Revolutions or Legal?

[vashappenin]

Hey Guys,
I'm just wondering for those who did these subjects, which subject is better and more interesting?
Revolutions- Russian and Chinese (3/4, obvs.) or Legal (3/4)?
Please let me know peeps! Because I need to know before I talk to my coordinators :S

Thaaaanks!

[ktrah]

I haven't done Revs so I don't have any personal experience with it, but my friend finds it fascinating (she's doing Russian and Chinese as well). I've also heard that it's difficult to get a really high score in (not sure why that would be the case). For Legal, in my opinion, the content is pretty easy and there's way less of it than in a lot of other subjects. It's mostly all memory so if you're good at rote learning and writing it might be a good option. I find it a bit dry but I guess it depends whether you're more interested in law making or history. Also, Legal focuses on Australia's legal system, whereas obviously in Revolutions you study other countries.

[ThyJovan]

I do both Legal and Revs (along with Russian and Chinese) and they're both apart my Top 3 subjects of my 6 so far. 

Revs is harder, I hear it's more like a uni subject than the rest of the subjects at Year 12, which is understandable. More content, more work in Revs, more dates, events and names to recall. But, it's very engaging and interesting, if it wasn't for that, I doubt I would be doing this subject. Was actually close to dropping this subject until I decided to the six, I would of regretted that, loving the Russian Revolution.
Legal obviously isn't as content heavy, it's manageable (don't mistake that for it being easy though) and basically what above said said. It's engaging to me (Revs is far more) as I'm looking forward to doing a Law course in the future and I also feel like if there's any subject I'm going to get over 45+ this year, Legal would be it.

So, it's gonna be a hard decision, if you can, I would do both. But it also depends on what you are like as a student.

[weasleyisourking]

I never did Legal but I did do Revs last year. I would advise to think strategically ... have a look online at some general Russian and Chinese revolution information and see if it interests you - don't really on what others tell you because each student is different.

Revs is a lot of work, so ensure that you have an interest in history, otherwise you won't enjoy the subject. That said, if you do the work you will find Revs fascinating, it is very engaging and thought-provoking in my opinion - I absolutely loved that subject. Kinda miss it a bit sometimes (lol).

Legal will probably be easier to manage, but from what I've heard from others Revs is infinitely more interesting.

Have a look in the text books and think about if you want to learn more about what you see. If you find it interesting you will like it and do well. If you don't like history you wil flounder in Revs.

Good luck!

[Genericname2365]

I absolutely loved that subject. Kinda miss it a bit sometimes (lol).

Yeah you're not the only one 

[Porridge4lyf]

I'm completing revs this year and am really enjoying it! Having not done the 1/2 course I was a little worried, but if you have an interest in reading and researching I really do urge you to study revs! I have found that because it's so interesting, everything sticks in my head.

On the other hand, I studied legal last year and found the content a little dry, very methodical and heavily based on rote learning. If you're the type of person who does well with those types of subjects, I'd go legal studies. The two students in my class who scored over 40 both completed mathematics subjects and delighted in the type of learning that legal had to offer!

I hope that helped!

[vashappenin]

Thanks!
I really wanna do revs, it's just that I'm scared I'll lose interest and if ends up being too hard :S
But from what I've heard, it seems much more interesting than legal's 'boring' structure

[JaredV]

Hey there,

Don't know if you're still deciding, but for anyone else who happens to be asking the same question, hopefully my advice can help.

I'm doing both legal and revs this year (and I did history 1/2 last year, although it's definitely not needed to do 3/4).

Legal studies is a good subject, the course gives you a really solid knowledge of the legal system and the information is simple, straight-forward and answers pretty much any questions you have about the legal system. It is essentially a rote subject, which I suppose suits different people in different ways. You'll have to learn a lot of definitions, and know how to explain a lot of concepts. That being said, there are 'evaluate' and 'critically evaluate' questions (although in reality, the answers tend to regurgitations of pre-learned pros and cons lists) and you will often be thrown case studies to reinforce whatever you're learning. Overall, it's not particularly hard to do well in legal as long as you have a good memory and you're prepared to sit through a few boring concepts.

Revolutions is my favourite subject. Although there are some elements of straight content memorisation (i.e. dates, details of events), you'll never have to regurgitate any definitions or explain standalone concepts. Instead, it's focused far more on evaluating (i.e. making a judgement) and demonstrating your understanding through appropriate use of historical skills (e.g. use of evidence, historiography, etc.). On the other hand, it has far more content that the vast majority of other subjects (in my opinion, you could spend a year just doing one revolution) and the level of sophistication in writing is far more  difficult to reach than it is in legal studies. But do note that writing skills in revolutions often translate well to English/literature - revolutions encourages you to give your writing a voice and lets you develop your own opinions. Plus, if you do English, information from revolutions can be used as evidence for expository or persuasive pieces in AOS2 (creating and responding). So overall, revolutions is a really fun, interesting subject that you can immerse yourself in and get a lot out of. If you liked history and/or other humanities in past years, revolutions is the perfect subject for you.

So in sum, if you need a subject with relatively easy marks, legal studies is the right choice. But if you're willing to put in the work, then 100% choose revolutions.