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general studies?

I just found out that we 'have' to take general studies on for AS. I've never done it before, in fact, I know NOTHING about the subject. I heard it was a load of rubbish though, can anyone tell me what it's like and what's studied. Is it seen as just an A level? And is it difficult to get a good grade in?

-Thanks

Reply 1

undiscovered

13

It's just general knowledge really, it covers a range of subjects. It's very easy, you don't need any lessons (although will probably have some!) - you can turn up and get a high grade just like that, if your essay skills are up to scratch.

Reply 2

Cellardore

11

clairezay

I just found out that we 'have' to take general studies on for AS. I've never done it before, in fact, I know NOTHING about the subject. I heard it was a load of rubbish though, can anyone tell me what it's like and what's studied. Is it seen as just an A level? And is it difficult to get a good grade in?

-Thanks

it is a load of rubbish. Nothing to do with me getting an E of course :rolleyes:

besides many of the uni's i've applied to don't include it in their offer. I think it's only for people who are going to uni's not so far up the league table.

That isn't to say you shouldn't still take it. Ironically uni's still expect you to have it for some reason.

You study:
Political
Social
Cultural

for OCR

did anyone else do OCR? Have they got a tendancy to give you the under-marked grades?

Reply 3

undiscovered

13

Cellardore

did anyone else do OCR? Have they got a tendancy to give you the under-marked grades?

I did OCR but did scientific, social and cultural. They gave me high marks for some reason. :biggrin:

Reply 4

Cellardore

11

SiAnY

I did OCR but did scientific, social and cultural. They gave me high marks for some reason. :biggrin:

lol
it's just that i got a B in my mock and ended up with an E in my exam. Quite amusing when you think about it :rolleyes:

Reply 5

Cellardore

11

SiAnY

I did OCR but did scientific, social and cultural. They gave me high marks for some reason. :biggrin:

yeah i did scientific as well :redface:

Reply 6

undiscovered

13

Cellardore

lol
it's just that i got a B in my mock and ended up with an E in my exam. Quite amusing when you think about it :rolleyes:

I got a B in my mock and an A in the exam. Two of the exams were quite geography-based though so that's probably why i did well. :smile:

Reply 7

Leekey

9

Didn't do a mock (was exam only so the first time I saw an exam paper was in the exam :rolleyes:

) and somehow managed an A in the exam. It's not the most respected subject in the world but if you are intelligent and have a good essay technique then you shouldn't have too many problems. :smile:

Reply 8

Cellardore

11

Leekey

Didn't do a mock (was exam only so the first time I saw an exam paper was in the exam :rolleyes:

) and somehow managed an A in the exam. It's not the most respected subject in the world but if you are intelligent and have a good essay technique then you shouldn't have too many problems. :smile:

i musn't be intelligent then, i only got an E in the exam :frown:

Reply 9

Vladek

I got the highest mark in my year in general studies :biggrin:

you might as well sit the exam i mean they try and teach you it but its just apointless waste of lesson time. I think i went to about 2 lessons, you eiether know it or you don't. The exam could have literally anything on it. Its only a few hours for an exam, you can't revise for it and you get an A-level out of it. Might as well do it. Unlike keyskills, god that was a pointless waste.

Reply 10

StarBlueUK

2

clairezay

I just found out that we 'have' to take general studies on for AS. I've never done it before, in fact, I know NOTHING about the subject. I heard it was a load of rubbish though, can anyone tell me what it's like and what's studied. Is it seen as just an A level? And is it difficult to get a good grade in?

-Thanks

It varies from exam board to exam board, but basically it's a mix of various topics and for some papers involves logic and being able to argue effectively. Some universities won't include it in offers though.

Reply 11

Juno

20

I did General Studies AS and didn't have any lessons or practise papers or anything. I got 100 UMS marks in 2 modules, and 97 in the other.

Reply 12

.NK

8

Vladek

you can't revise for it

That depends on what board you're doing it with...I can't remember who mine was with, but to get an A you had to know different types of knowledge and facts and support these with examples. Although it may seem obvious once you've read about it, it's not something most people could just do off the top of their heads. If you need to know this then you should be told about it in lessons, if not, try looking in your school/local library for a General Studies textbook (they do exist, I had one!) and learning them (there's only about four of each). It's also a good idea to revise lists of advantages and disadvantages/for and againsts for issues such as abortion, capital punishment, censorship of the media, capitalism/democracy, different types of parliament (e.g. UK, European) and other controversial issues (they're the only ones I can remember right now). As people have said, it's not that hard if you can write a good essay, hence why it's a good idea to revise some key points beforehand. I got an A by the way :biggrin:

Reply 13

Vladek

.NK

That depends on what board you're doing it with...I can't remember who mine was with, but to get an A you had to know different types of knowledge and facts and support these with examples. Although it may seem obvious once you've read about it, it's not something most people could just do off the top of their heads. If you need to know this then you should be told about it in lessons, if not, try looking in your school/local library for a General Studies textbook (they do exist, I had one!) and learning them (there's only about four of each). It's also a good idea to revise lists of advantages and disadvantages/for and againsts for issues such as abortion, capital punishment, censorship of the media, capitalism/democracy, different types of parliament (e.g. UK, European) and other controversial issues (they're the only ones I can remember right now). As people have said, it's not that hard if you can write a good essay, hence why it's a good idea to revise some key points beforehand. I got an A by the way :biggrin:

But its general studies, its basically general knowledge, theres no way i could of revised for an essay on seal hunting, its not really something you'd think would come up :biggrin:

Yeah you do need to be ale to argue a point and write an essay but you can eiether be able to or not be able to do that. I just don't see how you can teach it. I got the highest in the school by the way :tongue:

Reply 14

RachelBabyfrog

14

General studies is silly, lol. I got an A with no lessons. If you can read and make sense of information presented to you, form an argument and write an essay you're sorted. It's useful if you're applying to unis that accept it- gets you extra points.