Help with A-level Options
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orlaithx
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I need to choose A-level options in a few days and I'm not really sure yet what I want to do/be when I'm older..
I currently take all three sciences, maths, english, food tech, history, philosophy and ethics and french.
I know that I won't do any sciences or food tech for a-level but I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the others subjects? (coursework load, content, level of difficulty, comparison to gcse etc.)
Also, if anyone does psychology, sociology, economics, government and politics or business studies, advice on those would be very appreciated!
(I know, my indecisiveness is awful)
I currently take all three sciences, maths, english, food tech, history, philosophy and ethics and french.
I know that I won't do any sciences or food tech for a-level but I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the others subjects? (coursework load, content, level of difficulty, comparison to gcse etc.)
Also, if anyone does psychology, sociology, economics, government and politics or business studies, advice on those would be very appreciated!
(I know, my indecisiveness is awful)
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mollielollipop
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#2
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(Original post by orlaithx)
I need to choose A-level options in a few days and I'm not really sure yet what I want to do/be when I'm older..
I currently take all three sciences, maths, english, food tech, history, philosophy and ethics and french.
I know that I won't do any sciences or food tech for a-level but I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the others subjects? (coursework load, content, level of difficulty, comparison to gcse etc.)
Also, if anyone does psychology, sociology, economics, government and politics or business studies, advice on those would be very appreciated!
(I know, my indecisiveness is awful)
I need to choose A-level options in a few days and I'm not really sure yet what I want to do/be when I'm older..
I currently take all three sciences, maths, english, food tech, history, philosophy and ethics and french.
I know that I won't do any sciences or food tech for a-level but I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the others subjects? (coursework load, content, level of difficulty, comparison to gcse etc.)
Also, if anyone does psychology, sociology, economics, government and politics or business studies, advice on those would be very appreciated!
(I know, my indecisiveness is awful)

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KhushBC
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#3
I do Philosophy and it often depends on your board but I actually dig my Philosophy course. It's awesome.
We cover 2 units for our course - Epistemology and Philosophy of Religion.
So obviously the Philosophy of Religion is whether God exists or not and Epistemology is how we know anything exists. E.g: Is the computer you're looking at really in front of you or are you imagining it?
We don't do any coursework but there's a 3 hour exam at the end of the year. There are 2 mark questions 5 mark questions, 9 mark questions and 15 mark question but it really isn't that difficult. It's quite fun actually.
We cover 2 units for our course - Epistemology and Philosophy of Religion.
So obviously the Philosophy of Religion is whether God exists or not and Epistemology is how we know anything exists. E.g: Is the computer you're looking at really in front of you or are you imagining it?
We don't do any coursework but there's a 3 hour exam at the end of the year. There are 2 mark questions 5 mark questions, 9 mark questions and 15 mark question but it really isn't that difficult. It's quite fun actually.
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oswalds
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#4
I do History, English Literature, Philosophy and Ethics and Psychology.
I think History is the hardest out of them all, not only the content (There is a lot to remember) but it is really heavy on the essays. I would recommend you speak to your teachers about what topics you study at your school (It changes depending on what your school wants to do), and see if that would appeal to you. We do Cold War, which is alright, and Gladstone and Disraeli, which is horrible and very dull. I found that this is a lot harder than GCSE naturally, and obviously the content was different. There has been a little overlap, for example with communism and capitalism. However, I really do like History and I'm planning on studying it at university.
English Literature is good, especially if you like the texts you are studying. We are currently studying Birdsong, Blackadder and Journey's End, all of which I am enjoying. However, if you aren't fully committed to this, it may be quite difficult. You do have to enjoy reading for this, and also analyzing texts. Some of the ideas are the same, but this is quite different to GCSE just in the depth of your analysis and the difficulty of the texts. There is also quite a bit of coursework. We are doing two pieces (On the AQA A syllabus) with 1250 words each, but there is a lot of freedom with this and we've been able to chose the title, creative writing or analytically for one etc.
Philosophy is also good, but I have found it is quite different to GCSE. But then again, my school decided to change the board we were doing. For GCSE we were with OCR and now we are with Edexcel. The content is quite interesting, especially the Philosophy side of things rather than the Ethics. It's all very interesting, but not one for you if you like to have a definite answer to things as I've heard that some people find the multiple answers for everything difficult.
Psychology is my least favourite, and the one I won't be carrying on until A2. The content isn't bad, but I find it really simple compared to the rest of my subjects and just a little too easy, so sometimes it can be boring. I've found a lot of the stuff common sense. However, a lot of it is really interesting and I wouldn't stop anyone from taking it because I do think it is really suited to some people depending on the other subjects they enjoy. I also think my dislike for it is influenced by one of the terrible teachers.
I think History is the hardest out of them all, not only the content (There is a lot to remember) but it is really heavy on the essays. I would recommend you speak to your teachers about what topics you study at your school (It changes depending on what your school wants to do), and see if that would appeal to you. We do Cold War, which is alright, and Gladstone and Disraeli, which is horrible and very dull. I found that this is a lot harder than GCSE naturally, and obviously the content was different. There has been a little overlap, for example with communism and capitalism. However, I really do like History and I'm planning on studying it at university.
English Literature is good, especially if you like the texts you are studying. We are currently studying Birdsong, Blackadder and Journey's End, all of which I am enjoying. However, if you aren't fully committed to this, it may be quite difficult. You do have to enjoy reading for this, and also analyzing texts. Some of the ideas are the same, but this is quite different to GCSE just in the depth of your analysis and the difficulty of the texts. There is also quite a bit of coursework. We are doing two pieces (On the AQA A syllabus) with 1250 words each, but there is a lot of freedom with this and we've been able to chose the title, creative writing or analytically for one etc.
Philosophy is also good, but I have found it is quite different to GCSE. But then again, my school decided to change the board we were doing. For GCSE we were with OCR and now we are with Edexcel. The content is quite interesting, especially the Philosophy side of things rather than the Ethics. It's all very interesting, but not one for you if you like to have a definite answer to things as I've heard that some people find the multiple answers for everything difficult.
Psychology is my least favourite, and the one I won't be carrying on until A2. The content isn't bad, but I find it really simple compared to the rest of my subjects and just a little too easy, so sometimes it can be boring. I've found a lot of the stuff common sense. However, a lot of it is really interesting and I wouldn't stop anyone from taking it because I do think it is really suited to some people depending on the other subjects they enjoy. I also think my dislike for it is influenced by one of the terrible teachers.
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