|
|
|
A-Level Religious StudiesTSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > A Levels > A-Level Subject Guides II > A-Level Religious Studies
A-Level Religious StudiesBackground information about studying Religious StudiesReligious Studies at GCE level often gives a broad spectrum of selectable modules which the class and/or teacher can decide where their interests best lie. Often dealing with the notion of "God" and the Philosophical problems arising from this rather than a study of the details of religions, R.S often includes modules on Ethics and Morality. How will it differ from GCSE?Despite the name, many exam boards deter from focusing on specific religions, in contrast to GCSE R.S/R.E. However there will normally be a particular religion which is studied in relation to the rest of the module. For instance in the Ethics module, one might study Christian approaches Ethics, but this does not form a major part of the syllabus. DifficultyR.S and Philosophy are often considered difficult subjects and as a result good grades in the subject at GCE level are respected by universities. It may be fair to say that relatively close minded people may find the subject quite a difficult mental exercise. One must be open to criticism and unafriad to get "shot down" when making a point. As a result, confidence and the ability to convey your thoughts accurately are vital to constructive class discussion. WorkloadEssay-writing is a key skill and so written pieces will frequently form homework, but reading and researching are also key components. The workload is not on the scale of a coursework-heavy subject like History or English, but you will need to spend a fair amount of time grappling with some deep concepts, depending on how easy you pick them up. In comparison with GCSE, the step up is reasonably consistent with that seen in most A level subjects. Required Individual StudyIndividual research or reading is important, particularly in the most modern parts of the syllabus - medical ethics, for instance. All wider reading will prove very helpful in understanding the concepts studied on the syllabus, but you can get by without it. The wider reading side of the course is one of the major changes to the way you will work in comparison to GCSE. How is it assessed?ExamsFor each module you do a 1 hour 15 minute exam for AS level, where you will answer two 30 mark (AO1) essays and two 15 mark (AO2) essays. CourseworkNone PracticalsNone Field trips and excursionsNothing too exciting, maybe going to some conferences or something, but as there's not really a practical element to it there's no where you could go on a trip. Where can I go with a Religious Studies A-LevelUser OpinionsUsername: Kathleen.x What I like about studying this subject: Philosophy is particularly interesting, made even more so by my teacher. I enjoyed studying Plato and Aristotle. What I dislike about studying this subject: Ethics is more repetitive, it kind of states the obvious sometimes.
Username: Moleman3 What I like about studying this subject: I think that most of the topics studied are really interesting and I enjoy how the lessons are mainly just class discussions, it's a nice break from just working all lesson. I probably prefer ethics more at the moment, but apparently it gets a lot harder at A2 so maybe that will change. It's just really interesting to look at things from different perspectives and hear people's ideas on things. The concepts in themselves don't tend to be that difficult to understand, it's just the essays where it gets more difficult. What I dislike about studying this subject: Essays and the exam. The essays can get a bit tedious because they are so specific about exactly how you should write them that there's barely any freedom. In AO1 essays you have to just write facts and you can't include any opinion at all and vice versa for AO2 essays. And sometimes the essay titles are just damn hard and it can be difficult to work out what they want from you. And the exam is a bit ridiculous. You have 1 hour 15 minutes to write two 30 mark essays and two 15 mark essays for ethics, and then the same again for philosophy. So you basically have to write 8 essays in 2 and a half hours. Learning the concepts is not too bad, but trying to learn all of the million quotes for the exam is hard. I wouldn't let this stop you from taking the subject, i think it's really interesting and worthwhile, just the assessment of it could be done better.
Username: What I like about studying this subject: What I dislike about studying this subject:
Username: What I like about studying this subject: What I dislike about studying this subject: Also See |
|
||||||||||||||||
