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General Studies
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Yes yes i know this isn't the subject everyone does or even revises for but my A Level General studies exam is coming up and my uni is accepting it so i need to do reasonably well on it.
So what exactly do i need to look up on? I know pretty much all of its essay writing but what fact type stuff will i need to know?
Types of knowledge? What has everyone else who's doing it done to revise for it?
So what exactly do i need to look up on? I know pretty much all of its essay writing but what fact type stuff will i need to know?
Types of knowledge? What has everyone else who's doing it done to revise for it?
Post edited by JustV on
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i didn't revise or anything for my a-level exams and managed to get a B. but then i'm quite good at rambling! though did get an E at AS level.
If you are vaguely aware of the arts, and of the sciences, and of current affairs then you will be fine. You will be able to do one section really well, the key is having a broad enough knowledge to do all the other sections to a reasonable degree.
It really depends what board you're doing, TBH. Mine was OCR: Science, culture, society.
I know some of them have a foreign language module? Surely that would be a bit more difficult to blag.
the uni im going to accepts it as well so im hoping to do ok in it too..
i personally am not planning on doing any revision for it!! i may read some newspapers and watch the news a couple of times, but i dont think that will do much good because my teacher says these papers were written about 2 years ago so theyre going to be about old stuff and not whats going on now.
on one of our practice papers there was quite a bit about culture (like art and museums etc) and also quite a bit on tourism and the environment so im going to be looking into that a bit more
You're not that old, it's been around for ages, it's not a new thing. It existed under the old A'Level system too.
But yeah, basically it is A'Level Pub Quiz.
i loved it lol not sure why
You just have to know a bit about everything
A lot of it is about forming structured arguments. Covering all points and discussing them on a topic thats stated in the exam paper.
As long as you got a general idea of major issues in the news - mention those cos think u get extra for ebing up to date with issues lol
just basically put in as much as you can about the topic and argue!
Try lookin for some past papers, check the exam board website or something
good luck xx
1) Asked if i thought id cards were a good idea or did they invade peoples privacy.
2) Asked if it is right for doctors to keep patients alive against their will.
3) Asked if i thought that longer working hours nowadays contributed to more stress and less leisure time.
There were a few more but i cant remember now sorry, but genarally tht paper was just opinions really with no right or wrong answer.
I think it's a good qualification to have as it assesses your general ability to present both sides of an argument and write coherently. I didn’t study at all for it and most of my paper was jammed with science and geography questions which stumped me because I did economics, English lit and history.
I suppose I like general studies A-Level because I got the highest grade and mark in the school, lol.
Oooh, I also think it's good because it's easy to do if you have an interest in current affairs. Mind you, reading statistical cloud data and answering questions about it isn't my ideal way of spending an afternoon.
"what is the meaning of the word 'fanatic'? (line 22)" or somesuch stupidness. Each one worth three marks. I just churned out dictionary definitions and said what it meant in it's context. Very boring exam that when you're writing you're bored.
btw i got a letter from headmaster saying exam board found offensive language in my script and gave it 0 and that they took leniancy and didnt make me fail all my exams, and if i wanted to contest it, obviously he got no reply
shows they read the exam papers then
Wow, you big hard man.
nah i just hate the subject with a passion, ruined my revision and time i use to read newspapers and such to discuss poncy ways of naming things that dont need it, and looking inti 'issues' with as much depth as womans weekly or nuts.... without the naked women or stupid pictures and funny problem pages
Nah, they just didnt offer it at my sixth form thats all. Sounds an odd A level.
i agree. :yes:
and also i like it 'cause my uni accepted it (only half marks but still!). so, it helped me get into uni and it didn't involve any going to lessons (okay so i was meant to) or any revision.
Muahahaha!
I never understood the hatred of GS, it doesn't require much revision and it can be so very important. If you miss your grades in your first choice then GS does sometimes get you in, if other applicants also missed their grades (as happened in 2002, remember); it is also the difference between getting the insurance and not. And in clearing, a good GS mark does make it a lot easier to get a decent course at a decent uni, not Beckham Studies at the University of Castleford.
And for all those whining about "revision" time, oh no, how will you cope? I had enough time to revise to get the best A'Levels in my school, and still get an A for GS. GS takes about three hours to revise for, and I think that people who don't invest those three hours and get a good mark are a bit daft really. I know of at least one person at my school who missed out on his insurance (which he wanted to go to) because of GS.
Me! I missed my grades for Durham by a poxy three or four marks in my economics exam and the course director told me, to my face, that I could still join his course because I had A grade GS.
anyone else in here do it and think it was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL?!!
(im guessing everyone has to do the same one
had a question something like : what is your view that all regulators are toothless watchdogs? :crazyeyes WHAT?!
so im pretty certain ive failed :crying: i doubt i will get any marks on that question and my teacher said that if i fail one question out of 5 then im getting a U.. so thats what im getting!!
I got a B in the other exam but i have another one next wednesday which is 2 essay questions that in my practice i failed too
darn it
I agree. It gets on my nerves when people complain about having to deal with current affairs. Is it more important to know about current affairs, or how magnesium reacts when thrown into a tub of water?
My point is, even the 'core' subjects that you do at school like Science and Maths have, for most people, absolutely zero utility once you leave school (at an advanced level anyway, obviously basic numeracy and literacy is desirable!!). I have never needed to talk about inert gases, quadratic equations or disect a poem since I left school! These subjects are in many ways no more useful/applicable to your future than GS is!! My GS paper a couple of years ago required me to answer questions about politics, technology, stuff like that. At least it has a relevance to the real world.
if thats true then im in trouble, but if not then theres a possibility that ive done ok..ish!
im confused
They wouldnt let us leave, I gave up after about 45 and sat there for the other 45. :<