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What to include in my english PS help needed ASAP!!!

For my personal statement, I have Talked about:
-2 course texts (One play, one compilation of poetry)
-spoken in detail about an epic poem and my poetry related epq
-brushed over 2 novels
-spoken about a novel in relative detail alongside a poem
-talked about a critical work and an ideogical piece
(aswell as an intro/ extra curriculars etc)

Is this enough or too heavily poetry related? Do i need to include more insight about what i have enjoyed novel-wise

please help
Reply 1
bump
Reply 2
For my personal statement, I have Talked about:
-2 course texts (One play, one compilation of poetry)
-spoken in detail about an epic poem and my poetry related epq
-brushed over 2 novels
-spoken about a novel in relative detail alongside a poem
-talked about a critical work and an ideogical piece
(aswell as an intro/ extra curriculars etc)

Is this enough or too heavily poetry related? Do i need to include more insight about what i have enjoyed novel-wise

please help
Any further reading you have done and awards recieved
Reply 4
Original post by Magnus Taylor
Any further reading you have done and awards recieved

but is the further reading I listed too poetry heavy?
It's quality over quantity. And you need to make sure that it doesn't sound like an essay, but you need to talk about why analysing the texts interests you
Reply 6
Original post by *Interrobang*
It's quality over quantity. And you need to make sure that it doesn't sound like an essay, but you need to talk about why analysing the texts interests you


have done so, thanks alot
Don't try to mention too much, avoiding listing. Just make sure that whatever you mention you comment on how it has furthered your desire to study English.
Original post by Willburrr
For my personal statement, I have Talked about:
-2 course texts (One play, one compilation of poetry)
-spoken in detail about an epic poem and my poetry related epq
-brushed over 2 novels
-spoken about a novel in relative detail alongside a poem
-talked about a critical work and an ideogical piece
(aswell as an intro/ extra curriculars etc)

Is this enough or too heavily poetry related? Do i need to include more insight about what i have enjoyed novel-wise

please help


This seems like a lot to have talked about in enough depth to be useful. Just name dropping things you have read won't really have any value, so it's important to discuss something if you're going to mention it. It's generally better to discuss slightly less things in depth than mentioning lots of things without ever discussing any of them properly. Could you perhaps drop one piece and discuss another in more depth?

If you've mentioned a piece without mentioning why it interested you/why it furthered your desire to study English then it's not adding value.

Have you checked your line/character length on UCAS (it's worth bearing in mind that nearly everyone hits the line limit on UCAS before they hit the character limit)?

Also, have you included a conclusion? Even if it's only a few lines, I do think this helps the content of your PS stick in admissions tutors minds, especially when they may skim over some sections.
Reply 9
When I wrote my personal statement I actually didn't mention any books I studied in school because I felt everyone mentions the same texts and if they really care about that they can touch on it with you in the interview. If you mention poetry make sure everything you mention is something you can have an extended conversation about and not just something you know because you briefly studied.
Reply 11
Original post by nicoblue7
When I wrote my personal statement I actually didn't mention any books I studied in school because I felt everyone mentions the same texts and if they really care about that they can touch on it with you in the interview. If you mention poetry make sure everything you mention is something you can have an extended conversation about and not just something you know because you briefly studied.


the course texts i mentioned lea me to discuss other texts in more detail,

e.g. Studying 'Course text' intorduced me to 'external text' then analysis

is this a poor approach
Original post by Willburrr
the course texts i mentioned lea me to discuss other texts in more detail,

e.g. Studying 'Course text' intorduced me to 'external text' then analysis

is this a poor approach


Remember it shouldn't just be an analysis like an essay. Tbh how you discovered a text is not important, so just talk about the actual text you are focusing on
Reply 13
Original post by *Interrobang*
Remember it shouldn't just be an analysis like an essay. Tbh how you discovered a text is not important, so just talk about the actual text you are focusing on


ah okay, thanks very much
Original post by Willburrr
For my personal statement, I have Talked about:
-2 course texts (One play, one compilation of poetry)
-spoken in detail about an epic poem and my poetry related epq
-brushed over 2 novels
-spoken about a novel in relative detail alongside a poem
-talked about a critical work and an ideogical piece
(aswell as an intro/ extra curriculars etc)

