hard to study sociology

i don't know what it is, i simply CANNOT sit down and stufy sociology for the life of me >.<
i have an exam on the 15th and i have a feeling i am going to sit down in the exam and just be like.... huh?
i KNOW i should revise, but none of it seems to be applicable in the exam :mad:

any ideas on how to revise effectively in sociology?
>^.^<

Reply 1

Petit chou

15

I found that writing revision notes on post its and sticking them up around my house works because your constantly being reminded about the information and also to revise, it's hard to watch the T.V. when you have post it notes staring at you basically implying that you should be revising lol. Also anwsering past papers helps alot too, hand them into you lecturer to look over them so you don't start having any bad habits and they can tell you what you could include and the best ways to be analytical. It's also good because your getting used to anwsering the questions, what usually brings people down in sociology is they don't answer the question they just write down everything they know in hope that it'll get them marks, but if it doesn't apply to the question it's useless.

Reply 2

M.A.H

17

I have the same problem

Reply 3

***harri***

1

Yeah i have the same problem too! I try and find anything to do, as long as its not revising lol.

Reply 4

ThatDaniGirl

OP

2

hahaha, my room is covered in brightly coloured paper and post its :] but i don't think it's helping me. my class hasn't studied class and identity too well.. and knowing my luck it'll be on the exam tomorrow :/

i tried to revise tonight.. but i fell asleep on my notes.. then i woke up and was like... NOOOOOOO!!! i'll regret that tomorrow >.<

Reply 5

ChrisTheRockGod

14

past questions help, try the AQA website - look at the mark scheme pdf files, they give examples of answers

Reply 6

Rosiepop

What I try and do when it comes to Sociology is to find an area in what you're studying that you're really interested in. For example, when I took my Religion paper last year, I was really interested in the area of Islam and feminism, and how wearing the veil affected beliefs in Western society. I then built on this, and watched videos (Channel 4 documentaries are good) and read articles on this part of religion in general, and it all tied in in the end :smile:

When you do focus on something that interests you, you can usually adapt it to apply to other areas in the subject. For example, taking the Islamic feminism aspect of religion again, you can use this within the areas of globalisation (should Islamic women conform to Western dress when they arrive in the UK?), feminism (should they wear the veil at all? Shouldn't they feel they can wear what they want to, without being impacted by a patriachal society?), differences within religious practice (Christians don't tend to wear a religious dress code - why?), and also increasing religions (Mosque attendance has increased drastically in popularity in the UK- why? Are Brits less or more religious then they used to be?)...etc!

Try and find something you're interested in - no matter how small or insignificant you think it is - and work it to your advantage :smile:

Good luck!

Rosi xx

Reply 7

Clefeen

I understand what you're saying ThatDaniGirl.

I used to find it hard to study it effectivevly. I was always forgetting sociologists names, nevermind what they said!

I think the best way to remember is to split it up into different sections. For instance, in one section have your perspectives; Marxists, Functionalists, Weberians etc. In this section, maybe draw little spider diagrams of what their general viewpoint is.

In another section you could have useful trends and statistics on certain topics within sociology. In this you could include things like trends within gender, ethnicity and age.

Then in another you could have the main basics of the topic, splitting each one into subcategories. You could have definitions of words as part of this section too.

I use a revision book which is really good as I miss out some of the stuff we're suppose to learn in class. It's called Collins Sociology A2 Revision I think.

Reply 8

samera

i know ppl say that this way is bad and dangerous but it helps for me luckily, revising the night before, its like something you want to do and you are bothered, just drink coffee and revise, if you cant do that or havnt tried it then dont do it, id advice you to get memory cards and look through them when your bored or have nothing to do, write question/theory on one side and answer on the other side, it helps. some ppl put all the info on one paper like a poster and put it on the bedroom wall

Reply 9

meghna

I just opted for sociology...n i missed 3 lessons frm wat was taught....... I understand it n like da subject...bt i got da exam next week wid 5 units n i suck at mugging !! I dont know how to remember the key definitions n da theories n da sociologists n stuff. Any tips plz ?? m n gud n making charts or even writing notes cuz I put a lot of extra info in the notes (i duno wich is mr imp) !! I dont hv any tym !! R any gud notes available ??? Wat shud I do 2 manage ??? M desperate 4 any tips !! Plz plz plz help out !!!!

