creative writing A-level

Hi , i have a true passion for creative writing and found this A-level, but because it is such a new A-level i don't know how much work it is ? is it worth it ? how is it recognized by universities ? is it considered a soft subject ? how different is it compared to GCSE creative writing ?

Hi , i have a true passion for creative writing and found this A-level, but because it is such a new A-level i don't know how much work it is ? is it worth it ? how is it recognized by universities ? is it considered a soft subject ? how different is it compared to GCSE creative writing ?

Well I did it at AS when I was in Year 11, we didn't do it as a lesson, more like a session here or there throughout term. Tbh there wasn't that much to it, just two pieces of coursework with a commentary then a 2 hour exam where you had to choose 2 out of a possible 4 questions to answer, but both had 300 word limit so it was a bit painful. It depends what you want to do at uni tbh and what other A-Levels you're doing...

You can find all the information on AQA website. It's worth as much credit as any other A-level. It is beginning to become recognized by some universities, especially if you plan to apply for Creative Writing degree. By default, because it is new, it's not necessarily considered as a soft subject, however it is not considered a facilitating subject like Maths, Chemistry, English Literature, History, French, etc, etc.

There is no such thing as GCSE Creative Writing.

I mean the creative writing aspects of english language gcse

I want to do medicine at uni and i am doing
Biology
Chemistry
Maths
Economics
But i was always so good at english at school,definately one of my most favourite subjects especially the creative writing aspect in english language gcse

No it is not. Creative Writing is more technical and you will not have the basis of "start your story of with "On that terrible day", etc, etc.

To have the best understanding on what you are expected to do, follow up my advice and look at Creative Writing on AQA website.

Well tbh I didn't find it too challenging or time consuming along with all my GCSE's and it was quite fun I guess. I think as long as you're doing bio chem and maths you'll be okay for medicine and creative writing shows some variety and a range of talents.Tbh it's similar to GCSE writing, or was for me at least, if you're good at writing and talented at creative writing then it's pretty much a similar sort of thing...

I looked at the website and i dont like the way it is examined i mean a 2 hour paper plus a commentary and controlled assessmant i feel its a bit excesive.... not what i expected but i know i will be good on the exam paper because i am good at writing creative pieces on the spot but 2 hours .... not enough time.... do you think i should do english lit and lang combined for A-level because it looks really fun but i heard it is considered a soft subject but i dont want to do just english lit because i want some creativity


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It's not controlled assessment. It's coursework. You will have many months to write in different styles and then pick a final piece to choose, write it up, redraft and etc for at least about 4 months out of the whole AS year. Yeah, the Spec in itself does look a bit overboard with the writing and etc. However, 2 hours is plenty of time to write. You will learn how to control your accuracy from the get-go, so don't be put off by the time limit.

You should pick what you think you would enjoy the most out of those A-level options. The combined English A-level is considered a soft subject simply because it doesn't cover English Language, nor Lit in enough depth. It provides breadth of knowledge, but only the stepping stones.

English Literature A-level does sometimes allow you to act upon some creativity, normally it is based on the text you are reading (this is for coursework only). For example, in my AS Lit year, we got the opportunity to either just write a traditional essay on Birdsong, or creative writing, it was called Recreational Writing. For example, adding in an alternative chapter, or just adding an extra chapter etc. I did this, but found it to be too constricting as it had to be "written in the way the actual author would write it" which I thought was beyond ridiculous.

Does the college/sixth form you plan to study at offer English Language? This offers a lot of creativity in both years. For me, I did one traditional investigative essay per year and then one creative writing one. My first year was a women's magazine about domestic abuse and in my A2 year, I did a radio-script with my own fictional characters, based for BBC4 Radio interview. It was really fun!

If your college does not offer Language, perhaps your best bet is to stick with Creative Writing instead, as you do seem passionate about it. However, AQA is the only board to offer it as an A-level so if you're not keen on the spec, you might not like the course. Although, it hugely depends on how the course is taught.

The real importance as I mentioned above, is to pick the subject that you enjoy; you want to learn, appreciate and understand more, that way you will enjoy the subject a lot more if you have a passion for it.

thank you so much

oh thanks ,what grade did you get in it ?

No one will know yet - this year is the first year the AS has been available so the first results won't be out until August.

Feel free to click on my profile and rep me )

oh thanks ,what grade did you get in it ?

Yeah won't get my results until August, sorry :P

good luck ? did you do the full a level or as level

Just found this thread - going to be taking CW AS from September; it's probably the subject I'm most excited about taking! My choices are: English Lit., History, CW, Latin, and G&P. According to that Cambridge A level list, CW is B list but considered useful for English; it's not C list so all's fine as long as you're doing at least two from the A list. Also, went to look round Oxford a couple of weeks ago, I asked one of the English tutors about whether CW to A2 would weaken an application and they didn't seem to have an issue with it at all!