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I need desperate help, help me choose an english alevel

So basically i decided i want to switch a levels today to one of my a levels being an english. What's best i love lang the creative writing side but love lit to death. I got an 8 in language and 7 in lit. Should i do lit, lang, or combined. Ill be choosing tomorrow so please help me now. Thanksssss

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I did the combined one, perfect because I didn't really want to study too many texts, so the units more on language took pressure off learning texts and memorising quotes. You do have to analyse pieces of writing deeper than just doing lit or lang though, as you need to look at both linguistic and literary choices of all the texts you get and find strong points for both (finding good points for the language side was always a struggle for me)
Original post by saveitforjamie
I did the combined one, perfect because I didn't really want to study too many texts, so the units more on language took pressure off learning texts and memorising quotes. You do have to analyse pieces of writing deeper than just doing lit or lang though, as you need to look at both linguistic and literary choices of all the texts you get and find strong points for both (finding good points for the language side was always a struggle for me)

Ahhhhh thank you. I didn't enjoy my art class today it was terrible so i decided I'm going to switch, probably for the best tho I would say. Yeah I enjoy both of them a lot don't really know why I didn't choose it in the first place tbh. Thanks for the advice... so is combined worth it?
Reply 3
I wanted to do alevel lit but I only passed three gsces history media and English lit I’m retaking maths in November I got a 6 english a 6 media and history 4 all of my others was 3 I was very disappointed I tried so hard and still wasn’t enough.i got onto a media course photography and production which can get you 210 points you need 112 for university so I should be ok..You should pick the one you think would be more enjoyable for you.good luck with everything
Original post by Geologystudent
Ahhhhh thank you. I didn't enjoy my art class today it was terrible so i decided I'm going to switch, probably for the best tho I would say. Yeah I enjoy both of them a lot don't really know why I didn't choose it in the first place tbh. Thanks for the advice... so is combined worth it?


Honestly if you enjoy both you'll be happy in either of the three, lit or lang/lit is seen as better by unis tho but depends on the course, like journalism would prefer lang/lit or lang. I hated English but had to pick a third a level and was the best option, it was alright I'm just glad I only had 3 texts to stress over for the exam instead of more. The coursework I did was a very open ended task which meant you can be really creative and thoughtful, but ended up spending a lot of time on it but it paid off.
Original post by Rixxx
I wanted to do alevel lit but I only passed three gsces history media and English lit I’m retaking maths in November I got a 6 english a 6 media and history 4 all of my others was 3 I was very disappointed I tried so hard and still wasn’t enough.i got onto a media course photography and production which can get you 210 points you need 112 for university so I should be ok..You should pick the one you think would be more enjoyable for you.good luck with everything


Thamkssss so much. Im sure ur'll do better at alevel. My mum resat maths so don't worry it's not too bad : )
Combined? Are you serious?

That course is only good if you don't really have any clear goals in mind when it comes to the subject. You do neither very in depth or well.
Original post by vicvic38
Combined? Are you serious?

That course is only good if you don't really have any clear goals in mind when it comes to the subject. You do neither very in depth or well.

Yeah i guess so lol, I'm so undecided tho lol. Love both that's the thing
Original post by Geologystudent
Yeah i guess so lol, I'm so undecided tho lol. Love both that's the thing


In your OP, you say you like creative writing and lit, correct?

DO NOT DO LANGUAGE. Language is basically all the semantics, language development and acquisition. It is not creative writing. The Creative writing A level is that.

If you do combined, you will end up with a shallow understanding of literature.

Just take lit.
Original post by vicvic38
In your OP, you say you like creative writing and lit, correct?

DO NOT DO LANGUAGE. Language is basically all the semantics, language development and acquisition. It is not creative writing. The Creative writing A level is that.

If you do combined, you will end up with a shallow understanding of literature.

Just take lit.

Ahhhhh seriously? hmmmmm
Original post by Geologystudent
Ahhhhh seriously? hmmmmm


Yeah, I had a friend do all 3. She said that Language at A level is basically nothing like GCSE. If you want to learn a lot of technical stuff, go ahead. A lot of people that want to be journalists take it.

But if you like to write poetry or stories, it really is not the environment for you.
If you don't like reading, I wouldn't take lit
Original post by saveitforjamie
Honestly if you enjoy both you'll be happy in either of the three, lit or lang/lit is seen as better by unis tho but depends on the course, like journalism would prefer lang/lit or lang. I hated English but had to pick a third a level and was the best option, it was alright I'm just glad I only had 3 texts to stress over for the exam instead of more. The coursework I did was a very open ended task which meant you can be really creative and thoughtful, but ended up spending a lot of time on it but it paid off.


Thanks so much! so you did combined I'm guessing... yeah kinda ruled out language now. I'm good at essay structuring so i guess I'd be okay at either. I'm hoping that it will look better for college. I'm so grateful for this help thank you! hmmmmm this is honestly a though one!!!!!
Original post by troubletracking
If you don't like reading, I wouldn't take lit


I love reading I'm a book junkie tbh so I loved english ahahahahah
Just do Geology instead?

Spoiler

Original post by Geologystudent
I love reading I'm a book junkie tbh so I loved english ahahahahah


Would probs recommend lit then? It's ultimately down to you, but eng lang is apparently a lot different from gcse and you do like the differences in language in gender and stuff like that so if you find that interesting, maybe look at the spec?
Original post by Boss_Rhythm
Just do Geology instead?

Spoiler



I already do geology ahahaahah
Original post by Geologystudent
I already do geology ahahaahah


Congrats! You won't be needing any English whatsoever :biggrin:
Original post by troubletracking
Would probs recommend lit then? It's ultimately down to you, but eng lang is apparently a lot different from gcse and you do like the differences in language in gender and stuff like that so if you find that interesting, maybe look at the spec?


Yeah thanks so much it's a lot to process tbh like idk is my grade good enough to do it and score a high grade alevel too (holding onto language because i got an 8 is that bad?)
Original post by Geologystudent
So basically i decided i want to switch a levels today to one of my a levels being an english. What's best i love lang the creative writing side but love lit to death. I got an 8 in language and 7 in lit. Should i do lit, lang, or combined. Ill be choosing tomorrow so please help me now. Thanksssss


I take English Lang/lit because I love the creative writing side of things, and just language wasn’t an option for me. However, as I started getting into the course more, I’ve realised that the course doesn’t actually cover any actual creative writing as something you would have done at gcse,it’s a recast of a text and that’s the closest you get to get creative writing. I was quite disappointed with this, so that’s something to consider if you particularly enjoy the creative writing aspect x

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