English Language vs. English Literature

Reply 40

Tateco

14

Original post by Jack.O

Why is that?

Because creative writing is about writing well (I assume) so language would be more useful? (I assume)

Reply 41

aarora

18

I'm doing law and I studied the combined course, English Language & Literature, if you find yourself to be better at language rather than doing lang on its own i'd suggest doing the combined course its good :smile:

Reply 42

kim1234567

I'm going to do the combined degree at uni, so I can't say which I prefer! In all honesty I decided to do the combined degree because I really really enjoy Language, but Lit opens so many more doors and is generally highly respected. That said, both are enjoyable. :smile:

This post probably wasn't helpful at all :p:

Reply 43

Debbay16

When choosing my options, I first chose English Lit, but then seeing that the set texts were set on nature, I was immediately turned off (although some of my friends say that the teacher makes it more interesting) and decided to switch to English Language.

I think that English Language is more technical, and more applicable in your everyday life, because you begin to pay more attention to language in social contexts . Combined with a language (I do italian) English Lang is even more fulfilling, and eases the process of learning complex grammatical structures (well that's what I found).

The AS is quite different from GCSE, the creative writing aspect is balanced with commentaries and style models (which are a bit tedious I will admit) but the A2 really allows you to choose an area of investigation that interests you, making the course even more interesting! Most people enjoy doing their investigation on language and gender at A2.

I have found that most people start the course and are interested, carry on slightly disgruntled as its not as 'fun' as GCSE, then suddenly it clicks in their minds, and then they have a blissful time at A2! Lol

That's my Lang experience, and also it will NOT hinder a Law application, it is still strong, but just not as popular as Lit.

Reply 44

Snikle

9

I do both English Literature and English Language at A Level. While Lit may be the more established A level (Lang only having been around for a few years) both are very accepted.
Put it this way, Cambridge actually offer a full course on Linguistics and are much more likely to accept you if you have Lang. So yeah, don't listen to the prejudices of people.

Lang is very different at A level to what you did at GCSE, trust me on this. It's basically a science, with a lot of psychology in it.
They're both awesome and I have found A level Lit much easier because of my knowledge of Lang; my coursework this year was a complete cake walk.
One thing I would say is that many people expectthe two to be similar. THEY ARE NOT! To do well at Lnag you have to know your stuff, it's not like Lit where you can bullsh*t parts of it.

Reply 45

merkatron

2

Original post by Snikle

I do both English Literature and English Language at A Level. While Lit may be the more established A level (Lang only having been around for a few years) both are very accepted.
Put it this way, Cambridge actually offer a full course on Linguistics and are much more likely to accept you if you have Lang. So yeah, don't listen to the prejudices of people.

Lang is very different at A level to what you did at GCSE, trust me on this. It's basically a science, with a lot of psychology in it.
They're both awesome and I have found A level Lit much easier because of my knowledge of Lang; my coursework this year was a complete cake walk.
One thing I would say is that many people expectthe two to be similar. THEY ARE NOT! To do well at Lnag you have to know your stuff, it's not like Lit where you can bullsh*t parts of it.

Wise words :smile:

Reply 46

sixthformstudent

Original post by Lollyage

I think the hardest bit is the time limit..Do a past paper in exam conditions to try and get into practice. Also make sure you revise your grammar really really well :smile:

thank you!! :smile:

Reply 47

javvyjingle

11

I think that it's important to understand our language and it's foundations which is why english language is such a good a-level to take. I think it would broaden your vocabulary and help you if you were going to take a foreign language, as I hear they are pretty hard. I'm coming up to deciding (as in next week - ish) my subjects for a-level. Before this, I was going to take english lang out of the two, no question. This is because I feel that novels, poems and prose are totally over-analysed to death and it becomes boring trying to pluck meanings out of thin air just for the sake of it. Is this the case at a-level, or is it a different approach?
Also, I am considering taking law at degree level, but am going to do it at a-level first because I'm new to it. I know a-level law is normally disadvised but how can I do degree if I've never done it before? So anyway, would english language benefit law?? I do write novella's for a pastime so am interested in fiction and its workings but not the over-analysing part?
:smile:

Reply 48

Literatureiseasy

1

Original post by georgeflynn

english lit is much more respected, much more powerful and opens more doors

English lit completely owns Lang

English Lit > Lang

Lang is Lit's *****

Just imagine batman and robin, and you have your comparison

English language is Far harder than lit - , I’ve banged a basic lit essay out in an hour and got 68- you try linking brain damage e.g Broca’s and Wernick’ to language disorder - you have to study the brain in detail - not just have a few good ideas and find a secondary source- English language isn’t just learning how to analyse a sentence . I hate the misguided pretentiousness of Literature graduates

Reply 49

ismaelishere

13

Original post by Literatureiseasy

English language is Far harder than lit - , I’ve banged a basic lit essay out in an hour and got 68- you try linking brain damage e.g Broca’s and Wernick’ to language disorder - you have to study the brain in detail - not just have a few good ideas and find a secondary source- English language isn’t just learning how to analyse a sentence . I hate the misguided pretentiousness of Literature graduates

try memorising hundreds of quotes, knowing books inside out, knowing the entire history of when and why the book was written, societies attitudes and the societal impacts it had, analysing the relationships between characters and the minds that the writer tried to portray. and then tie it all together to answer deep philosophical questions on morality, love. etc.

lit is what maths is to science, the core of the humanities. its a combo of history, sociology, psychology, philosophy, as well as analysing linguistics. u learn to be critical and build good writing skills, as well as stretching your memory. lit is english. lang is more of a science.

English Language vs. English Literature

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