Religious Studies at Key Stage 5

 In this page you will find:-

1. What does the course involve
   

2. What Skills will I learn?
   

3. What use is Religious Studies
   

4. The specification for study and some examples for As level
    

5. The specification for study and some examples for A2 level
    
    

General Information & Links

Coursework guides for Y12 students

Directed Study for Y12

1. Welcome to  Religious and Philosophical Studies

in the Sixth Form  

  1.      Religious Studies at A level encourages students to:-

 WHAT DOES THE COURSE INVOLVE?

      There are THREE main elements,  the PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION,     ETHICS and BUDDHISM.  The choice of these areas gives a broad education in the thinking  of both the Western and the Eastern World.  Philosophy involves the study of the way we know things, the larger and more complex questions about existence, and demonstrates our deepest ability to think analytically about all things.  Basically every area of human learning has its philosophy.  There is a philosophy of science, of history, of maths (normally called LOGIC), of morality (normally called ETHICS), of art (normally called AESTHETICS) and so on....  Of course there is a philosophy of Religion which uses philosophical methods to question such things as the existence of God,  the nature of human beings, the problem of evil and good, life after death and explanations about the world around us.  Buddhism is a major world religion and one which has had a profound influence upon Asia. It has an increasing appeal in the West and its concepts of salvation without a God and through discipline and meditation have met with great interest. It forms a natural and exciting balance to western philosophy. The third part of the course,  ethics is about the intricacies of human moral behaviour and deals with questions of right and wrong.  For our purposes,  we focus in coursework upon serious ethical issues particularly those involving life and death decisions medical ethics, equality, justice and conservation.

WHAT SKILLS WILL I LEARN?

      Since much of the course is dependent upon analytical thinking and being able to discuss matters in depth,  students build these skills to a very high level, often beyond that of 1st year university courses. The ability to write a well argued and concise essay is a major skill that is explicitly taught.  This has advantages in every study.  We also encourage challenging reading and research.  These skills are vital to the course and further education as a whole. Basically it is an extremely useful course both in its own right and as a preparation for university courses. It also dovetails very conveniently with psychology, English, drama, and the sciences since a major element of the course is the examination of the relationship between religion and science

WHAT CAN IT BE USED FOR?

At SIS we have excellent resources and the enthusiasm to stimulate a deep an abiding interest in this subject.  Many of our students go on to pursue degree studies in law, medicine, business, psychology, political and social studies as well as English, philosophy, drama and performing arts.  They have all found the subject to be of great value both in the art of writing and in applying the more demanding skills of critical analysis.   

A LEVEL is divided into two one year courses:-

As level which is completed in the Year 12. This is a complete qualification but worth 50% of A level.

A2 level which is completed in the second year and will mean a full A level qualification.

There are THREE components to As level and THREE components to A2 level

As Level Components are:-               Unit One -  the Coursework.    

                                                      Unit Two -  Philosophy of Religion

                                                      Unit Six  -  Study of Buddhism

Each component is worth equal marks which means approx 16.6% of the final A level mark or 33.3% of the As Mark.

Click on any of the highlighted words to help you find out more.  

Unit One -  the Coursework.    

This component is a study involving individual research and written in essay form of approximately 2,500 words.  The choice of topics for study is extensive.   The work is begun in September and is closely linked to Directed Study.  More information can be found including sample titles if you go to the Coursework page. This component is 33% of your first year of study and you get a considerable amount of help with it because it is a great way to study but also quite hard.  All the Religious Studies Directed Study is aimed towards getting you through this. There are several drafts to produce, normally the first draft by December, the second draft by February and a final draft by Easter.

The work must be finished by 1^st May.

You will need to answer TWO questions taken from the following studies. 

1.   Some philosophical arguments for the existence of God        

2.   The problem of  evil and suffering

3.   The philosophical debate about miracles

You will have an exam on these topics which will be taken in June  
and will consist of two written answers given in 1 hr 30.

1.   Background

2.   Key Concepts

3.   Buddhist Ethics

Again you will have an exam for this material in June lasting 1 hr 30 mins
 in which you must answer TWO questions

The problem with reading outlines like those above is that they make very little sense until you have finished the course. By then you do not need to read the outline.   However at least you will be able to make a check list of words you do not understand and have something to check your knowledge by the time you  start your revision.

3. Specification at A2 level

A2 level places a much higher values on the difficult skill of critical evaluation.  This demands that there is a greater level of reading into the theories of different scholars, wider references to these scholars in essays and then demonstration of the skill of assessing their strengths and weakness in argument.  There are THREE components which are as follows:-

Unit Seven   -   The Philosophy of Religion

Unit Eleven  -    The Study of Buddhism

Unit Twelve  -   The Synoptic paper

All three components are examined by externally marked exam papers of 11/2 hours in  length.  The synoptic paper is a compulsory component and worth 20% of the final mark which is the highest weighting of any of the total six components that make up the full A level.

You will need to answer TWO questions taken from the following studies.  It is expected that the skills of analysis and understanding learnt in Unit two will form an essential basis for this unit especially in developing the skill of critical evaluation.  It is therefore very important that this is seen as a continuum and that reading is progressive and challenging.

1.   Further philosophical arguments for the existence of God       

2.   A study of the beliefs about life after death
 

3.   A study of Religious Language

Unit Eleven -  World Faiths - Buddhism

This again represents a continuous development of the work done in As level and reading must continually revisit material from Unit 6. There is a greater level of critical evaluation and students will be expected to read at a more challenging level particularly specific Buddhist texts.  Students are expected to answer TWO questions from the following studies:-

1.   Developments - a study of the expansion of Buddhism

2.   Key Concepts

3.   Texts - Study of selected scriptures from "Buddhist Scriptures"  Ed. Conze.

Unit Twelve - The Synoptic Paper

More details on this to follow but just click on the title.