Is this enough or too heavily poetry related? Do i need to include more insight about what i have enjoyed novel-wise

please help


I think that's so much things you've written about! Far too much! 60% should be focused on your subject you intend to study and then the remainder should be focused about you! University isn't just about the academic side, but also about the social side. Universities want to see what you can bring to their uni, not just the skills on how to make a text sounds good, but what can your personality bring to it too. I literally wrote about 3 texts (one theory of Children's Language Acquisition (Applied for English Lang/Lit at the time)).

I would say you have a mix bag of genre so it's fine and unis understand you will have preferences. For instance, I never wrote about one drama as I couldn't be asked or anything. I wrote about two novels and 1 epic poem which was it. The rest was to do with me, and English Language. You should now try to focus on a bit more about you.
Original post by Willburrr
For my personal statement, I have Talked about:
-2 course texts (One play, one compilation of poetry)
-spoken in detail about an epic poem and my poetry related epq
-brushed over 2 novels
-spoken about a novel in relative detail alongside a poem
-talked about a critical work and an ideogical piece
(aswell as an intro/ extra curriculars etc)

Is this enough or too heavily poetry related? Do i need to include more insight about what i have enjoyed novel-wise

please help


The Empire Odyssey has offered great advice and so I only want to add slightly to what he's said. I wouldn't worry too much about quantity here, but it's the quality of the analysis which is important. Have you merely mentioned some of these works or have you given them some thought and spoken about themes which are present for example or the portrayal of character types? In short you've spoken about 10 works, but how many of those would you say that you have used to show off your analytical skills? Be aware of that as well as the need for insight; I don't think that the balance matters too much by comparison.
Reply 16
Original post by The Empire Odyssey
I think that's so much things you've written about! Far too much! 60% should be focused on your subject you intend to study and then the remainder should be focused about you! University isn't just about the academic side, but also about the social side. Universities want to see what you can bring to their uni, not just the skills on how to make a text sounds good, but what can your personality bring to it too. I literally wrote about 3 texts (one theory of Children's Language Acquisition (Applied for English Lang/Lit at the time)).

I would say you have a mix bag of genre so it's fine and unis understand you will have preferences. For instance, I never wrote about one drama as I couldn't be asked or anything. I wrote about two novels and 1 epic poem which was it. The rest was to do with me, and English Language. You should now try to focus on a bit more about you.


Thank you very much, great advice bro!
Reply 17
Original post by toronto353
The Empire Odyssey has offered great advice and so I only want to add slightly to what he's said. I wouldn't worry too much about quantity here, but it's the quality of the analysis which is important. Have you merely mentioned some of these works or have you given them some thought and spoken about themes which are present for example or the portrayal of character types? In short you've spoken about 10 works, but how many of those would you say that you have used to show off your analytical skills? Be aware of that as well as the need for insight; I don't think that the balance matters too much by comparison.


Yeah I'm going to tone it down thanks, cheers
Original post by Willburrr
For my personal statement, I have Talked about:
-2 course texts (One play, one compilation of poetry)
-spoken in detail about an epic poem and my poetry related epq
-brushed over 2 novels
-spoken about a novel in relative detail alongside a poem
-talked about a critical work and an ideogical piece
(aswell as an intro/ extra curriculars etc)

Is this enough or too heavily poetry related? Do i need to include more insight about what i have enjoyed novel-wise

please help


That's a very long list, are you sure you can talk about all that in 47 lines? . Definitely include your epq, maybe one of your favourite novels instead of brushing over two, and just generally why you want to study the course and your career aspirations. :smile:


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On top of the above advice: make sure you've checked the course content for each of your choices, particularly to find out how much of the courses you're applying to involve poetry.

English degrees DO vary between universities so don't assume there is a standard curriculum like there is at A level.

If one of your choices happens to be a BA English with little to no poetry involved (or maybe where poetry is only an option in 3rd year) then while your PS might be perfectly fine it will demonstrate that you haven't done your research.

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