What's it really like being an English Lit student?

You have a lot of free time. It's basically a self taught course and if you've got half a brain you'll do fine even if you skip seminars and lectures - I never found them particularly helpful. Plus examiners expect you to come up with more original ideas anyway.

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Hate the bastard subject

Sounds intense.

How come?

The Essays.

Its like I've got permanent writers block, I know how to do the questions but I can't seem to express my ideas coherently, I always get B's in it I'm really hoping for an A at the end of GCSE's.

oh man, sounds like a pain.

have you tried mind mapping your ideas before you begin your essays? for me personally, having a plan before you write always helps. c:

Some important things to keep in mind when considering studying English Literature:

- It's true that it is a very independent course, and not largely fact-based like science or law (for example) would be. It's very much about bringing your own ideas and interpretations to the book or literature that you're studying.
- I'd say it's fairly important to like or love reading because, obviously, you will be doing a LOT of it.
- Exams are basically all essay based, and you will probably have a lot more coursework and essays to do than other subjects, with less exams.
- The amount of work goes up a lot from A Level to University - at my A Levels I did 3 books a term, but at University it was more like 3 books a week.
- Be confident with your ideas!

As you're only doing your GCSE's at the moment, I would say try and pay attention to the best ways that you learn, and which areas of study/exams you do best in. Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions!