UEA English supercurricular

Hi, I'm currently still in school but we've been talking a lot about getting prepared for higher education now (yeah...I know how far-fetched it sounds :rolleyes:

) and I'd really love to go to East Anglia. It just seems like a fantastic place to learn, and the degrees I've been looking at (American & English Lit., English Lit. w/ Creative Writing) seem really interesting. I'm going to work really hard to get the grades needed to go here, and hopefully get in if I do end up applying, but I was just wondering to anyone who goes here and did any type of English degree, what kind of supercurricular activities can I do in the mean time to make myself stick out more and seem more appealing? Reading certain texts or researching certain things, I'm not sure. Whatever you've got would be really helpful. Thank you!

Reply 1

watabi

Original post by jargonglossary

Hi, I'm currently still in school but we've been talking a lot about getting prepared for higher education now (yeah...I know how far-fetched it sounds :rolleyes:

Hey,

I am currently just waiting to get my results in August and have UEA as my firm choice for English Literature and Creative Writing. So I have been through the hell that is UCAS application at the beginning of the year 13! With regards to writing your personal statement, it's always appreciated to volunteer at a library or to be able to expand on a particular book you have read.

If you personal message me, I'll be more than happy to send you my personal statement as an example of how yours should be written (baring in mind mine was for an Oxbridge application which can be written slightly differently).

Hope this helps! :biggrin:

University of East Anglia

Norwich

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Reply 2

KieranDD

I've got an offer from UEA for English. Since this is all personal statement fodder you're talking about, I'll break down the content of my statement. Total: 640 words.

337 words about how I bloody love books. I love this book, I love that book, I've been studying these books and talking about this. I talked about a range of authors - started off with a John Green quote, mentioned Salinger and Kafka, referenced The Hungry Caterpillar for a laugh and talked about the texts I studied for A2 coursework and what I found interesting about them (I think mentioning that I chose one of the texts myself was a worthwhile thing).

212 words about my other subjects and how they relate (skills-wise) back to English, about my EPQ, about my future ambitions and my feelings about how bloody great books are, if I didn't mention it already.

142 words on Duke of Edinburgh and my conclusion.

English isn't medicine, you can't get an internship as a published novelist (or even at a publisher under the age of 18). It seems to me that a pretty good way of getting the attention of whoever reads these things is to really, emphatically, skilfully and - most importantly - genuinely portray your passion for literature - all literature. Demonstrate that you are a student who is deeply interested in everything an English course has to offer. So in terms of extracurriculars? Read. Read a lot, read broadly, follow your passions. That last one is key - you want to portray genuine interest, not come off as a box-ticker. Talk about what interests you outside of what you have studied and let your passion come across through your words.

One tip I heard from a member of Royal Holloway's English department at an open day was that, at interviews, too many students will have written that they have developed a real interest in Jane Austen after reading Pride and Prejudice for school but, when asked, haven't actually read any other novels of hers, or something like that. Don't be that person - talk about literature that genuinely excites you. Breadth is important and I'm sure appreciation for the classics is a plus, but don't fake it.

man, i can write a lot when i don't feel like going to bed. hope that helps!

Reply 3

zeinsadedin

I'm doing English Lit with Creative Writing starting this September. I was in a different school system as I'm an international student so I already received my grades in early July. As for my personal statement, it's pretty much the same as the previous replies say it should be. What you really need to show is your love for reading and your passion for literature. If you're applying for the course with creative writing you should also demonstrate your interest in writing. Talk about WHY you love reading and WHY you love writing. Don't just tell the readers what you think they want to hear. Show them that you've got something to say.

I tried to make it seem more personal (which isn't always recommended as if you overdo it your personal statement may seem too informal BUT if you can balance it out this can be very beneficial) by adding in a few anecdotes that demonstrate my love for reading. Generally in writing, it's always better to show than tell. Telling your readers information can get boring (though at times it's unavoidable - especially in the personal statement). For example, I started off by describing how I would always get yelled at by my parents for staying up and reading past my bedtime. I would eventually fall asleep with the book on my face and that's how they would find out. It isn't THE MOST fascinating story in the world, but it's better than saying something like "I have always loved reading, even as a child." They were very short and briefly mentioned but it was a nice way to start off. Readers always say that a generic personal statement can get very boring as they do read hundreds of them during the application process.

It's also a good idea to plan your statement by making a list of your favourite works of literature that you know well and can talk about. Never mention a book in your statement that you can't talk about in depth because if they ask you about it in an interview and you don't know it as well as you made it seem - it looks really bad. You don't have to look for quirky books that make you seem well-read. If you know your stuff, it'll show. Also avoid talking about books that you read in school. Demonstrate your interest in a wider range of literature by talking about books you've read by yourself or in a book club.

Another thing I did was I talked about one particular line in a poem and why it resonated with me. I discussed how I felt it connected to my own personal life and the environment around me even though that wasn't the specific intention of the poet. It's little things like this that will help you display your ability to think critically about works of literature.

While I agree with the others that the most important activity you can do is to read, read, read, read, and then read some more, I also recommend joining a book club, or writing for your local newspaper, or starting/joining a literary magazine. If you already have a few pieces of your own, you could think of publishing them as well. I had a few works published online, led my school's literary magazine, as well as having attended a creative writing summer programme in the University of St Andrews a few years back. If you take part in activities like this and talk about why they further developed your interest in this field and so on and so forth it could definitely give you a hand.

However, if - for whatever reason - you don't have access to things like this or you don't really have time or something like that, don't worry about it. The most important thing is to read and to explore the wide range of literature that's out there. Just don't pretend to be something you're not because they can see right through it.

It wouldn't hurt if you started working on a portfolio as UEA usually asks for one if they like your personal statement and the rest of your application.

If you want, I can send you my personal statement if it can be of assistance. Just message me and I'm more than happy to help you if you have any other questions. :smile: