did help to whet my appetite for the A2.
For the A2, centres offer different subjects, with there being options in Tort, Human Rights, Contract and Criminal to name but a few. I did Criminal and therefore looked at homicide, non-fatal offences (in more depth), property offences, defences and a little bit of jurisprudence. The jurisprudence hasn't really been that useful yet, but contrary to the myth that "it only gives you a two-week advantage", I think the A Level - if taught well - gives you a good grounding. Of the eight supervisions I've had this year, I'd already covered the work for about five of them at A2 (although naturally more reading was needed to refresh my memory and deepen my understanding). I've only come across one fundamental area of contention with my supervisor from my existing A Level knowledge over the course of my study, which even then is an area over which academics are divided, whereas my peers still had to get to grips with the basic concepts. Becoming familiar with the language is good too - it just makes you feel more at ease.
I think that part of the problem is that with Law being a relatively new A Level, universities are still wary of it to an extent since the teaching is so variable. I actually started the AS as part of an evening class in Year 11 and the teaching was appalling - I got an E in my first exam (predicted an A) and an A and C in my others (the A was a sheer miracle because that was an essay paper; the C was on the substantive law that we hadn't really been taught). I then convinced my sixth form to allow me to self-teach a resit and take up the A2 in my first year, and they couldn't have been more helpful. Of the five papers I resat there, I got 100% on all of them thanks to their help. It just goes to show that there must be some value in the A Level, and I'd hope that my UMS marks would act as a testament to my understanding!
Doughnuts!!
Oh, so would you say that Law A-Level has been really helpful? Te only reason I didn't take it was because it had been hammered into me that it wouldn't really give you any sort of advantage!
I think that the A Level is useful for two reasons:
1.
It's been said many times that the worst thing you can do is to go to university to study law without knowing it's for you - doing an A Level over two years gives you an indication as to whether or not it's something you're interested in
2.
It gives you a basic level of knowledge that, in my experience, is helpful to give you a bit of a head start when you're trying to find your feet in a new environment
The official policy is that the A Level "offers no particular advantage or disadvantage" to your application; I interpret this as meaning that the university won't favour people with it. That's not the same as the subject not giving you an advantage when it comes to reading law at university.
As part of the AS, I looked at the role of lay people and legal professionals within the legal system and learned about the court structure and appeal routes, which is useful when you're reading a case to know whether or not there's a chance that the decision was reversed by a higher court (the name "Court of Appeal" suggests to a layman that it's the highest court in the land, which isn't the case!). I also did a little bit of tort law (negligence) and some criminal (non-fatal offences); admittedly this wasn't a lot and was pretty superficial but it did help to whet my appetite for the A2.
For the A2, centres offer different subjects, with there being options in Tort, Human Rights, Contract and Criminal to name but a few. I did Criminal and therefore looked at homicide, non-fatal offences (in more depth), property offences, defences and a little bit of jurisprudence. The jurisprudence hasn't really been that useful yet, but contrary to the myth that "it only gives you a two-week advantage", I think the A Level - if taught well - gives you a good grounding. Of the eight supervisions I've had this year, I'd already covered the work for about five of them at A2 (although naturally more reading was needed to refresh my memory and deepen my understanding). I've only come across one fundamental area of contention with my supervisor from my existing A Level knowledge over the course of my study, which even then is an area over which academics are divided, whereas my peers still had to get to grips with the basic concepts. Becoming familiar with the language is good too - it just makes you feel more at ease.
I think that part of the problem is that with Law being a relatively new A Level, universities are still wary of it to an extent since the teaching is so variable. I actually started the AS as part of an evening class in Year 11 and the teaching was appalling - I got an E in my first exam (predicted an A) and an A and C in my others (the A was a sheer miracle because that was an essay paper; the C was on the substantive law that we hadn't really been taught). I then convinced my sixth form to allow me to self-teach a resit and take up the A2 in my first year, and they couldn't have been more helpful. Of the five papers I resat there, I got 100% on all of them thanks to their help. It just goes to show that there must be some value in the A Level, and I'd hope that my UMS marks would act as a testament to my understanding!
I love law lol and I work hard because of that,
so do it if you'll like it
so do it if you'll like it
Original post by Gaaabs XD
I heard that Law firms prefer Law graduates to NOT have taken A-Level Law because people specialize too early and have a narrow field... is this true?
Bear in mind that I don't have any firm authority for my view (but then, nor do you - that's why you're asking
), but I very much doubt that that's the case. As far as the knowledge that the A Level has given me in relation to my degree, it's given me one paper's worth (Criminal) and a smidgeon of Tort (negligence) which, in the case of the latter, was so limited that I've had to learn it pretty much from scratch. In the light of that, I don't really see how the A Level can enable you to specialise too early... Original post by Hippysnake
Yeah, but-
Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Further Maths, English Lit, English Lang, History, Geography, French, Spanish, Italian, Sociology, Psychology and quite a few other ologies are harder.
Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Further Maths, English Lit, English Lang, History, Geography, French, Spanish, Italian, Sociology, Psychology and quite a few other ologies are harder.
I'd say Law is pretty damned hard. But i do agree with the person above somewhere. It's not so bad to get ya head around, it's just remembering the countless amounts of information and cases and knowing what to write where and what-not. Just sat the Unit 1 exam this afternoon and it was actually a lot better than i'd hoped!
Original post by NINJABUDGIE96
I'd say Law is pretty damned hard. But i do agree with the person above somewhere. It's not so bad to get ya head around, it's just remembering the countless amounts of information and cases and knowing what to write where and what-not. Just sat the Unit 1 exam this afternoon and it was actually a lot better than i'd hoped!
This thread is over two years old. How'd you find it and why'd you bother digging it up?
Original post by ghastlymistake
I need a fourth A-Level and i am thinking about doing AQA Law.... soo.... is it any good? how hard is it relative to other A-levels?
THANKS!
THANKS!
I've found OCR to be a better exam board for law but law is law at the end of the day. It's a great subject, with a rather good reputation. A LOT of memorisation and application simultaneously
I’m so sure that Law A level will at least help you in life, or if u want to do it as a degree, in that too. The people who are saying it’s pointless are pointless if I’m honest... because doing law a level not only are you gaining a qualification and learning something interesting, but it’s also able to actually help you in real life with the knowledge you have. That’s undeniable.
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