Sociology Help Thread

I took Sociology as part of my bridging course and really enjoyed it. I was thinking of taking it for AS, is it a good course ?

for beliefs, do you have any catch rhyme ways to remember the different types of suicides in Durkheim's & Taylor's studies? I've got a few but finding it hard to remember which word goes with which explanation, atm I've just got a bright revision post on my wall to remind me of them

I thought so, AS was good and easy to understand if you are into politics/debating etc and as long as you could argue two theories against each other you are pretty much on course for a good grade! Families and Households I especially liked, really interesting when looking at the population and why there are more single parent families now than the 1950s for example, the reasons for this, and people's/groups' views on this! For example Charles Murray, a New Right theorist, believed it was because of the 'nanny state' which provides benefits and encourages people to give birth out of wedlock etc. as they know they will never not be provided for.



Unfortunately I don't revise through rhymes etc. I just made a grid of the four main views on suicide (Durkheim, Taylor, Atkinson...there's one more but my memory fails me ) And looked at their main points and studies, and literally revised from there and eventually when I thought of one I could see the opposite point in another theorist and I could remember the grid etc.. May not be too helpful but with something so confusing as suicide, I just found getting down and repeatedly copying out the notes of each theorist helped me as it turned into a routine that i couldn't really break haha xx

Hello,

I've just finished my AS year and got As in my subjects. My head of year made me drop either Sociology or Psychology on results day and I chose to drop Sociology in the end. However, thinking about it the last couple of days, I feel I've made a mistake. I think I have a better chance of getting a higher grade at A2 in Sociology, rather than Psychology..

Anyway, I wondering if anyone that's done A2 Sociology can tell me if the topics studied are noticeably harder than the AS year? People I know in A2 year said the Crime and Deviance paper is really difficult, so I'm just a bit unsure about switching or sticking with Psychology..

Thanks in advance!

Hey i just also finished AS sociology got a grade B litterally 4 marks of an A and would like to know if the beliefs in societ/religion is hard at all as this is the module i'll be taking in january ?

Congratulations on your brilliant results It will take off a lot of pressure next year.
And it's honestly personal preference, look at your topics, flick through textbooks, look at past exam papers and get a feel for the spec.
I found Psychology more stressful to revise, too many facts and figures and names, and more scientific *which isn't really me * I enjoyed it, but I was definitely very worried about this and found it harder.
Sociology, although the amount of information is huge, I found that if you start early, it's not too much of a problem. My teachers didn't leave enough time for Unit 4 but I realised this and done a lot at home, and when it came to revise I was more confident. The exam wasn't hard, I didn't think, if you know how to debate and 'get' the theories etc, it's not too bad at all, just a lot to remember, that's all

God that was a ramble haha, hope it helped a little bit



Beliefs I loved, I found it easily accessible to everybody, really interesting and there isn't much at all compared to Unit Four, so if you literally ACE that unit, you will only need to get a low B/C in order to get an A overall (like me haha). Just make sure you have a good textbook, this first one here is amazing, and there's the website for it too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=sociology+a2+aqa&x=0&y=0

http://www.sociology.uk.net/a/Start.aspx#page|181

Congratulations on your brilliant results It will take off a lot of pressure next year.
And it's honestly personal preference, look at your topics, flick through textbooks, look at past exam papers and get a feel for the spec.
I found Psychology more stressful to revise, too many facts and figures and names, and more scientific *which isn't really me * I enjoyed it, but I was definitely very worried about this and found it harder.
Sociology, although the amount of information is huge, I found that if you start early, it's not too much of a problem. My teachers didn't leave enough time for Unit 4 but I realised this and done a lot at home, and when it came to revise I was more confident. The exam wasn't hard, I didn't think, if you know how to debate and 'get' the theories etc, it's not too bad at all, just a lot to remember, that's all

God that was a ramble haha, hope it helped a little bit

hey thanks for the info appreciate it, i got 146/200 and that was a B, i got 54 in my families and household paper and that was a high C, do you think i should re-sit that paper in january as it was so easy although i did naff all revision for it? would you think thats a good decision and do you know any more good sites for crime and deviance and beleifs unit?

