The Student Room Group

English lit AS - having second thoughts?!

Its only the first day of college but im having serious doubts about lit because of the whole "gothic" theme. It doesn't appeal to me anymore, I read most of these books back in summer of year 9 and never after as i dont like things to do w vampires anymore. These are some of the books i read which we might read this year that relate to this theme: northanger abbey, Frankestien (mark shelley), wuthering heights, the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde (robert louis stevenson), the picture of dorian gray, etc. And if i read these books this year for my lit exam I will NOT get an A>_< what should i do?!?!?!?!?! Should i do biology?idk but i really hate this. I thought we'll be reading things like gatsby or the kite runner or even east of eden.
Firstly, look at the courses properly including the whole syllabus. It sounds as if you hadn't properly researched the English course before you went into it, I had been given a list of books to read before Year 12 started so knew the genre of the books. Also make sure to look at what you'll do next year and whether the books you'll enjoy more will be included then. (Assuming there are multiple papers you will take for your A Level) Make sure you also look at the biology course fully, consider what you'll have to do for both years.

Then think about what you may want to do after sixth form and whether not taking one of those subjects would negatively impact your choice in course or apprenticeship. Ultimately, enjoyment of the course does matter, but don't just go switching out without properly researching what the courses include. Nobody can tell you which you'd prefer to do for two years.
Reply 2
Original post by emtheelf
Firstly, look at the courses properly including the whole syllabus. It sounds as if you hadn't properly researched the English course before you went into it, I had been given a list of books to read before Year 12 started so knew the genre of the books. Also make sure to look at what you'll do next year and whether the books you'll enjoy more will be included then. (Assuming there are multiple papers you will take for your A Level) Make sure you also look at the biology course fully, consider what you'll have to do for both years.

Then think about what you may want to do after sixth form and whether not taking one of those subjects would negatively impact your choice in course or apprenticeship. Ultimately, enjoyment of the course does matter, but don't just go switching out without properly researching what the courses include. Nobody can tell you which you'd prefer to do for two years.


Well, i just "researched" the course by looking at the OCR spec (the new 2015 one) and my school chose to do gothic which has dracula and the bloody chamber INSTEAD of American literature which had gatsby and grapes of wrath, and also dystopian books which were 1984 and the handmaids tale, AND women in literature which included sense and sensibility and mrs dalloway. Now all these books are brilliant and i have already read them so i would've been fine doing work on them/reading them again. I don't understand why my school had to pick such an odd topic and no one had read those books apart from me in class whereas many people would've read things like gatsby and 1984.
do you think its possible to have my teacher teach me a book of my choice or is that too much to ask?!

also, im fine w bio and confident in it, i just dont enjoy it i guess.
and I want to do law so theres no specific subject to pick, so i picked traditional subjects and one that interested me (geography, history, lit and politics). So yeaa, sorry this is so long.
Original post by Punkrockfan
Well, i just "researched" the course by looking at the OCR spec (the new 2015 one) and my school chose to do gothic which has dracula and the bloody chamber INSTEAD of American literature which had gatsby and grapes of wrath, and also dystopian books which were 1984 and the handmaids tale, AND women in literature which included sense and sensibility and mrs dalloway. Now all these books are brilliant and i have already read them so i would've been fine doing work on them/reading them again. I don't understand why my school had to pick such an odd topic and no one had read those books apart from me in class whereas many people would've read things like gatsby and 1984.
do you think its possible to have my teacher teach me a book of my choice or is that too much to ask?!

also, im fine w bio and confident in it, i just dont enjoy it i guess.
and I want to do law so theres no specific subject to pick, so i picked traditional subjects and one that interested me (geography, history, lit and politics). So yeaa, sorry this is so long.


I'm sure if you'd asked your teachers, they would have told you which books they were going to teach - I know my school had already decided which GCSE and A Level books would be the ones they were teaching back in April. I hated the books during Year 12, they were absolutely terrible, but I decided that I wanted to do English Lit too much to drop it.

I would say it's too much to ask, they've obviously chosen the books for a reason - either because the topics in them are seen as good, the teachers are particularly good at teaching them or just because they want to teach those books. Understanding a book in order to answer a set text question on it (which is what I assume your course is, mine wasn't so it was easier to study your own books - though the exam was harder) at A Level just isn't possible without an awful lot of class time and discussion time. No teacher can give you that individual attention when I'm sure you could have researched what books they had chosen to teach instead.

