which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studies (2 Viewers)

zando6

Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2009
Messages
76
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

so economics is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy harder than bussiness studies I presume?
 

icola

Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
53
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

CAFS is way easy & insanely boring (I dropped it as sooon as I could).
Some parts of legal are good although there are a lot of legislation/precedents to learn which can get a bit tedious.
Economics is pretty interesting but it can be a bit hard to grasp some of the theories & graphs at first.. although if you're doing maths you should be okay.
And don't do society so I have no idea!
 

cancaramel

New Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
4
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

is any one doing 3 unit math here.
is it a lot harder than 2 unit.
and is there a lot of self study required to pass the course.
I don't do 3 unit, I do 2 unit but if you're apt at maths I would suggest you do three units.

Proportionally the work isn't actually that much more and it's a good "insurance". I really regretted not doing 3 units of maths. It also reduces the number of actual subjects you have to do, which means that it's easier to study - I do many different subjects and I find it quite difficult to be able to study for them all consistently.

In reply to your first post, I do both Legal studies and Economics, and I enjoy them both greatly. They're quite different disciplines though - Economics is quite technical and conceptual whereas Legal Studies is a little more subjective.

I would always recommend the subjects that you are a) good at and b) you would like. You should know though Economics is quite strenuous at times, especially in Yr 11 - I hated the prelim course but once it gets to the HSC it's very interesting, and I plan on studying Economics in university. Legal Studies, to some, may be boring but you do look at very interesting issues.

You should look at the syllabus on the Board of Studies website and look at what each subject encompasses - that would give you an idea of whether you'd like to study it or not.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
1,948
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

out of those i do legal studies & cafs.
legal is alot of content. lots of legislation, cases etc.... i never found it stressful until now when i have trials. i would recommend it though. its very interesting especially the yr 12 course.
cafs..its dead easy. some of the things you do are a bit of a joke. but its a good subject to give you a bit of a break. yeah it doesnt scale too well but if you do really well in it (which isnt that hard) it shouldnt affect you.
 

danka26

New Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2006
Messages
3
Gender
Female
HSC
2006
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

As a high school teacher, I can tell you that each of these subjects have a high content area ( which means a greater work load).

Society and Culture has a 5000 word project over 12 months that you need to complete

CAFS ( Community and Family) can lower your UAI as its not scaled well, but would be a great break from your other subject areas.

Eonomics is difficult esp if you're doing Business Studies

Legal I love teaching, but it does have a work load attached to it. DO this only if you'd love looking at law and crime (interesting though)
Hope that helps! :)
 

I Study Hard

Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
402
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

They're revising the syllabus for alot of the social science courses. Business is easy but pretty content heavy. I'm not sure how much they're getting rid of content wise. Legal studies is great, very interesting. Economics is hard. If you're going to do it don't choose it just because it scales well =/
 

I Study Hard

Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
402
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

Eonomics is difficult esp if you're doing Business Studies

:)
Why is it difficult if a person is doing business studies? I find it actually makes it easier. In Economics, Legal Studies, Business Studies there is an advantage because if you do more then one you sometimes have knowledge that allows you to understand area of another subject better. Eg. Economics - Globalisation, Business Studies - Global Business
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
1,948
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

As a high school teacher, I can tell you that each of these subjects have a high content area ( which means a greater work load).

Society and Culture has a 5000 word project over 12 months that you need to complete

CAFS ( Community and Family) can lower your UAI as its not scaled well, but would be a great break from your other subject areas.

Eonomics is difficult esp if you're doing Business Studies

Legal I love teaching, but it does have a work load attached to it. DO this only if you'd love looking at law and crime (interesting though)
Hope that helps! :)
cafs also has the IRP which is a pretty big assignment.
 

supre

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
155
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

I don't do 3 unit, I do 2 unit but if you're apt at maths I would suggest you do three units.

