English Literature vs Sociology A-Level

I have no clue which one to pick ;-;. Can someone tell me what the content is like in both please + the grade boundaries on average please

Reply 1

ash122

At my college,
For English Lit, they require grade 5 in GCSE English Language and grade 5 in English Literature
For Sociology, they want a Grade 5 in English and 4 in Sociology (if you took it at GCSE)

As for content:
For English Lit, I think it depends what books/texts you're studying, but it is much more intensive than at GCSE. It generally includes longer texts as well compared with GCSE.
For Sociology, I don't actually take it myself but I know quite a few people who do, and they've said that they have generally found it easier than English Lit. They study: Year One: Education, Research Methods and Family/Households. Year Two:
Crime and deviance, advanced methodology and media.

Hope this helps

Reply 2

Maria;)

Original post

by ash122

At my college,
For English Lit, they require grade 5 in GCSE English Language and grade 5 in English Literature
For Sociology, they want a Grade 5 in English and 4 in Sociology (if you took it at GCSE)
As for content:
For English Lit, I think it depends what books/texts you're studying, but it is much more intensive than at GCSE. It generally includes longer texts as well compared with GCSE.
For Sociology, I don't actually take it myself but I know quite a few people who do, and they've said that they have generally found it easier than English Lit. They study: Year One: Education, Research Methods and Family/Households. Year Two:
Crime and deviance, advanced methodology and media.
Hope this helps

Hi, thanks for the advicee. I'm just wondering which would be more respected at like prestigious universities and which one would be more relevant to marketing? Or should I take four and drop the one I like the least?

Reply 3

ash122

Original post

by Maria

I think English is generally preferred for marketing. However, I don't see any harm in starting with four and dropping one as it will let you know what both are like.

Reply 4

someone_cat

Original post

by Maria

I have no clue which one to pick ;-;. Can someone tell me what the content is like in both please + the grade boundaries on average please

i took sociology instead of eng lit but personally i find sociology pretty fun ! i dont think there would be much influence on your careers path as long as you did sth relevant in uni / gained related experience from else where. Which most uni does not require certain a levels in order to apply for marketing degree, so i dont see why not try it all and see which one you are more interested instead :smile:

Reply 5

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

Original post

by Maria

I have no clue which one to pick ;-;. Can someone tell me what the content is like in both please + the grade boundaries on average please

I cant comment on english literature. But i did sociology both at gcse and a-level. I loved it. It was my easiest subject.
What are you wanting to do after a-levels?

Reply 6

Maria;)

Original post

by ash122

I think English is generally preferred for marketing. However, I don't see any harm in starting with four and dropping one as it will let you know what both are like.

Thank you ❤️

Reply 7

Maria;)

Original post

by someone_cat

Thanks for the reply! What was the content in Sociology like?

Reply 8

Maria;)

Original post

by Emma:-)

I cant comment on english literature. But i did sociology both at gcse and a-level. I loved it. It was my easiest subject.
What are you wanting to do after a-levels?

I wanted to work in Marketing or like anywhere in the media sector

Reply 9

74747746

Original post

by Maria

I have no clue which one to pick ;-;. Can someone tell me what the content is like in both please + the grade boundaries on average please

i have had to retake english lit due to life issues and I swapped schools so I covered different areas. I've done tragedy and women through history? can't remember the name. for reference I got a 9 in my GCSE's and enjoyed the subject a lot.
having said that, sociology is so so so much more fun. english lit in my experience is plagued by bad teachers and you have to memorise so many quotes. it can be fun in regards to class debates and picking out interesting metaphors etc but personally I feel like I was just super stressed out and never felt super confident about it even though I was doing relatively well in my A-levels.

sociology on the other hand is really interesting. i think it's a massive breath of fresh air as a completely new subject compared to GCSE. it really feels like in an exam I'm challenged in a similar way to english lit, weaving theories and case studies together like you would with quotes, the only difference is that for sociology you don't have to remember 200 quotes spoken in archaic english, instead you just have to remember the last name of the theorist and their general argument along with any key terms.

i enjoy sociology so much I'm actually planning on doing it for my undergraduate. now you obviously might not like sociology, it's a personal thing but I think it's certainly worth the shot especially because your school or college should allow you to change subjects early on. its a really engaging topic, especially once you start to get a strong grasp on the different theories and are able to link them together, its a really good feeling.

as far as grade boundaries, I do AQA, and I think both subjects are fairly standard; 50 is a C 60 is B etc.

ultimately go with your heart, but it honestly find sociology so much less stressful and fun, although hi did have bad English lit teachers so maybe that's the problem lol

Reply 10

someone_cat

Maria

Thanks for the reply! What was the content in Sociology like?

for AQA , there would be education ,methods in context , theory and methods, crime and deviance and theory and methods as core; with a choice of other topics , which in my school we do family and households , and beliefs. In genral its really fun to learn especially its very much about what we will experience or able to see everyday ; as well as things that we never knew existed. There would be a set structure and techniques for exams which would be very easy to do once you get familiar with it. so for eg for a 20 marker : introduction , 3 PEAR paragraphs , conclusion , with 2 studies per para , this would be very similar to other question types as well ! you can look at the spec for more detailed info : https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/sociology/a-level/sociology-7192/specification/specification-at-a-glance
i literally love sociology so muchh , maybe its because I have a good teacher or i just find it really interesting and in some way it influences my decision to pink politics and sociology over law for uni haha so it really depends what u like !

(edited 9 months ago)

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