Personal Statement Question

Hello! I'm currently working on my personal statement for English and found that I'm not really sure how many writers I should mention in it.

I've read through the advice on the personal statements that I've found on the site and I've realised that I don't want to monopolise it by listing every author I've ever enjoyed, but I don't want to focus on too few authors either.

Anyway, it'd be super helpful if someone could let me know how many authors they refered to in theirs, just as a guide. I was thinking somewhere between four and six, perhaps?

Thanks!

Reply 1

epitome

Between four and six sounds sensible - not too few that you're limited, not too may that you don't have time to read new stuff and prepare a bit for any interviews you might have. :smile:

If you can mix different genres in, that's good too!

Reply 2

la fille danse

I think I mentioned three.

Reply 3

Ziggy_Stardust

Alrighty. At least I've got an idea of what I can be putting in now.

Thanks! :smile:

Reply 4

mnem89

I didn't actually mention authors, more periods I was interested in. Also, I talked about why I wanted to study English, what reading and studying books did for me etc.

Reply 5

richardseapower

I've got about ten on mine, whoops, though some I go into depth on and some I just name while discussing writing period...

Reply 6

QBee

I mentioned my favourite (at the time) genre and gave a few examples of that and then linked that to another movement I enjoyed. I mentioned I liked literature of different countries and gave a couple of examples with passing remarks and then talked about why I enjoyed tragedies better than comedies (Shakespeare), listing my favourites. I think this was all in a couple of paragraphs. Try and give broad examples (different genres, different types of text such as poetry and drama); I think it shows you have a wider interest that if you just mentioned a couple of your favourite authors, for example. :smile:

Reply 7

cheerios

mine is joint with h.o.a - only 3

Reply 8

Last Summer's Dream

Ohh God, I've mentioned like 10 I think..

Larkin, Ellis, Swift, Ford, Blake, Clare, Plath, Miller, Nabakov, Pinter and Shakespeare.

I haven't gone into great detail. And, it's more about specific work of theirs. For example, why I like the romantic poetry.. Mention Blake and Clare.. Then mention 'I am' and say how I'm interested in literature about mental illness and depression.. Then mention Plath and say how for coursework I'm comparing how the treatment of mental illness is approached in The Bell Jar and Regeneration.

So, instead of focusing on why I love a particular author/poet/playwright I'm focusing more on themes and periods I enjoy and showing examples of what I've read within them.

Is that okay? Or am I overkilling?

So, instead of

Reply 9

packupthemoon

Do you think it matters if your statement ends up fairly modern? It's not that I don't enjoy older stuff, and I have talked about things like Blake, Milton and Chaucer, but also modern writers - especially Angela Carter and Philip Pullman. I'm probably applying for Oxford, York, Bristol, Cardiff and Durham.