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general studies
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
:eek2:
Hmm..I've got a D in general studies A-level, (although I literally was only 3 marks off a C so may retake an exam if it's recommended)....I'm off back to do a 3rd year at college but plan on going to uni after that. I know some accept general studies...so will it count as me getting a D grade at a-level? *confuzzled*
I need to speak to college..but if anyone can shed some light, that'd be great
Hmm..I've got a D in general studies A-level, (although I literally was only 3 marks off a C so may retake an exam if it's recommended)....I'm off back to do a 3rd year at college but plan on going to uni after that. I know some accept general studies...so will it count as me getting a D grade at a-level? *confuzzled*
I need to speak to college..but if anyone can shed some light, that'd be great
Post edited by JustV on
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It doesnt matter when you take it, it still counts is the same qualification.
What exactly is general studies and what does it involve?
Also, why do you have to take it at A-level if some universities won't accept it when you apply there?
General Studies is basically worldy knowledge stuff. Ours had three main areas, one Culture with like art, music, literature, arcitecture (still cant spell it), one Scientific with both the actual science and technology knowledge and moral implications, then a more Political/Current Affairs module which is pretty self explanitary.
Oh, and we had to know all about the different types of arguements and knowledge you can have.
In the exam we got some one/two mark questions based on the sylabus, then another section where we had to explain how arguements in articles etc were created and justified. Then an essay (think it was one per paper, may have been two...) where you could show your knowledge, that you knew how to construct a proper arguement and had a good grasp of the language.
I took it because i enjoyed it. There wasnt exactly a lot of teaching time involved but i was pretty likely to come out with a good result (i got an A
I thought it was pretty useful really.
Basically it's an exam where you tick random multiple choice boxes and then write a few pages of bullshit.
Some universities accept it, in which case it's a good one to have. No-one really regards it as a proper A-level, but it adds to the package I suppose, which is why it's compulsory at most schools (also bumps up their results for the league tables .
hmm its there to get people who arent interested in politics/morals etc interested in it, but i already have an interest in politics so i found it dull and almost propaganda, hmm and for those who its meant to encourage, they didnt turn up!
only went for the amount of ladies in me class
We have a new registration system, where every lesson's register is on computer, so your movements can be tracked around the school, and if you were in an earlier lesson but not the next one, the teachers will know. Very Big Brother is watching style....!
Ours wasnt multiple choice.
ANd for all the slagging off its recieving i really dont see the problem. you do 6 hours of work and get an extra Alevel that shows future employers you have a pretty wide knowledge, rather just been good at chemistry and history or what ever.
You did 6 hours of work for it? What like 6 hours a week? In year 13 I went to one lesson for 20 minutes the whole year and still got a decent grade.
It does add range to your A-levels, however people can attain that level of knowledge by reading newspapers and books throughout their lives, you don't necessarily need an A-level in general studies to show that.
Schools just push it so that more A-levels are taken thus improving their league table scores.
The best quote about general studies is from 'Have I got News for You':
"What you've got 4 A-levels? Oh the fourth is general studies, isn't it? Well that's like saying I've got my cycling proffiency certificate or I've got 3 A-levels and my 25 metres swimming badge."
Exactly.
I learnt so much about society and culture through general studies. Those that say general studies is a waste of time are usually those who didn't bother going to lessons or whose school didn't offer lessons.
Doing any subject is a waste of time if you don't go to lessons, surely?
You won't do as well in the exam (you may still do well, but you won't be able to do as well as you could) and spend the rest of your life moaning how it was a waste of time...
Ive been thinking about this... I think it was more like nine actually- 6 x 1 1/2 hour exams... Other wise, yeah, about 20 minutes reading through the types of knowledge.
Ouch! Identifying sedimentary rocks isnt as simple as you'd think!
I wasn't talking about difficulty though. It may well be difficult, but it is also pointless and has little or no use in the real world :cool:
That meant that what we wrote in the exam was based entirely on basic instinct and opinions on events, without any theoretical knowledge. If the marking system had reflected the fact that we'd had little or no preparation for it, or if we had have been more prepared for it, then I'm sure the grades would have been higher and people would have felt there was more point in doing it.
I think it depends what board your doing, because very little of mine was stimulus based, even at AS level, so our AS and A2 wasnt much different apart from the last paper, where you just wrote two essays instead of having a section of shorter questions aswell. The good thing was that they gave you a wide choice of subjects areas to choose from so you could choose questions to fit your own knowledge.
As Museman suggests, the best thing to do really is just read a range of decent broadsheets, so you get all sides of the story as newspapers usually have a political leaning and so may differ in their interpretation of the same events.
Oh, and make sure you show both sides of any arguements and include a conclusion. I dont know about other boards, but ours wouldnt give more than 33% for an essay without a conclusion.
I know, I didn't really get it either.
Basically if you said 'An important person [I can't think of a specific name right now] said Bush was wrong to go to war on Iraq' (argument based on moral values or arguing from authority) and then conclude that he was wrong based on the statement from the important person, you would then have to say that your conclusion was not fully justified because of the type of argument you used.
Hmmm...doesnt really make a lot of sense but I managed to get an A...
Yep it's not easy. If a lot of the people who thought it was easy actually had to do it they would fall flat on their faces. Ah well.....
Did they make you go to general studies lessons?! And believe it was an important exam...?
Basically for one of the exams I wrote everything I ever learnt in Sociology and it worked....
I read broadsheets and keep up with current affairs anyway. Good if it gets some people interested in that, but I still believe it's a waste of time really - unless it gets you into uni.
That's a very big 'unless'! Like I say, a lot of it is more applicable to real life. You say you had to read papers, and I dare say knowing what is going on in the world in 2003 is more important than de-starching a leaf, for example!
Of course it is. You don't need to do general studies to know what's going on in the world - this being my main point.
Fair enough, although surely you found it reasonably ok if you are well up on current stuff anyway? It won't have done you any harm.
it was compulsory to do AS general studies at my college, and was upto you if you did A2. however, many people saw sense and realised it was a load of poop and never went to lessons.
Basically, we were forced to do AS in the January of U6, then could opt out of A2 if we wanted. We werent particularly forced to learn anything new, but help was there if we wanted/needed it.
I thought it was worth the extra few exams. Many people didnt. It didnt exactly do any harm and is an extra Alevel, even if it isnt valued very highly.