If you don't enjoy it, think carefully before taking it. I took Biology for the same reason and came away with an AS B but hated my entire year in it. It's up to you really but it'll be the choice between the Gothic books or Biology you don't enjoy, there aren't really any alternatives. Either should set you up for university though, as long as you get the necessary grades in it.
Original post by Punkrockfan
Well, i just "researched" the course by looking at the OCR spec (the new 2015 one) and my school chose to do gothic which has dracula and the bloody chamber INSTEAD of American literature which had gatsby and grapes of wrath, and also dystopian books which were 1984 and the handmaids tale, AND women in literature which included sense and sensibility and mrs dalloway. Now all these books are brilliant and i have already read them so i would've been fine doing work on them/reading them again. I don't understand why my school had to pick such an odd topic and no one had read those books apart from me in class whereas many people would've read things like gatsby and 1984.
do you think its possible to have my teacher teach me a book of my choice or is that too much to ask?!

also, im fine w bio and confident in it, i just dont enjoy it i guess.
and I want to do law so theres no specific subject to pick, so i picked traditional subjects and one that interested me (geography, history, lit and politics). So yeaa, sorry this is so long.


Trust me, working on books you love will only have an unhappy ending.
Reply 5
Original post by thecatwithnohat
Trust me, working on books you love will only have an unhappy ending.


Why?
Original post by Nettled
Why?


The beauty of books is that you learn to enjoy and interpret it in a way that appeals to you. Having to think of alternative interpretations and analyzing every word by word just ruins it.
Reply 7
Original post by thecatwithnohat
The beauty of books is that you learn to enjoy and interpret it in a way that appeals to you. Having to think of alternative interpretations and analyzing every word by word just ruins it.


Do you enjoy taking it as an A-level? I'm considering it.. but am still undecided at the moment.
Original post by Nettled
Do you enjoy taking it as an A-level? I'm considering it.. but am still undecided at the moment.


I loved it, particularly because they weren't books that I've read before.

I'm going into year 13 and The Great Gatsby is one of the texts. I read the book through once but what distracted me from truly appreciating the novel and getting properly into it is remembering that I had to annotate the book as I went along and answer tracking questions to consolidate what I've read.

Having no previous experience with the book is a blessing, it allows you to look at it with an open mind and you're more willing to accept and put across different interpretations of it.

I highly recommend English Literature, you can never go wrong trying to come to a personal conclusion or having a balanced argument on a set text.

I must warn you though, for the output to be good grades, you'll need to input the effort and take time trying to understand what you're writing about. You can't get away with writing anything like you could in GCSE without knowing about the context, the influence it has on the text etc.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by thecatwithnohat
I loved it, particularly because they weren't books that I've read before.

I'm going into year 13 and The Great Gatsby is one of the texts. I read the book through once but what distracted me from truly appreciating the novel and getting properly into it is remembering that I had to annotate the book as I went along and answer tracking questions to consolidate what I've read.

Having no previous experience with the book is a blessing, it allows you to look at it with an open mind and you're more willing to accept and put across different interpretations of it.

I highly recommend English Literature, you can never go wrong trying to come to a personal conclusion or having a balanced argument on a set text.

I must warn you though, for the output to be good grades, you'll need to input the effort and take time trying to understand what you're writing about. You can't get away with writing anything like you could in GCSE without knowing about the context, the influence it has on the text etc.


Thanks for the input :smile:

Some of the texts that we'll be studying is a Streetcar Named Desire & Hamlet have you read them? How did you find the exams? I ran out of time in my Eng Lit Gcse exam :/ and am also terrified at the prospect of memorising quotes and time limit..

I actually like the extra bit of including context when writing essays :smile: So hopefully that wont be a problem.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Nettled
Thanks for the input :smile:

Some of the texts that we'll be studying is a Streetcar Named Desire & Hamlet have you read them? How did you find the exams? I ran out of time in my Eng Lit Gcse exam :/ and am also terrified at the prospect of memorising quotes and time limit.. a


I've not read those texts, no. I'm reading Antony and Cleopatra this year though (Shakespeare also wrote Hamlet ofc) and I'd highly recommend you read the translated version of the text on Sparknotes because it's really easy to misinterpret or not understand what he's trying to say :giggle:, but you'll have to remember the original text when it comes to quoting and making references.

I'll be honest with you, it's not easy to remember quotes (I have absolutely awful memory, but nothing seriously, I'm just really forgetful) but the solution to this problem is reading the text often and picking out the main quotes that suit each theme that is relevant. You won't need to know the book back-to-front but it will be important to recall certain passages, quotes etc. You can also get away with forgetting the quote if you're able to describe in detail the gist of what was said/narrated.

Right up to your exam you'll probably feel like you have absolutely nothing to write but I promise you, while you're in the exam, you'll be writing pages upon pages and the 2 hours will be up in no time. It's so easy to bring together everything you've learnt and focus it around the question being asked.

If time management seems to be quite an obvious problem in more exams than your English Lit exam, or you're just generally a slow writer, then perhaps speak to your exam officer and they'll probably be able to come to a compromise with you about how you'll be able to get the most out of your exam.
Original post by thecatwithnohat
I've not read those texts, no. I'm reading Antony and Cleopatra this year though (Shakespeare also wrote Hamlet ofc) and I'd highly recommend you read the translated version of the text on Sparknotes because it's really easy to misinterpret or not understand what he's trying to say :giggle:, but you'll have to remember the original text when it comes to quoting and making references.