Proportionally the work isn't actually that much more and it's a good "insurance". I really regretted not doing 3 units of maths. It also reduces the number of actual subjects you have to do, which means that it's easier to study - I do many different subjects and I find it quite difficult to be able to study for them all consistently.

In reply to your first post, I do both Legal studies and Economics, and I enjoy them both greatly. They're quite different disciplines though - Economics is quite technical and conceptual whereas Legal Studies is a little more subjective.

I would always recommend the subjects that you are a) good at and b) you would like. You should know though Economics is quite strenuous at times, especially in Yr 11 - I hated the prelim course but once it gets to the HSC it's very interesting, and I plan on studying Economics in university. Legal Studies, to some, may be boring but you do look at very interesting issues.

You should look at the syllabus on the Board of Studies website and look at what each subject encompasses - that would give you an idea of whether you'd like to study it or not.
great advice
but this is not the case in my subjects selection because doing 3 unit math will only give me 13 units not 14 as i m doing standard english.
so thats just one extra unit.
wouldnt really make a difference!!!
 
Last edited:

Atarer

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Messages
92
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

heyy
i need some help. for next year's subjects i m taking:
standard english, 2 unit math, business studies, chemistry, biology.
as u can see these are only 5 subjects and we need 6.
are these subjects hard or easy?
economics, legal studies, society and culture and community and family studies.
which one do u recommend?
and which one is the easiest subject?

please let me know Wat u think.
thanks
:hippie:
honestly, I wouldn't go for society and culture/community and family studeis. They can be very complicated. However, if you are good at writing essays and analyse informations, these subjects might be suitable for you.
For economics and legal studies, you still have to write essays, but they dont require as much English skills as the other two do.
So, take your time to decide. :)
 

supre

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
155
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

great advice guys. really helps :)
is any one doing geography here.
is it a lot more advanced than yr 10 geography.
is it counted as one of the easy subjects to hsc or not.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Messages
1,948
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

honestly, I wouldn't go for society and culture/community and family studeis. They can be very complicated. However, if you are good at writing essays and analyse informations, these subjects might be suitable for you.
For economics and legal studies, you still have to write essays, but they dont require as much English skills as the other two do.
So, take your time to decide. :)
what makes you say cafs is complicated?
 

supre

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
155
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

actually now after all that big discussion on my subject selection. i have finally got my subjects in place. they are
advanced english, business studies, extension 1 math, chemistry, biology and community and family studies.
so thats 13 units.
thanks sooo much to everyone to replied to my post.
every reply made a difference.
:wave:
 

slyhunter

Retired
Joined
May 17, 2009
Messages
6,803
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

actually now after all that big discussion on my subject selection. i have finally got my subjects in place. they are
advanced english, business studies, extension 1 math, chemistry, biology and community and family studies.
so thats 13 units.
thanks sooo much to everyone to replied to my post.
every reply made a difference.
:wave:
i like your subjects. its a nice balance and covers a lot of stuff.

ps. the HSC geo exam requires you to bring in a "small packet of coloured pencils" not joking. check yourself

this equates to instant fail
 

supre

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
155
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

i like your subjects. its a nice balance and covers a lot of stuff.

ps. the HSC geo exam requires you to bring in a "small packet of coloured pencils" not joking. check yourself

this equates to instant fail
why is that? why do u need coloured pencils for an hsc exam. plus cant they provide some if u forget or something.
 

happycupcake

New Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
26
Location
Sydney
Gender
Female
HSC
2010
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

TO SUPRE:

I'm doing legal and society & culture this year. I think legal is harder but that's just my personal opinion because you need to learn more content but what's 'easy' is different for everyone!! Society is more general knowledge stuff. Do it if you're interested in learning about a different culture in depth (unfortunately you wont be able to choose the country you study). Do society if you are good with remembering terminology as that's what you need to include in everything you do on Society to get good marks.
For legal, you need to also remember definitions, legislation and case studies.
Both subjects require quite a bit of writing. So IMO, Society is more straightforward but Legal is way more interesting. Society is a big bore sometimes, unless you have an interesting teacher!
Scaling for legal and society is quite similar but legal is SLIGHTLY higher. Say scaling for the 'average' subject is 0, legal would be a bit higher than 0 while Society would be a BIT lower. There's not much difference though so DON'T base your choice on scaling!!
I did my prelim trial exams a few weeks ago and both legal and society require the same amount of writing. There's multiple choice, then short answer, then extended reponse (like an essay).

