A-level options

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there are a lot of topics - it feels as if the exam board crammed everything into a 2 year course (although that's what most a levels are like, i guess)

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sometimes i can be quite disengaging - it's nothing like degree level --> eg. we learn about voting systems (FPTP, PR, etc), but we don't really apply it to everyday life

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what i mean, is that we learn about the advantages + disadvantages of First Past The Post (our voting system in the UK), and then that's it. we don't really go any further

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i LOVE political philosophy - it's the best part of the specification

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you will become a better writer with politics, since the marking it nothing like GCSEs - if you are not critical in every paragraph, you won't get more than 10/30 marks maybe

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history + politics really complement each other

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i know i said that politics feels crammed, but english lit is just packed with lots + lots of stuff

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we do so much poetry, a play, a shakespeare play, comparison of two novels, and coursework

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you have to be good at writing, and enjoy it

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if you like english simply at a GCSE level, don't do it for a level.

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what i mean, is that if you're content with just sticking 'context' at the end of a paragraph, writing very basic introductions, etc., then english lit a level will prove quite difficult

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right now, you should be going beyond PEE paragraphs + basic context

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because english is so crammed, you will find something you like in every topic, which i enjoy

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english a level is not about memory, since all my exams (i do edexcel) are open book - it's more about how you apply your ideas