I'll be honest with you, it's not easy to remember quotes (I have absolutely awful memory, but nothing seriously, I'm just really forgetful) but the solution to this problem is reading the text often and picking out the main quotes that suit each theme that is relevant. You won't need to know the book back-to-front but it will be important to recall certain passages, quotes etc. You can also get away with forgetting the quote if you're able to describe in detail the gist of what was said/narrated.

Right up to your exam you'll probably feel like you have absolutely nothing to write but I promise you, while you're in the exam, you'll be writing pages upon pages and the 2 hours will be up in no time. It's so easy to bring together everything you've learnt and focus it around the question being asked.

If time management seems to be quite an obvious problem in more exams than your English Lit exam, or you're just generally a slow writer, then perhaps speak to your exam officer and they'll probably be able to come to a compromise with you about how you'll be able to get the most out of your exam.


Aha, I was actually having second thoughts as well of doing English Literature which is why I also came onto the thread. And I've sadly decided not to do it. I've been looking at a level content and careers for over the past 2 hours :frown: Terrified of having to pick my subjects.

I would admit that I did love my GCSE English lessons and I actually did enjoy writing the course works and essays. But I'm just so terrified of doing it as it feels like a hit and miss exam for me. My stress levels the day before my GCSE English Lit exams were so high lol. Bringing back bad memories :lol:

Well, I'm not actually a slow writer it's just that I'm a slow thinker.. I tend to think before I write down onto the paper my thoughts. I thought it would have cost me my exams for Lit but luckily it didn't :tongue:

If you don't mind me asking what do you plan on studying at Uni?
Original post by emtheelf
I'm sure if you'd asked your teachers, they would have told you which books they were going to teach - I know my school had already decided which GCSE and A Level books would be the ones they were teaching back in April. I hated the books during Year 12, they were absolutely terrible, but I decided that I wanted to do English Lit too much to drop it.

I would say it's too much to ask, they've obviously chosen the books for a reason - either because the topics in them are seen as good, the teachers are particularly good at teaching them or just because they want to teach those books. Understanding a book in order to answer a set text question on it (which is what I assume your course is, mine wasn't so it was easier to study your own books - though the exam was harder) at A Level just isn't possible without an awful lot of class time and discussion time. No teacher can give you that individual attention when I'm sure you could have researched what books they had chosen to teach instead.

If you don't enjoy it, think carefully before taking it. I took Biology for the same reason and came away with an AS B but hated my entire year in it. It's up to you really but it'll be the choice between the Gothic books or Biology you don't enjoy, there aren't really any alternatives. Either should set you up for university though, as long as you get the necessary grades in it.


I did ask but because it was a new spec they didn't know. And ye, i guess you're right. Guess i'll have to trust my teacher:smile: and ye, guess i wont do bio then. Thankyou for your replies^_^ it was helpful=D
poverty college bruh
Original post by Nettled
Aha, I was actually having second thoughts as well of doing English Literature which is why I also came onto the thread. And I've sadly decided not to do it. I've been looking at a level content and careers for over the past 2 hours :frown: Terrified of having to pick my subjects.

I would admit that I did love my GCSE English lessons and I actually did enjoy writing the course works and essays. But I'm just so terrified of doing it as it feels like a hit and miss exam for me. My stress levels the day before my GCSE English Lit exams were so high lol. Bringing back bad memories :lol:

Well, I'm not actually a slow writer it's just that I'm a slow thinker.. I tend to think before I write down onto the paper my thoughts. I thought it would have cost me my exams for Lit but luckily it didn't :tongue:

If you don't mind me asking what do you plan on studying at Uni?


Hey, sorry for the late reply!

Aww it's a shame that you won't me doing English :sad: to be honest if you feel like you'll struggle, then there's no point going into it and just having your doubts confirmed!

Indeed English Lit is a hit-and-miss subject, where the themes in the exam could even be the ones you haven't properly prepared for at all!

I guess its completely understandable, and I hope that you do well in your other subjects regardless!

I'd like to go into Software Engineering. :u: Do you have any thoughts/ideas on what you would like to go into?
Original post by thecatwithnohat
Hey, sorry for the late reply!

Aww it's a shame that you won't me doing English :sad: to be honest if you feel like you'll struggle, then there's no point going into it and just having your doubts confirmed!

Indeed English Lit is a hit-and-miss subject, where the themes in the exam could even be the ones you haven't properly prepared for at all!

I guess its completely understandable, and I hope that you do well in your other subjects regardless!

I'd like to go into Software Engineering. :u: Do you have any thoughts/ideas on what you would like to go into?


Haha no prob. Yeh I guess it's the thought of going in not feeling prepared enough. That sounds scary :nooo:

Ooh nice. So what A-levels have you taken? I have absolutely no idea. I hate this feeling!

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