Subject Dilemma

[MrsStark]

Hey everyone and happy 2015!
So I can't decide with my subjects. I'm a science kid and an English/Lit kid. I got into Monash Extension Chemistry and I am thrilled. But since I'd end up doing 7 subjects I'll have to drop one. ( I did bio last year and registered for Lit, English, Methods, Chem and Physics)

Now I if I had to be honest, I'd probs drop Methods, as much as I love my chem, as a kid  and til now I've never been the biggest fan of maths but Im doing chem and physics and want to get a science degree so Its pretty ideal to do maths right? lol It takes me a while to master stuff in maths and a lot of hard work.

But the fact that I want a science degree means that it would better if I dropped Lit or Eng, so far I've been thinking if I get in extension Monash  I'd drop Lit. But now I'm considering dropping English. I feel that Lit is more for passionate people while English is more (not totally offcourse) dominated by people who simply have to do it. I've been forcing myself to read the English books, and as soon as I opened the first page of our Lit book (Persuasion) I fell in love lol.
but this isn't enough for me to decide which one to drop,
So I ask you from your experience, what is year 12 lit and English like, what's the diff and is lit harder than English or the other way around?
thank you so much for helping me out,
I really do appreciate it x
-Stark

[dankfrank420]

Isn't methods a pre-req for most science courses?

[IndefatigableLover]

Isn't methods a pre-req for most science courses?

It is but not for all science courses. For MrsStark, she would be able to do a Bachelor of Science at Monash despite not doing Methods however if she wanted to do a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Monash then she would need to do Methods (this is primarily based on the fact that MrsStark is doing Monash Extension rather than University of Melbourne Extension).

[literally lauren]

If you are English minded, then you will enjoy Literature more than English. However, the current English study design is a lot easier to understand conceptually, so if you're looking for something to score well in, English might be the way to go.

Here's an actual breakdown if it helps:
For English you will have to do one oral presentation as a SAC, then for the rest of the year it's
2 x Context pieces
2 x Text Response essays
1 x Language Analysis essay
and the exam will consist of one of each of the above. So everything (with the exception of the oral) will be similar to what you're required to do in the exam.

Lit on the other hand:
1 x Adaptations Task where you write an essay comparing a set text with an adaptation (eg. novel and a movie, play and performance, etc.)
1 x Views and Values essay which is similar to an English Text Response where you respond to a prompt and discuss the authorial/ audience interpretation
1 x Alternate Viewpoints essay where you get given an article (or multiple) written by an academic that argues for a certain reading of the text, and you have to respond by challenging it
1 x Creative Response where you write an imaginative piece that relates to either the content or the style of the text you are studying
1 x Passage Analysis where you get given three excerpts from the text and you write a response about how language creates meaning in the text overall based on the passages.

The exam will consist of two passage analysis essays, so with the exception of the last SAC, everything else you do throughout the year is only tangentially relevant. Supposedly the skills you develop combine to form an overall understanding of how to analyse, but in reality it's kind of just an extended distraction until September.

Having said that, Literature is still a more enjoyable subject in terms of engaging with texts and arguing interpretations. English is more about your ability to fulfil criteria, whereas Literature is almost completely determined by your writing style.

Another factor that might be worth considering is that students who do both will, ~80% of the time, score better in English than Lit. There are exceptions, but across the board, Lit is more competitive at the top end. In English, there's a whole side of the bell curve that's basically made up of people who struggle to read and write, but Literature tends to attract the higher performing/ English-brained students.

Hope that helps!

[keltingmeith]

The questions I feel are most appropriate are these:

1) Do you think you might want to study science in a degree where methods is compulsory? (i.e, anything at Monash not including the BSc [as Indefatigable said below, the normal BSc doesn't require methods]/Global Challenges, or science at Melbourne)
2) Do you think you'd like to continue to do physics after year 12?

If the answer to number 1 is yes, do methods. I think the reason why is pretty self-explanatory.
If the answer to number 2 is yes, do methods. Even if you enrol in the Monash BSc, trying to continue on with physics whilst playing catch-up with your maths abilities is honestly a very scary concept IMO. (plus, I don't even know if they'd let you without begging the unit coordinators...)

However, in terms of scientific understanding in general, being mathematically literate is important. If you cannot understand mathematics, some research papers will be entirely foreign material to you - REGARDLESS of the discipline. (I have seen bio papers and geo papers that I couldn't understand, even with more maths knowledge/experience than the people studying said papers at the time) So, I would suggest not dropping methods.

Of course, if number 2 was a no, I'd suggest keeping methods and dropping physics. A background in physics is nice, sure, but IMO a background in maths is more helpful. If you need to know about physics in your career, you will be working with a physicist.

Finally, your English subjects - if you decide at the end of the day you want to drop one of the English, that's your choice. However, doing an extra English could benefit you in the sciences anyway. Being articulate in reports is something that a lot of scientists are terrible at, and being able to communicate your research is an important part of being a scientist. Honestly, being more articulate in your primary language is a much greater advantage in the scientific community than having year 12 knowledge of a science you don't research in.