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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

A levels - History, Sociology, Politics - how much writing?

43 replies

AChickenCalledDaal · 31/05/2021 10:28

DD2 is just finishing year 11 and having a major wobble about her A level choices. She's recently been disagnosed with ADD and has had a really bad year in terms of anxiety, disorganisation and focus. I'm blaming Covid, but there may be a deeper issue.

Sociology and Politics are her top choices. She's very engaged (opinionated) about how the world works and ready for a change from traditional subjects. So far so good.

History is currently her strongest subject and has always been on the list. Until now, when she's decided it's boring and stressful and too much work.

We've always highlighted that all three are somewhat essay-heavy and now she's throwing that back at us. But she doesn't really have a plan B and I think dropping History would be a really bad idea in terms of keeping her options open.

Can anyone give me a bit of insight into what these subjects are really like? Is it essays all the way, or is there some variety?

OP posts:

MrsFin · 31/05/2021 10:31

Most Arts subjects are essay heavy aren't they?
What else does her school/college offer that might float her boat, and would fit into that timetable?

TeenMinusTests · 31/05/2021 10:33

Can't help on the A levels, but does disorganisation find its way into her writing too? If so, then things that may have been manageable in short essays required for GCSE may cause a real problem for longer A level essays.
I only ask as my disorganised dyspraxic DD couldn't structure an essay to save her life, but given the structure could do quite well.

Original poster

AChickenCalledDaal · 31/05/2021 10:49

@MrsFin

Most Arts subjects are essay heavy aren't they? What else does her school/college offer that might float her boat, and would fit into that timetable?

I know that History is essay heavy. I don't really know about Sociology and Politics, as they are completely new to us. Hence the question, really.

Other realistic options are quite limited - potentially Psychology, Biology or Art. But only if her GCSE grades are good enough ... which is looking quite uncertain right now.

OP posts:

Hellocatshome · 31/05/2021 10:52

I cant talk for politics but I did Sociology A level and it was very very essay based. I imagine politics will be the same. Despite her being recently diagnosed she has obviously managed up until now with her GCSEs etc so I dont see the harm in trying.

Original poster

AChickenCalledDaal · 31/05/2021 10:54

She has indeed managed up to now. Until about a month ago, it seemed like entirely the right thing to drop anything mathematical or scientific, which have always been a struggle. But now she's adamant that she can't sustain enough concentration for these subjects. It's very hard to tell if that's because this year has been so utterly stressful and crap, or because she really is at her limit.

OP posts:

TwoBlueFish · 31/05/2021 10:58

My son is doing both history & sociology at the moment (Y12). They are both very essay heavy but they use similar styles so he’s not finding it overwhelming. He’s doing business studies as his 3rd choice.

MrsFin · 31/05/2021 10:58

Have you asked the school for advice?

Hoppinggreen · 31/05/2021 11:00

Dd is going to do Modern History, Politics and Psychology.
Yes there will be plenty of essays but the subjects tie together well and like your child’s choices are a good combination.
I think that doing Maths (unless she is really into it) might be a bit challenging. DD is predicted an 8 in Maths and she thought it might be too much for her, however there is quite a bit of maths involved in Psychology A level apparently so your DD might enjoy that

Antiqueanniesmagiclanternshow · 31/05/2021 11:02

History and politics is a really good combination. Lots of cross over and complimentary knowledge.

Sociology as well would be overkill.

If she enjoys art that might becgoid.or maybe the biology?

itssquidstella · 31/05/2021 11:09

History, Politics and Sociology are all very essay-based - Psychology slightly less so but still involves extended writing.

The advantage of doing three is that she'll have plenty of opportunities to hone her essay writing technique, but it is a fairly heavy workload. That said, Art has a ridiculous workload, even though it doesn't involve as much writing, so if she struggles with organisation and time management then I'd steer clear. Biology could combine well with Sociology (although fits better with Psychology).

itssquidstella · 31/05/2021 11:11

I meant to add, if she's only doing three subjects from the start then she'll have plenty of free periods; I think the most important thing is for her to use these sensibly from the start, rather than arsing around in the common room, so that she's on top of her workload.

