English a level help

Heyheyhey,

Just wanna ask you guys a questions. How hard is a level english literature? Planned on studying history, psychology, sociology and spanish due to my a level option blocks not allowing me to do rs yet have been told doing a level eng lit would be a lot better than psychology to get me into the top unis.

One did enjoy it more than eng lang at GCSE level and am wondering if the rumour that eng lit is the hardest a level is true, and whether if i put a lot of effort into it i can achieve a high grade.

There's no way English Lit is the hardest A level. Plain as.

At the end of the day no one can tell you if it's hard or not objectively because everyone is going to have a different experience, e.g. different circumstances, different examination boards, etc. If you're generally good at English, want to put the work in and enjoy it, it won't be as hard for you as someone who hates it but just wants to do it to get a good round of qualifications.

English is far better than Psychology as far as most unis are concerned but it always depends on your course.

In my personal experience, English Lit is very easy. I never had to revise very hard (it's an odd subject to revise for anyway, you sort of have to listen and learn the first time around because otherwise you're gonna have a tough time of learning the text and the interpretations yourself. It's not like a factual subject like the sciences), always got As in mocks and essays. Compared to English at uni, A level is a walk in the park. But that's because I love English and put the time in and am (blowing my own trumpet here) pretty good at it. So take from that what you will! But I always recommend English A level :-) it's interesting and worthwhile.

Its not the hardest A Level, not even close. It's just a test of memory to see if you can remember everything your teachers told you and write it down in an open book coursework. You can work hard if you like but as long as you know the basics you can easily make your way through the exams with minimal revision as theyre open book too. The only downside is that it's incredibly boring and a lot of your class will either drop it straight away or start skipping the lesson

Edit: Also, employers are looking for qualifications in Psychology for our generation, and is just as impressive as Eng Lit for UCAS. At the end of the day, unless the course specifies that it prefers you do certain a levels, then it wont matter which 4 you pick.

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You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. English Literature is one of the most respected A-levels there is, and one of the oldest. It is not a 'memory test' at all, as the set-texts change every few years, the questions (especially section B, where free reign is pretty much given) are always different and can't be anticipated, etc. Just 'knowing the basics' will fail you and you will not get through the subject by skipping classes. The coursework requires deep understanding, and some exam boards make you research political theory and apply it to literature, with university-style research and referencing needed. AS exams are open-book, but A2 exams are closed-book. Edexcel and WJEC enforce an unseen section where students go in not knowing what one of the texts they have to write about is at all; they are given a poem or extract in the exam they have never seen before and have to write an essay about it. Open-book exams generally give no advantage anyway, as it is better to just learn the quotes off by heart you want to use, instead of frantically looking through the book in the exam to find them, wasting a lot of time.

Employers are not looking for qualifications in psychology at all; where did you get this from? There are too many psychology graduates to meet the demand for jobs. It is incredibly hard to become a clinical psychologist with only a few openings for the thousands of psychology graduates each year, who will need a master's degree as well as their first degree. Psychology (although a 'decent' subject) is not as impressive as English Literature for UCAS applications; again where did you get this from? It is not a 'facilitating subject', as stated here: http://www.russellgroup.org/InformedChoices-latest.pdf

'Subjects that can be viewed as facilitating subjects are:

Mathematics and Further Mathematics
English Literature
Physics
Biology
Chemistry
Geography
History
Languages (Classical and Modern)'

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Psychology is in the B list for Cambridge University, whereas English Literature is in the A list: https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/index.php?pageid=604

The 4 A-levels you pick really do matter; you can't just skate by, choosing the wrong subjects when so many other people will have chosen the right ones.

I've taken it as one of my A-Levels. For the coursework, all that was necessary was rewording the lecturers notes and without any revision or hard work at all I still got an A in my coursework.
Whilst the chosen texts change every few years, you're only doing the AS year for 1 year, you dont need to know many different kinds so that makes no difference.
The fact that section B is free reign shows that even a great amount of revision wont prepare you, it's better to go in knowing the basics rather than stressing over having to know every little unimportant thing.
Did you sit the AS paper this year if you do the subject? I cant remember which specific exam it is, but one of the highest mark questions was asking about the significance of the opening statements. You don't have to be a genius to find that in the book without searching franticly.

I'll retract my statement about psychology as it was secondhand information and was clearly flawed as there are many graduates. Although, it was not aimed as University level, just A-Level. Employers like that people have a background in studying it, no matter how minor, whether its just GCSE or A Level, it doesnt just have to be Uni level.
Whilst Psychology may be in the B list for Cambridge University, that's Cambridge, a bit too ambitious for most.

English Literature is the only A Level I regret taking, because I genuinely feel as though I've come out of it learning nothing, even though I got an A in my coursework and A*'s for practice essays. The writing skills they taught us were appauling and didnt expand much as progression from GCSE level, thankfully I was able to fix it because I also took History.
For many courses in Uni, you can choose any subjects and still get a placement as long as the grades are good. Law for example, doesnt require any qualification in law prior to Uni level, and from my research there's only 1 or 2 respectable Universities that require either a certain level AS grade as well as your 3 A2 grades or an Essay based subject at A2.
The fact that I've done this in my English course is proof that you can skate by and still get good grades. I'm not saying you can do the bare minimum, im saying that you just need basics and any intelligent person can make it work from there. I chose subjects much more wisely than others may have because I didnt look for what uni's supposedly find as a preference, which change every so often btw, and instead went for subjects that I enjoy and am already good at. You could have the perfect dream team of a combination of AS and A2 subjects but it still comes down to Grades and Interviews to decide if you'll get a placement in the course you want at the Uni you want.


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Sorry I have a quick question. By no means am I trying to demean you. A lot of people say am instead of I'm, is this the correct use? Also, within this sentence is my grammar and punctuation correct? - Lastly, do you know any good websites to help me improve me English grammar and punctuation?

Yeah, they can't have been great teachers if they haven't corrected you on the spelling of the word appalling by now! Haha, but no seriously English Lit is not a really easy subject... Despite my high grade at AS last year, I found the in-depth study of the books hard work and it is a subject that requires interest and perseverance.
Psychology and sociology are both considered 'soft'. Not at university, but definitely at A level. There are no two ways about it; a core subject such as English lit is always going to look better than a 'new' subject like psychology or sociology. Plus, some unis actually dislike students studying A level psychology/sociology/law etc., because often what they teach at A level is incorrect or simplified, so when they get to degree level they have to be retaught.

In my experience the only people who say am instead of I'm have a strong Liverpool accent haha. It's not correct. I said " I love English and put the time in and am (blowing my own trumpet here)"

If you get rid of the "English and put the time in and" bit it's correct. It's just using the I from before. It's difficult to explain over the internet. Even so, there's no need to use correct grammar on the internet. In the real world of work and education it matters, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows what you mean on here.