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philosophy and ethics vs English lit

i am currently choosing my A-level options and have decided upon biology,chemistry and maths but can't decide on the last one. Which one out of philosophy and ethics and English lit would you recommend and why ? and any information surrounding each subject would be useful too, pro's and con's ?

Thank you
(edited 9 years ago)

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Philosophy because it is relevant in most/all subjects. And it is soo interesting.

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English Lit because it is a facilitating subject, applies to everything, helps you with exam technique in all subjects (especially essays), its relevant, and really interesting and fun. Universities really like it, its highly 'accepted' and a traditional subject. You definitely have to enjoy reading to do it though- I hate reading so I struggle a little! :biggrin:

Good Luck!!!
English lit!!!!!
Original post by Jasminem97
English Lit because it is a facilitating subject, applies to everything, helps you with exam technique in all subjects (especially essays), its relevant, and really interesting and fun. Universities really like it, its highly 'accepted' and a traditional subject. You definitely have to enjoy reading to do it though- I hate reading so I struggle a little! :biggrin:

Good Luck!!!


lol same , i get really good grades in english lit at GCSE but never read the books. When you say a lot of reading , how much does that mean at AS level ?
Original post by FreshGarbage
Philosophy because it is relevant in most/all subjects. And it is soo interesting.

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what sort of things do you study at AS and what are the exams like ?
Original post by ellefrancessa
English lit!!!!!


Original post by Jasminem97
English Lit because it is a facilitating subject, applies to everything, helps you with exam technique in all subjects (especially essays), its relevant, and really interesting and fun. Universities really like it, its highly 'accepted' and a traditional subject. You definitely have to enjoy reading to do it though- I hate reading so I struggle a little! :biggrin:

Good Luck!!!


how is the step up from GCSE to AS for English lit ?
Original post by Humzaawan123
what sort of things do you study at AS and what are the exams like ?


The exam board is changing next year to be completely different. But I studied knowledge and the external world, free will and determinism, the value of art, morality. It is so so so interesting but ridiculously hard. It is a well respected subject

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I loved philosophy and ethics personally, but then again, I didn't do lit, I did lang
English Literature.

I study Biology and both of the two courses this thread is about (English and Philosophy). English is so useful and if you're good at it, you'd be stupid not to take it to be honest. I don't agree when people say it's a lot of reading... it depends how your college executes the teaching of that subject. Philosophy is really difficult and the most abstract a-level you will study if you choose that. I'd have a look at the specifications your school(s) follow and see what sounds more suited to you but A-Level English will take you further and be of much more use to you; its skills are transferable.

What do you plan on doing in the future?
Original post by FreshGarbage
The exam board is changing next year to be completely different. But I studied knowledge and the external world, free will and determinism, the value of art, morality. It is so so so interesting but ridiculously hard. It is a well respected subject

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It does seem very interesting , how is the content then examined as i feel many topics will be very subjective and opinionated.
Original post by Humzaawan123
It does seem very interesting , how is the content then examined as i feel many topics will be very subjective and opinionated.


Well for me it was two essays (15 and 30 marks) for each topic split into two exams. So 4 essays per exam. Time is very limited. However I've heard this has changed and is now a bunch of smaller questions and an essay. They have made it easier basically. At A2 we just have essays again but longer and more complicated.

It has honestly changed how I see the world, it is crazy what you learn and ive just applied to take it at university :smile:

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Original post by DelReyRevolution
English Literature.

I study Biology and both of the two courses this thread is about (English and Philosophy). English is so useful and if you're good at it, you'd be stupid not to take it to be honest. I don't agree when people say it's a lot of reading... it depends how your college executes the teaching of that subject. Philosophy is really difficult and the most abstract a-level you will study if you choose that. I'd have a look at the specifications your school(s) follow and see what sounds more suited to you but A-Level English will take you further and be of much more use to you; its skills are transferable.

What do you plan on doing in the future?


Medicine hopefully , i do love english and have gotten full marks on all my courseworks so far , its just i am scared that the step up from gcse to AS will be to steep.
Original post by Humzaawan123
Medicine hopefully , i do love english and have gotten full marks on all my courseworks so far , its just i am scared that the step up from gcse to AS will be to steep.


There is a step-up but it honestly depends on how that is bridged. I personally don't think the step-up was that bad. I love A-Level English but didn't find much enjoyment in GCSE English Literature... I did get an A though.
Original post by DelReyRevolution
There is a step-up but it honestly depends on how that is bridged. I personally don't think the step-up was that bad. I love A-Level English but didn't find much enjoyment in GCSE English Literature... I did get an A though.


i guess the essay structures would of course be different but apart from that what else is different from GCSE ? and what is the workload like ? (bare in mind i will be doing the new English lit spec so no coursework for me, just 2 exams for AS) ?
Original post by Humzaawan123
i guess the essay structures would of course be different but apart from that what else is different from GCSE ? and what is the workload like ? (bare in mind i will be doing the new English lit spec so no coursework for me, just 2 exams for AS) ?


The workload isn't particularly heavy if you do what you're supposed to do in class. It's so difficult to answer your questions because it depends so much on the way a teacher wishes to execute your tuition in that discipline, the exam board, what texts you're studying and where you're doing it (class size and all that).

The differences are mainly found in the comprehension of texts. You are expected to pick up a lot of what isn't obvious more so than you are at GCSE, of course. Also, there's a much stronger focus on the actual mechanics of literature and texts... more of a focus on how they are structured. It's brilliant really. What exam board would you be studying it with?
I'm doing both, though English lit is more accepted and liked by unis, philosophy is by far more interesting
Original post by Humzaawan123
lol same , i get really good grades in english lit at GCSE but never read the books. When you say a lot of reading , how much does that mean at AS level ?


Oh my God, you have to be kidding me. Why would you even consider lit if you don't enjoy it or naturally read voraciously? Why waste your time? I did lit and loved it because I love reading and it's a skill you really need to develop, even if you hate doing it. This is why I think that it's so stupid that unis pay so much attention to GCSEs; many students sail through because of half decent teaching and they don't even read the core material.
I do biology, chemistry, maths and English lit. For me, it is enjoyable and a chance to give my head a rest from the science subjects. You will certainly have to read the books a few times and develop your own interpretations as it's much less spoon fed than GCSE. In terms of the amount of reading, I did 2 novels, a collection of poems at AS and this year I'm doing three novels for the exam and you have to do extra for coursework as well! I love it but then I enjoy reading and the analysis of the texts. I can't say much about philosophy and ethics as I don't do it but I'd say if you're good at both do the one which is most enjoyable.

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