Sociology A Level - what's it like?

Hi all, I'm considering taking sociology at a level in conjunction with (definite) history, philosophy&ethics and government and politics. The exam board I hope to be taking would be AQA, the problem is I don't really know too much about sociology. I like what I've heard so far and so would love to know a bit more . I love essay subjects and am hoping to study law at university. Thanks .

Hi all, I'm considering taking sociology at a level in conjunction with (definite) history, philosophy&ethics and government and politics. The exam board I hope to be taking would be AQA, the problem is I don't really know too much about sociology. I like what I've heard so far and so would love to know a bit more . I love essay subjects and am hoping to study law at university. Thanks .

Hi! I've just finished A2 Sociology and am hoping to go on to study it at uni

By the sounds of it, you're not intimidated by the emphasis on extended writing and the extensive independent reading required by essay subjects, which is great if you want to study Sociology at A-level!

I don't know how much you know about the subject, but I'll just go for it and try to tell you as much as I can as best as I can. So, Sociology is basically the study of society; how we shape it and how it shapes us. There are obvious ties with other subjects like History, Gov & Pol, Philosophy, even subjects like Psychology and English Literature.

Depending on what exact topics your college/Sixth Form offers you could study anything from Families and Households to Crime and Deviance over the course of the two-year course (but of course this completely depends on where you study).

If you have a questioning mind and are genuinely interested in how society functions and why it functions the way it does, Sociology is a great choice.

Sorry, I'm unsure what else to say really - but I honestly cannot recommend the subject enough, especially from what you've written in your post.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate!

I didn't really enjoy sociology I found it rather dull but that might of just been me as many of my class mates wouldn't say the same. However I cannot say only negative things about it. Sociology has been useful in my everyday life which I can't really say the same for my other subjects. It opened my eyes to many relevant things in society today, and I have even found myself researching some topics outside of lesson.

I've just finished my AS in the newly reformed sociology (AQA). The topics we did were families and households + education (these are the most common two however you could do poverty ect).

Education was basically broken down into Gender differences in achievement, Race and then Class (e.g middle class/ working class).

Families and Households was broken down into around 8 mini topics which i'd need my booklet to recite them (off the top of my head i remember childhood, family diversity ect)

For both topics we had to apply the theory of some (perspectives) Marxists, Functionalists, Feminists and then the newly introduced Personal Life Perspective. So its the standard theory e.g Girls achieve higher then boys because...*state theory* this is argued by *state theorist* and if needed what perspective they come from.

I myself find it quite boring and very old fashioned as there's that much individuality and support for the working class and improvement within schools that theorists who are marxist (they believe in capitalism and exploiting the working class) don't really apply because of benefits ect they don't need to be exploited as they are now supported without work.

From what I can see you really enjoy it and it sounds really good. I'm looking forward to studying all about how social class can effect educational achievement and those sorts of things. Thank you, I feel like I will take it! Best of luck at university and on results day

I've just finished A2 sociology and I enjoyed learning the content as it is quite interesting and different from other subjects and my teachers were great but when it came to revision I felt like there was too much to remember and barely any of it came up. That said, as long as you keep on top of it I'm sure you'll be fine
Also some parts are boring/harder to grasp but it's not too bad, especially if you enjoy essay subjects.
I also did edexcel government and politics and philosophy and ethics (although I dropped that at AS) if you have any questions about that

Hi, I feel like I've been told loads about sociology so thanks for the reply. Can I ask how you found gov&pols & philosophy&ethics? If you took philosophy&ethics at GCSE is there a big difference? Any advice would be great thanks.

I loved the subject.
I found it very interesting.

I do agree. I think the thing I’m not so crazy about is that it tends to get quite repetitive because there are really only 4 (plus research methods) areas we explore IN HUGE DETAIL.

While a few bits may seem slightly repetitive, i also found that it was my easiest subject and got my highest grade in it.