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Super Curricula Reading Oxbridge

Hiya,

I am just wondering how much do I need to write after reading a book that will be potentially mentioned in a personal statement when applying to Oxford.

I understand that after reading or watching a source it is good to jot down a few things that you learnt/taken away from whatever it is, but how in detail does it need to be?

Can it be just literally a few points or do I need to really elaborate?

Thanks!

Lucy :smile:
Is it possible to annotate the book or stick some post-it notes in it? This is what I did and it really helped when I needed to look through everything again before my interview?

I’d also suggest writing a type of review/conclusion summarising the book, what its main points were and how it shaped what you think about the subject now.
oh- and if it helps i’m applying for english lit and german :smile:
Original post by lucygibbons08
Hiya,

I am just wondering how much do I need to write after reading a book that will be potentially mentioned in a personal statement when applying to Oxford.

I understand that after reading or watching a source it is good to jot down a few things that you learnt/taken away from whatever it is, but how in detail does it need to be?

Can it be just literally a few points or do I need to really elaborate?

Thanks!

Lucy :smile:

Hey! For the personal statement itself, you'd only write a couple of sentences about the book, e.g.

"Reading Shakespeare's The Tempest, I was struck by the use of blank verse for much of Caliban's dialogue. This prompted me to think further about the power of language when representing slaves, leading me to delve into OTHER BOOK for further reading".

HOWEVER (and this is a big caveat), you may well have a whole interview deriving from your discussion of that particular book, if it's a book the interviewer knows well, or if you've said something controversial/wrong/pertinent about it! So how many notes you should write depends on

- how good your memory is
- how long before the interviews you are (re-)reading the book

So for example, I have the memory of a goldfish, so I'd want to make quite extensive notes or a mindmap to jog my memory before the interview. If your memory is not that of a goldfish, it can be less extensive note-taking: just whatever will prove most helpful to you/your learning style in the interview preparation stage! :biggrin:

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