by Fariha Uddin (1st year)
What does a typical day studying English Language and Literature at Keble look like?
English does not have a lot of contact hours, so timetables look very different for everyone. For my first term, I have just about less than 6 hours of contact time on my busiest week.
A typical day includes either a class or a tutorial, which is where you write your essay beforehand, and discuss your approach to the text(s) in the session. Outside the contact hours, we are expected to structure our own schedules. Reading up on secondary criticisms, re-reading primary texts, planning or writing essays take up a lot of the time during the day. But there are always opportunities in the evening to go for a run in the University Parks (only a few minutes away!), hang out with your friends/housemates, or pursue other interests outside of your degree too!
Why do you like studying English at Keble?
Studying English at Keble is very different compared to the other colleges as Keble teaches prose in the first term, and poetry in the second term. This means that you get to read a wider range of texts in more depth! Although, every week there is a possibility of writing a 2000-word essay, you get to choose your essay question, or come up with your own. Also, there are a lot of set texts to choose from to write your essay on each week, and that provides opportunities to write on texts you find enjoyable.
Personal statement advice
Make sure to write about books that you have read and interests you.
Try not to write about too many books, i.e. less than ten books ideally, because you can be asked about anything in relation to any of those books in the interview.
Structurally, there is no ‘perfect’ way to go about it but having three (or four) paragraphs rather than two long paragraphs will make your statement easier to read.
Content wise, writing about why you want to pursue English at a degree level, and which areas of literature/authors/texts interest you are some things to consider.
Rather than dedicating a whole paragraph to extra-curriculars, Oxford really values ‘super-curricular’ activities which show you have taken an independent interest to study English beyond what you have been taught in your classes. Such as if you have gone on a theatre trip to a play you have read or currently studying. Any lectures you have seen online, or MOOCs you have completed are great to mention, but do not forget to elaborate on what you have learned or taken away from them.
Listening to podcasts can be another ‘super-curricular’ activity. The ‘In Our Time’ podcasts by BBC Radio 4 each feature around 40 minutes of discussion on an author/text.
Any essay writing/creative writing competitions you have entered are great to write about too, and you do not necessarily have to have won the competitions to mention them.
You DO NOT need to have done all the ‘super-curriculars’ mentioned above!
If you still want to write about extra-curriculars, sticking to no more than three lines at the most is advisable, such as any sports you play, job, volunteering or leadership role held at school can all reflect good time management skill which is so crucial for an English degree.
Finally, keep it simple! Using words which are too long or seem out of place are best if left out.
ELAT: English Literature Admissions Test
The ELAT assesses your close-reading skills and how you respond to unfamiliar texts. You will have six extracts of different forms. To prepare for this, pick out a book randomly from a bookshelf, and select an extract to practice your close-reading skills.
The best way to prepare is to look up past papers online, and try to do as many as possible, preferably one or two a week until the test date. If possible, ask your teachers if they can mark a practice paper you have completed nearer the time. Try to stick to the 90-minute time slot when completing them. You could also collect a few passages with the same theme from different books and create your own past papers if you run out of them.
The ‘Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing’ website has some excellent tips, including the structure of the exam, and all the past papers from the previous years can be found here.
Interview advice
For English, I had two interviews at Keble. I was given some pre-reading materials, half an hour before the interview to read. Most of both my interviews were discussions of the materials, and at the end, I was asked about books from my personal statement and literature in general. In my experience, the format of the interview varies by college although there are some similarities.
Few tips for before the interview:
Re-read any books you have mentioned in the personal statement if possible.
Reading your personal statement right before the interviews is also advisable.
Key point: Many interviewees forget that your school reference on your UCAS application is also another source from which questions can be asked. Request a copy of the reference from your college/sixth form, and pinpoint anything literature-related that you think could come up in the interview.
During the pre-reading session, having a system of analysing a poem will come to great use. Such as using different highlighters to mark rhyme, meter, structure, and language. Noting down any interesting patterns, and what form the poem takes are other ways of preparing for the interview. Also, bring your own highlighters as they are not always provided!
Few tips for during the interview:
Think. Out. Loud. These three words are the most important. To prepare for this, practice talking to yourself about a book you have mentioned in front of a mirror or get one of your friends to ask you questions you have not prepared for.
Do not be afraid to express any unique ideas you might have from the pre-reading materials if you have convincing evidence to defend your argument. Remember that no idea is too much of a stretch if you can explain your point of perspective!
Ask if you are unsure about the meaning of a word at the start rather than spending precious minutes figuring it out yourself.
Finally, you may feel a little stressed before, but the interviews are a great chance to discuss texts that you are particularly interested in/find new ways of thinking about them. You may find yourself surprised at how much you end up enjoying the experience! Good luck.
Make sure to also check out this video on our Youtube channel for more advice on the interview: https://youtu.be/VdrxNbzA1IE