I don't do geography, did it last year though (its mandatory from yrs 7-10). I did take a peek at the trial exam, and it looks a lot like last year's stuff. I say if you're doing well in geo this year, then do it next year. Also note that you'll have to do a Senior Geography Project if you continue with it. I kinda wish I did Geo this year, it was one of my best subjects last year.

Try and do advanced english if you get B's or A's. You can always drop down to standard later on. Same goes with maths.
I've heard business is quite easy, its kind of low scaling. But if you're interested in it then disregard scaling and other hearsay.
Biology is a popular choice... I don't do any maths or science so I'm no expert on this..
Chemistry is also high scaling assuming that you'll get high marks in it. But it's known to be quite hard (as is physics, economics and extension subjects, which have higher scaling). Eco is high scaling because there's a lot of content. Legal is at an average difficulty level, but it's different for everyone - like for me, I find legal hard. CAFS is known to be EASY (it's got crap scaling, like general maths) but it's actually got a whole heap of content you need to remember and it's frustrating. It seems like general knowledge stuff and it's kind of a pointless subject but it's actually hard in some ways - you need to get your terminology right and everything. You MUST answer questions the way the syllabus says to. Which doesn't work with some people, like me (I got my CAFS prelim exam back and FAILED!! ARGH!!I'm honestly really shocked...)

Basically, things are hard and easy for different people. But generally, in order of difficulty:
1. cafs - easiest
2. society
3. legal
4. economics - hardest

Also TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION YOUR SCHOOL CERT MARKS! They can help to indicate how you're going.

PS: I STRONGLY urge you to take up extension subjects if you can, as they can help you get into the ATAR range of 90+. You need to set yourself apart from everyone else and do more rigorous subjects if you want to do better. Also you should do 13 or 14 units for your prelim year. So in year 12, you can drop a subject if you find you don't like it. :)

Hope this helps SUPRE! :) Sorry it's quite long.
 
Last edited:

supre

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Messages
155
Gender
Female
HSC
2011
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

TO SUPRE:

I'm doing legal and society & culture this year. I think legal is harder but that's just my personal opinion because you need to learn more content but what's 'easy' is different for everyone!! Society is more general knowledge stuff. Do it if you're interested in learning about a different culture in depth (unfortunately you wont be able to choose the country you study). Do society if you are good with remembering terminology as that's what you need to include in everything you do on Society to get good marks.
For legal, you need to also remember definitions, legislation and case studies.
Both subjects require quite a bit of writing. So IMO, Society is more straightforward but Legal is way more interesting. Society is a big bore sometimes, unless you have an interesting teacher!
Scaling for legal and society is quite similar but legal is SLIGHTLY higher. Say scaling for the 'average' subject is 0, legal would be a bit higher than 0 while Society would be a BIT lower. There's not much difference though so DON'T base your choice on scaling!!
I did my prelim trial exams a few weeks ago and both legal and society require the same amount of writing. There's multiple choice, then short answer, then extended reponse (like an essay).

I don't do geography, did it last year though (its mandatory from yrs 7-10). I did take a peek at the trial exam, and it looks a lot like last year's stuff. I say if you're doing well in geo this year, then do it next year. Also note that you'll have to do a Senior Geography Project if you continue with it. I kinda wish I did Geo this year, it was one of my best subjects last year.

