The 'Soft' Way Out

Target Audience: Teenagers Age 16/19 – Students
Purpose: To Argue

The ‘Soft’ Way Out…

A Levels have been a cause for controversy over the past few years concerning their difficulty. Many believe that they are nowadays far too easy and don’t provide students with enough valuable skills for the world of work. Whilst yet to be actually proven it should be taken into consideration the vast improvements in the teaching methods and the rise of outstanding schools- with over 1500 classed as outstanding since 2005 by Ofsted. Are A levels truly losing their touch or do students just keep getting better and better surpassing their predecessors?

Education has drastically changed since the days where degrees in media and computing would never have existed but are now popular career paths amongst aspiring journalists and programmers. With the advances in technology and improvements in research new courses began to emerge to prepare students for the rapid changing society. These new courses however haven’t been received positively by everyone.

Many students struggle with the choices they have to make regarding further studies and what will get them into their desired course. The harsh reality is that not all subjects are viewed equally by universities with some A levels such as Media Studies, ICT and PE snubbed and branded ‘soft’ and ‘unsuitable’ for entry whilst Cambridge has gone as far as posting their own list of ‘less preferred’ subjects:

• Accounting


• Art and Design


• Business Studies


• Communication Studies


• Dance


• Design and Technology


• Drama / Theatre Studies


• Film Studies


• Health and Social Care


• Home Economics


• ICT


• Leisure Studies


• Media Studies


• Music Technology


• Performance Studies


• Performing Arts


• Photography


• PE


• Sports Studies


• Travel and Tourism

Surely an A in Media Studies would be favourable for a media course rather than an A in Maths. Although Maths is a more respected subject, the skills gained in Media Studies are far more relevant to the course and should prove as an advantage. It should. But it isn’t. Many of the top end universities believe that if a student can prove to succeed at a more ‘challenging’ subject like the sciences, they can more or less take on any course. The difficulty of an A level of course is highly subjective. Where a student may find Biology a walk in the park, they may very well struggle with a more abstract yet less respected A level such as Psychology.

Difficulty varies from person to person and it’s certainly an outrage to dismiss ‘soft’ subjects where some students put so much work into and in some cases more work than the traditional subjects. I have a friend who studies Art and Design and she spends on average 3 hours a day on her artwork. Perfecting and refining every little detail often staying up late hours whereas I, a maths student, am able to get off easily with minimal work as it comes naturally to me.

It will take some time until these subjects are acknowledged and rightfully respected due to them being relatively new to the system. If there’s one thing we can count on is that if society keeps developing at the rate it has in previous years, we should be expecting new qualifications to be offered.

Tutorial Write Up

During my tutorial with Ms Weir we discussed ways in which I could improve my writing style and technique focussing on my weaker areas. We recognised that as a strength I'm able to express myself clearly and with depth, creating a sophisticated imagery for the audience to visualise. As well as this another strength in my writing was the sentence structure used for a specific effect. In particular my initial piece I wrote titled 'Harsh Reality' used longer sentences to build up intrigue and by the end the short powerful sentences were effective giving the overall piece a strong ending. When looking at what could be improved I looked at blogs from other peers and found that I could improve on the use of different vocabulary rather than sticking with words I'm comfortable with I could explore beyond my known scope and use more sophisticated language. I struggle with this mainly due to the fact I feel uncomfortable in using words that Im unfamiliar with and so I end up not knowing what my own writing means which I dislike as I don't want to overcomplicate my ideas. To get around this I could perhaps research the meanings of different words and look at examples were they have been used and use them whenever it is appropriate.

South African Conflict Deteriorates

The situation in an apartheid South Africa has deteriorated as reports of further abduction and assault emerge.

South Africa has recently seen some of the more serious consequences of the legal racial segregation; put under effect since 1948. Violence has significantly risen over the years amongst the split society with details of riots and shootings being reported every week.

Last Tuesday news spread of the first of many abductions taking place in the Capetown capital. Dandali Osundare(46) was said to have been assaulted, brutally beaten and taken from the safety of his own home after several men (concealing their identity with face masks) burst into the businessman's small bungalow. The whereabouts of Dandali are yet unknown but it has been confirmed by nearby neighbours that he was taken in large black jeep. Terrified, the locals refused to give further details afraid of arriving at the same fate.

These distressing scenes have become far too common for residents of the more rural areas of South Africa as local surveys suggest most of these incidents go unreported due to the growing fear most of the nation is gripped with. Akanni Niyi(36) was one of the many unreported cases in Bhisho until friends and relatives of the lawyer spoke out of the morning he was beaten : ' They picked Akanni up one morning. They beat him like clay. Then stuffed him down inside a waiting jeep'

With the increasing number of unresolved incidents it raises the question as to whether or not the South African government can truly handle the situation.

Havisham Task - How have love relationships been presented in Havisham.

I never imagined how someone I trusted and loved so much could leave me to rot. That bittersweet love left yellowed and unfulfilled - Bang! My fists clench at the sound of his name; forming the perfect weapon capable of revenge. 'Spinster' they call me with pitiful arrogance but I pray and wish them dead. Who did this to me? Is it my heart that b-b-breaks or is the constant beating that pulsates through my body a reminder of inevitable murder. My red balloon has finally burst.

Harsh Reality

Imagine an object that could hold everything meaningful to one person. An object capable of warding off intruders eager to venture into one’s own imagination and steal the secrets to our deepest, darkest memories. An object so tall and brave standing firmly into place, reluctant to let its arms open wide revealing what I once thought was a magical world. Such object is perhaps imaginary; perhaps not what we would initially associate with a man-made construction. But I know it to be true.

I know that my object holds cracks filled with anger, wedged beneath childhood games and pretentious adventures. What was once an elegant, vintage brown coating has now split in parts to reveal the dull reality of its wooden raw material. The sliding doors no longer retain the smooth, clean drifting motion that I once felt whenever I hid inside. Now it feels jagged and coarse as if it were blocking itself from the outside world.

I once needed my parents’ assistance in reaching the highest draws, the very same place they would hide my most precious possessions whenever my behaviour was ‘unacceptable’, as if to prove a point. As if to remind me I wasn’t big enough. It’s all changed now; I can reach those high places, I can even fit my hand in the darkest corners. There is nothing to hide.
To protect someone’s identity. To keep out the harsh truths of the real world and offer safety whenever one needs it. To me that was its sole purpose. That was what my wardrobe was for.