Reply 10

Snapshot13

meghna

I just opted for sociology...n i missed 3 lessons frm wat was taught....... I understand it n like da subject...bt i got da exam next week wid 5 units n i suck at mugging !! I dont know how to remember the key definitions n da theories n da sociologists n stuff. Any tips plz ?? m n gud n making charts or even writing notes cuz I put a lot of extra info in the notes (i duno wich is mr imp) !! I dont hv any tym !! R any gud notes available ??? Wat shud I do 2 manage ??? M desperate 4 any tips !! Plz plz plz help out !!!!

Typing and writing and english would be a good start? =/

Reply 11

MilkyBarKid16

I've got the sociology exam on the 15th too, i revise by writing out my notes again, i also use a very good revision guide i got from amazon. it also do essays our teacher gave us, good luck!!

PS. i know what you mean, it doesn't sink in at all!!

Reply 12

kaygee

1

I am also taking this sociology exam on the 15th, and would like to know any revision tips that are useful for studying Beliefs in Society.

Reply 13

ilickbatteries

15

Original post by kaygee

I am also taking this sociology exam on the 15th, and would like to know any revision tips that are useful for studying Beliefs in Society.

I got an A in January but I didn't get enough UMS points to have a reasonable chance of an A*, so I'm resitting this and taking it when you do.

Find the Beliefs in Society thread in the sociology forum, its on the front page about half way down, big thread, can't miss it. Go to page 5, and find the poster called Common Dread who posted a huge list of all the 33 mark essay questions from '02-10

Then, go through each question systematically.

You probably don't have time to answer every question, but you do have enough time to construct a plan for each one. Do it like this.

"Modern Britain is now a secular society"

To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence agree with this view?

Firstly, you see the context of the question. It's modern Britain, so the last 50 years or so. Secondly, it's Britain, so global secularisation shouldn't feature as any major part of your question.

You're going to want to bring in as many secularisation concepts as you can. So, define what secularisation is.

Then, you build up an argument for secularisation. Everything you can think of that can be related to Britain, so - statistics on attendances, polls on beliefs, research on beliefs, etc. Disengagement from the political arena, disenchantment, disneyfication and so on.

Then, you tear that argument apart, what is wrong with all of those concepts, etc etc.

If you write yourself a plan for each possible essay and try to memorise it, it'll help you structure a coherent answer that can help you in the exam

Reply 14

kaygee

1

Thankyou ilickbatteries !

Reply 15

ilickbatteries

15

Original post by kaygee

Thankyou ilickbatteries !

It's fine, PM me if there's anything else you need.

Reply 16

torilou10

Original post by ilickbatteries

I got an A in January but I didn't get enough UMS points to have a reasonable chance of an A*, so I'm resitting this and taking it when you do.

Find the Beliefs in Society thread in the sociology forum, its on the front page about half way down, big thread, can't miss it. Go to page 5, and find the poster called Common Dread who posted a huge list of all the 33 mark essay questions from '02-10

Then, go through each question systematically.

You probably don't have time to answer every question, but you do have enough time to construct a plan for each one. Do it like this.

"Modern Britain is now a secular society"

To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence agree with this view?

Firstly, you see the context of the question. It's modern Britain, so the last 50 years or so. Secondly, it's Britain, so global secularisation shouldn't feature as any major part of your question.

You're going to want to bring in as many secularisation concepts as you can. So, define what secularisation is.

Then, you build up an argument for secularisation. Everything you can think of that can be related to Britain, so - statistics on attendances, polls on beliefs, research on beliefs, etc. Disengagement from the political arena, disenchantment, disneyfication and so on.

Then, you tear that argument apart, what is wrong with all of those concepts, etc etc.

If you write yourself a plan for each possible essay and try to memorise it, it'll help you structure a coherent answer that can help you in the exam