Try and do advanced english if you get B's or A's. You can always drop down to standard later on. Same goes with maths.
I've heard business is quite easy, its kind of low scaling. But if you're interested in it then disregard scaling and other hearsay.
Biology is a popular choice... I don't do any maths or science so I'm no expert on this..
Chemistry is also high scaling assuming that you'll get high marks in it. But it's known to be quite hard (as is physics, economics and extension subjects, which have higher scaling). Eco is high scaling because there's a lot of content. Legal is at an average difficulty level, but it's different for everyone - like for me, I find legal hard. CAFS is known to be EASY (it's got crap scaling, like general maths) but it's actually got a whole heap of content you need to remember and it's frustrating. It seems like general knowledge stuff and it's kind of a pointless subject but it's actually hard in some ways - you need to get your terminology right and everything. You MUST answer questions the way the syllabus says to. Which doesn't work with some people, like me (I got my CAFS prelim exam back and FAILED!! ARGH!!I'm honestly really shocked...)

Basically, things are hard and easy for different people. But generally, in order of difficulty:
1. cafs - easiest
2. society
3. legal
4. economics - hardest

Also TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION YOUR SCHOOL CERT MARKS! They can help to indicate how you're going.

PS: I STRONGLY urge you to take up extension subjects if you can, as they can help you get into the ATAR range of 90+. You need to set yourself apart from everyone else and do more rigorous subjects if you want to do better. Also you should do 13 or 14 units for your prelim year. So in year 12, you can drop a subject if you find you don't like it. :)

Hope this helps SUPRE! :) Sorry it's quite long.
wow... thanks sooo much ur information was really helpful. i will definately take everything u said into consideration before i make my final decision.
thanks again for ur great advice.:angel:
 

-may-cat-

Tired Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
3,472
Gender
Female
HSC
2008
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

Basically, things are hard and easy for different people. But generally, in order of difficulty:
1. cafs - easiest
2. society
3. legal

4. economics - hardest
I disagree with you on this, i found legal to be the easiest subject i had during the HSC (and i did visual arts =/). Legal is simply mindless memorisation, there is zero analysis, you just spew out cases, legislation, media articles etc and that's it, full marks.

Society and culture actually requires you to use your brain, the whole course is based around the active application of concepts to different situations- there is no defined right answer that will give you the marks it all depends on the effort you put into making a seamless argument. Not to mention the major work in year 12, the PIP is not at all easy, it requires constant work throughout the year.

So yeah, i really wouldn't consider legal a difficult subject at all, which is great if you're just looking for an easy pass as the course can be pretty interesting if you get good modules (if you get stuck with something like shelters or workplace though, the year will be death).
 

alisondance

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2008
Messages
62
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

i took community and family studies as an extra, best thing i did it turned out to be my ffavorite.
Basically it extends on your common knowledge so is pretty dam easy. it really opens your eyes though and makes you more aware of things you knew.

you study a variety of things including groups within society their needs etc, parenting and caring, working trends etc. soun ds boring but is quite interesting.

the major work is pretty easy too. it seems like a lot though spread over the year is fine and it allows you to look into a topic your interested in. it doesnt even take away from other subjects and the information learnt in it can often be used in other subject essays to show a furthered knowledge.
 

Amogh

Member
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
751
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Re: which one? economics,legal studies,society n culture or community n family studie

I disagree with you on this, i found legal to be the easiest subject i had during the HSC (and i did visual arts =/). Legal is simply mindless memorisation, there is zero analysis, you just spew out cases, legislation, media articles etc and that's it, full marks.

Society and culture actually requires you to use your brain, the whole course is based around the active application of concepts to different situations- there is no defined right answer that will give you the marks it all depends on the effort you put into making a seamless argument. Not to mention the major work in year 12, the PIP is not at all easy, it requires constant work throughout the year.

So yeah, i really wouldn't consider legal a difficult subject at all, which is great if you're just looking for an easy pass as the course can be pretty interesting if you get good modules (if you get stuck with something like shelters or workplace though, the year will be death).
Dont you find memorising harder than thinking logically.?
I certainly do.

at supre: go to your library and look up books of the courses...may help you in deciding
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 2)

Top