Is Sociology A Level hard??

I took it at GCSE and though it was really good and i was considering it for A Level. Would it be harder at A Level??
Would it be good for A Level and would universities accept it??

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

g_star_raw_1989

It's a lot of work; not very difficult though.

It appears on not University "blacklists" that I know of.

Reply 2

LearningMath

Of course it will be 'harder' at A-level, i dont take it though, so i cant give a detailed description. Yes unis accept it, although it is on the 'soft' subject list, so if you wish to apply for a more prestigious uni, then only take it in combination with more traditional choices :smile:

Yeah, heres the blacklist and its not on it http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7174848.stm

Reply 3

Kater Murr

It's a pisstake of an A-level.

Blunt

all my friends got As in sociology, even the ones that got Cs in all other subjects, and the same thing happened for GCSEs. I think it's a lot to remember but it's not actually all that hard.

Reply 6

UltimateJ

I do it, and I can say that most of the things written in this thread are fairly true.

It can be quite a bit of work when it comes to revising, there are many theories and studies which you have to learn for the exam, and if you want to do well, you need to remember most, if not all of them. Having said that, they are hardly difficult to understand - if you can't understand the basic theories in sociology then you probably shouldn't be doing A-levels.

Other than the large amount which needs to be remembered, it isn't really that difficult. The concept of analysing and evaluating arguments and theories is a little bit difficult at first, but after some practice, it soon clicks.

Overall, I would recommend doing it. It is, for me at least, an interesting A-level which will make a change from the usual maths, english and science etc. Furthermore, it will undoubtedly develop your essay writing skills. There is the issue of "respectability", and as far as subjects go, it isn't generally perceived as being too "academically rigorous". Having said that, it doesn't find itself on LSE's or Cambridge's "soft list", and Oxbridge do in fact recommend it as a suitable A-level for some of their courses.

Reply 7

mark______

its probs most easiest - 'A' possible for any ability providing u work hard

Reply 8

inksplodge

Sociology is on the 'limited suitability' on some list, can't remember which... I think it's down to hard you work. You can't expect to come out with an A if you're not willing to revise the stuff etc.

Reply 9

xthatgurlx

its just like any subject
if you work hard you can get an A
but i found this subject the most interesting out of business studies psychology and english language.

Reply 10

joeydeacon

Passed with ease, but it was dull as dishwater, boring as ****, made me want to stick pins in my eyes for excitement

Reply 11

Clefeen

I shall add my comment another time.

Lol

its a lot of common sense so for some yes it is hard
personally i found it easy but that possibly stems from me LOVING sociology!
the unis which dont like it are those that dont teach it generally :smile:

Alot of people in my classes took sociology because they were told its a "doss subject, a easy subject" then turned round in lessons n couldnt hack it n so dropped it...

i feel i have to defend it sometimes and that just shouldnt be the case...
x

Reply 14

Sophie_10

it can be difficult at times, there are a lot of theories and ideas that you have to learn.

But a lot of it is common sense and if you put in the revison and just remember all the theories and what it goes with it shouldn't be to bad!

bt don't take it thinking it's easy, cause it can be difficult at times!

Reply 15

Jamsie_853

I really enjoy sociology, it compliments my studies of psychology superbly, especially the research method modules!
I hate that it is still regarded as 'soft', at times, it's very rigorous and having to write two coherent well-balanced essays in the space of fourty minutes requires a great deal of focus.
I believe that if you are pursuing a social science degree such as politics or sociology itself it is one I recommend. Plus it definitely helps you out with your essay writing skills. :smile:

Reply 16

will90

xthatgurlx

its just like any subject
if you work hard you can get an A
but i found this subject the most interesting out of business studies psychology and english language.

I agree, its a really interesting subject but maybe if ur teacher wasn't up to scratch it could be a bit dull at times but our teacher was very passionate about us all achieving the best and this was my favorite subject at A-level epsecially compared to english lang, history is another good subject though in my opinion.

Its difficulty varies a bit, 1st module is quite easy, 2nd (education) is much more difficult as there are many theorists and obscure facts to learn 3rd (methods) is a bit boring at times but the content is quite straight forward, 4th (religion) is quite difficult, shed load of theories, its hard to differentiate between them at times, 5th (more theories) manyof them are quite dry and dull, it certainly helps to hav great people in the lesson around u for this 1 6th (crime and deviance) a big module with links to the rest of the modules so this can be hard.

I've just remembered, the syllabuschanges next yr so this cud be irrelevant :frown:

Reply 17

imomo16

I find it far easier than my other subjects (History, English, Politics) and have been getting As in practice essays from around November. As long as you have common sense, some analytical skills and a memory you should be fine.

Reply 18

Omo89

AS was a breeze, A2 was quite hard though.

Reply 19

Crystaltears

Some people think it's really hard, some people find it easy.
Personally, I don't find it difficult, but there is alot to learn (particularly at A2).

You have to be good a writing and structuring essays, evaluation skills and applying and selecting knowledge.

The kind of question you will get is e.g "Outline and asses Structural explanations of poverty in the contemporary UK (26)" and then you have to put forward lots of theories and studies that back that up and then a load that contradict it and offer and different explanation.

Many people think it's one of those "if you have an opinion you are right" subjects and it's reeeally not, but if you revise and work hard you should do well :smile: