Question for English students at Durham!

Spot on. Personally, I'm doing 4 english modules and a French and a history elective, so I get 5 essays for each of the 2 terms plus tests etc for French. Hey Kathryn, how does it pan out in the second year?

P.S. Come to Durham - you'll get lectures from Dr James. He is godly.

Reply 3

durhamdosser

4

Jelkin

Spot on. Personally, I'm doing 4 english modules and a French and a history elective, so I get 5 essays for each of the 2 terms plus tests etc for French. Hey Kathryn, how does it pan out in the second year?

P.S. Come to Durham - you'll get lectures from Dr James. He is godly.

Second and third year really depends on, again, what combination of modules you do. You can choose two Special Topic modules in one year and one in another (ie three in all, but not all in the same year) and these run in fortnightly two-hour seminars with 2 3000-word summative essays, 1 due at the start of reading week and the other due the week before exams start. I really, really wouldn't recommend doing 2 Special Topics in third year. I'm currently laughing at all my friends who did, cos they now have 2 essays to write as well as their dissertations. Oh yeah, single module dissertation in 3rd year is an 8000-word essay. I should really start working on mine soon.

Other than that, lecture modules run in the same way as first year - you'll have 2 tutorials for each in Michaelmas and Epiphany, and an essay per term too. Unless you do Old English/Old Norse. You probably shouldn't. I wish I hadn't. Ugh.

Reply 4

OP

So 6 essays per term...and how long are the terms, about 10 weeks? That seems a fair amount to do, I was just worried I'd not be able to keep up with the workload.

Do you guys find that because of what you've learnt it's not too hard writing these essays? Because I've just finished my A2 coursework and it's 3000 words but it took me a while - does the ability to write longer essays just come with time?

Reply 5

username84864

This is all making me really excited. I love English, but my brother does it at Oxford and while the course mostly seems to be working for him I think I'd explode. This all sounds perfect.
Bugger, have to get the three As now.

Reply 6

durhamdosser

4

crankycaz

So 6 essays per term...and how long are the terms, about 10 weeks? That seems a fair amount to do, I was just worried I'd not be able to keep up with the workload.

Do you guys find that because of what you've learnt it's not too hard writing these essays? Because I've just finished my A2 coursework and it's 3000 words but it took me a while - does the ability to write longer essays just come with time?

Michaelmas term is 10 weeks, then the two after that are both 9 weeks. The workload isn't too bad, but I think pretty much every English student I know has a horrible habit of leaving their essays until the very last minute. Which is silly, but still happens.

Essays - depends, to be honest. I don't feel as if the way I write has changed much since 6th form, and I'm an elderly third year now. I suppose my style must have matured in some way but they don't 'teach' you how to write an essay. How easy it is writing them depends on how much you've connected with the text, whether you've bothered going to the lecture and listening in the tutorial, and how much time and effort you're prepared and able to put into it. I *could* theoretically bash out 3000 words in a day with very little secondary reading, but it'd be crap. But yeah, having said all that I suppose you do get used to writing more - it can be hard to restrict yourself to the word limit sometimes if you really get into it. Other times you might be padding for all your worth trying to get it up to the minimum.

tacceber

This is all making me really excited. I love English, but my brother does it at Oxford and while the course mostly seems to be working for him I think I'd explode. This all sounds perfect.
Bugger, have to get the three As now.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do it. You'll all be sickened to know that my year was the last one to get AAB offers. And I got AAB. Hehe, I'm so much stupider than you lot.
Oh, and our course is higher ranking in the league tables than Oxford. And we have more fun cos we have more free time and more student activities than pretty much anywhere.

And we have Dr James :biggrin:

Reply 7

OP

Yeah, screw Oxbridge, Durham's the best for English! I was bitter, but actually I'm now really pleased to be (hopefully) going to Durham because it seems academic and relaxed at the same time. I like that. :smile:

Reply 8

Durham is fantastic. I gotta say, I am one of those people who finds it nigh on impossible to stick to the word limit - I generally write entire essays, then have to cut them down. Then I get marked down for not going into enough detail in each point :frown:

It's okay, though - I am making an effort to change my work ethic.

Reply 9

Fazorme

I've applied to Durham for the M.A., in a kind of 'it's the same as Bristol's, why not' way - now they want me to go for interview/chat xD I'm really disinclined to travel from Bristol to Durham for a place I'm not that keen on, so I was wondering if anyone could say great things about English at Durham to whip up some passion in me once more (all passion for everything is gone at the moment - this Friday was my dissertation deadline, along with a seperate unit. My literary mind is knackered). So, yeh, I'm really looking for a reason to go, as opposed to my apathetic 'it's too far' approach :wink:

But let's leave league table out of this!

Reply 10

OP

Woot monty! I made an open application and got into Van Mildert which I'm happy about because it has a cool name and there is a pond with ducks and fairly new accomodation so it's all good!

Why is Hatfield the 'bad' choice? Oh, I have heard it's where the bitter Oxbridge rejects choose to go, but that's probably a load of twaddle, you'll get people like that everywhere!

Reply 11

crankycaz

Woot monty! I made an open application and got into Van Mildert which I'm happy about because it has a cool name and there is a pond with ducks and fairly new accomodation so it's all good!

Why is Hatfield the 'bad' choice? Oh, I have heard it's where the bitter Oxbridge rejects choose to go, but that's probably a load of twaddle, you'll get people like that everywhere!

Surely Durham is full of bitter Oxford rejects? No one wants to be here, that's why Durham scores so highly on the Student Satisfaction tables :rolleyes:

I don't know anything about postgrad English but all the tutors I have come into contact with are brilliant and this is an absolutely beautiful city! I'm from Dorset but I'm so glad I didn't let the distance put me off. You may as well see what it's like, right?

Reply 12

OP

Lol, I'm not too bitter really. I wasn't right for Oxford anyway, knew I should've put down UCL instead of Oxford!

Reply 13