Hey,

Thanks so much! I came out the Sociology exam thinking I'd failed, but somehow managed to come out with an A.. I must have had a nice examiner, that's all I can say! xD

I had a look at a few past papers for Sociology today and I like the sound of the topics. I don't like the look of the 33 mark essays, though. Scary! How much do you have to write for one of those questions?

In the run up to exams, I found revising for Psychology more stressful than Sociology. My college does OCR AS Psychology.. the one with 15 core studies and we had to learn every little detail about them. >.< I'll be glad when I never have to hear the words 'reliability' and 'validity'ever again! xD

I've tried weighing out the pros and cons of each, but I'm still confused as ever. I did consider keeping with 4 subjects, but I think it'll just cause unnecessary stress. I got the higher UMS in Sociology, so my mind keeps telling me to stick with the subject I'll most likely get the higher grade in at A2.. My teacher for Sociology last year was a godsend and was a main factor in me getting an A.. However, she doesn't teach A2 Sociology so we'll be getting a new teacher. :/ My head of year said I can try out a few lessons of A2 Psychology and if I don't like it, I can pick up A2 Sociology.. I think I may do that.

Thanks for your advice, though. It was super helpful!

Hiya! Thanks for making this thread, I think it'll be useful

I've just completed AS AQA Sociology and got an A - which I'm very happy about, hoping to study it at university in fact but I'm finding A2 to be a big jump from AS!

We started the crime and deviance module in school and oh my gosh, I genuinely do not know how I will remember all of the theories/theorists. Ecology theory, strain theory (actually, that one's okay!) and don't even get me started on new left/right realism...there's just SO much! How on earth did you manage to remember everything?

Btw, congrats on your A

Resit, I think. I got a C first time round, and in fact, I think I got the same grade as you! I resat and got 64/80, just an A, and it's so nice to have as little pressure as possible for June because trust me, you will want to explode with revision stress haha. I also took beliefs in Jan, but there was a large gap in between both so I could spread my revision out quite well. Also, the skills needed for Unit 1 grow so much over the next 6 months, so you will find Families a hell of a lot easier to debate etc. and you will become more familiar with the perspectives too x

Well Done on your grade my friend is doing Sociology at Durham and cannot wait to start!

And I found the theories the easiest to grasp - you can use them in so many different ways, to really remember them I just made an A3 mindmap of each one, the major names, studies etc, in corresponding colours for each perspective, and we spoke about them so much in class and related them to other topics in crime and deviance remembering them became second nature. It is A LOT to learn, but you just have to find the best way for you to remember them. Once it's there in your brain, it will be fine

As I said up there <<< I did not have enough time/did not go into enough depth, in the theories and methods section, and this is why I wrote a SIDE for my 33-marker! I could have probably got an A* in Sociology if I'd revised better and nailed 'objectivity and values' haha. They KEY to all A2 revision is TIME!!!

I could not stress this enough, after kicking myself several times throughout the revision period haha. From September I attempted to write up notes from the topic we were doing as we went through the course, so when I got home I could read over everything and hope it would stick in my brain. It is a relief when, by the time exams come, you have all of your notes/mindmaps/diagrams etc. just there, ready for you to read over and learn, all necessary sheets attached and all. You can just get down to learning however you do best, without flicking through textbooks in a mad, panicked rush! Start early, you won't regret it. I condensed my notes down to stuff I felt I could remember, and if there was something I didn't understand, I would put a page reference on my notes and know that I could turn to that book and page and get the full notes. xxxx

Hey everyone, I recently got awarded an A (5 marks off an A*!) in my Sociology A-level, and I know that at times it can be difficult, confusing, and people don't really know where the hell to start in their revision!

I took Families and Households, Education, Beliefs in Society and Crime and Deviance, along with the research and theory involved! If anybody has any questions, do not hesitate to ask as I really enjoyed the course and would be happy to help x

I got 100%. I'm the authority.

Hey congrats on ur result
I'm going into a2 now but we do crime n res meths first
I just need advice on how to revise this year! C
My teachers not all that u see so I'm gona have to do alot of work alone
I really want to achieve an A at the end of it pls share ur tips o revision pls x