Three A levels is manageable whatever the combination for a pupil who is reasonably bright and - most importantly - willing to put the hours in.

SometimesRavenSometimesParrot · 31/05/2021 11:15

There is a lot of writing in those three...but because everything you do for History will hone essay skills which are then useful for the other two, they work well together because they enhance the same skills, plus there will be some content crossover. It might not actually be curriculum but thinking as she studies X in sociology about how attitudes to it have changed and what impact political policies has had on it so to speak.

Cowbells · 31/05/2021 11:15

They are all essay heavy, reading heavy subjects. But they interconnect exceptionally well. And once she has mastered the skills of essay structuring, editing and annotating (bibliography, citations etc) then the same skills can be applied to all three subjects. So it may start out quite difficult and get easier.

FWIW DS2 has ADD and did 3 humanities essay subjects. People with ADD can get hyper-organised once they have a system in place. Lack of system is the killer, but known systems reused regularly really suit ADD minds so to have the same principles for all three subjects could help a lot. DS2 is now on top of his work and at uni.

Original poster

AChickenCalledDaal · 31/05/2021 11:28

Very interesting range of views, particularly in terms of the crossover of content and skills. Particularly if we can help her find better ways of organising herself now we have some insight.

We haven't yet sought advice from her school, although I'm intending to do so. The ADD diagnosis is very new and all our focus has been on getting to the end of GCSE assessments with everyone's sanity intact.

There are some A-level preparation lessons late June, which will hopefully help clarify things. But of course, if she's going to change subjects, it might be better to do it before then, so as to do the induction in the right subjects. Chicken and egg.

OP posts:

user7836 · 31/05/2021 11:29

Sociology and history both very essay based. Being opinionated isn't overly used because you're mostly comparing and contrasting the opinions of others (in both topics!)

KaptainKaveman · 31/05/2021 11:37

Yes, a great deal of essays as well as further reading. She will be required to learn a lot of theory and study critics.

GlencoraP · 31/05/2021 11:40

History is hard at A level, 2 of my 3 have done it . All love history but have found the volume of work heavy ( it’s a demanding dept at school though) and it has a reputation being difficult to get the top grade, not sure how true that is . On the plus side the skills gained have been great for university and they have really enjoyed the lessons.

They don’t do politics at their school but I gather it’s much the same , one of mine did politics at university and it wasn’t a happy experience so I might be biased.

Sociology I don’t know much about I am afraid

Maireas · 31/05/2021 12:26

Having opinions won't help in History, it's about evidence and analysis. I've been teaching History for many years, and it's the use of evidence and learning to analyse that some students find challenging. The essays aren't particularly long, but have to be very clear expositions, supported by good evidence and reaching a judgement. In my group I have a couple of vocal students who are brilliant in discussion, but their essays are weak for the above reasons.

Maireas · 31/05/2021 12:27

ps there aren't as many A* given in History as in other subjects.

GlencoraP · 31/05/2021 13:05

Can I just have a very unmumsnetty boast on this thread but one of mine got an A and the other an A* , I only mention it because I was so proud of them, but it was two years of very hard work and actual blood, sweat and tears for both of them, and also not forgetting the fabulous teaching .

KaptainKaveman · 31/05/2021 13:08

@Maireas

ps there aren't as many A* given in History as in other subjects.

What evidence can you provide for this? Do you mean nationally or at your own dc's school?

Maireas · 31/05/2021 13:11

Sorry, I wasn't clear, @KaptainKaveman. I meant our school - candidates who did Sociology, Psychology and Politics had a higher chance of an A*. I don't know the national figures.

Maireas · 31/05/2021 13:12

@GlencoraP

That's a great achievement! A lot of hard work ( and essay practise!)

GlencoraP · 31/05/2021 13:14

National figures, I haven’t look to see what they say.

analytics.ofqual.gov.uk/apps/Alevel/Outcomes/

GlencoraP · 31/05/2021 13:18

@AChickenCalledDaal I would also mention that one probably has undiagnosed ADD ( his other third brother is diagnosed and I can now see similarities which only really caused problems at University) . In my experience history depts encourage a very systematic approach, lots of note taking , essay practice, essay planing etc. Which can be helpful for ADD.

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