English, BA (Hons)

Teaching

Teaching is provided through lectures, seminars, and small-group supervisions and classes. 

You can usually expect to have 6 hours of lectures or seminars, and 2 to 3 hours of individual, paired or small-group supervision each week.  

You will usually write one or two short essays per week, which you then discuss with your supervisor.

Assessment

Assessments take place through examinations. It is possible to replace a small number of specific examinations with coursework. Prizes are awarded for the best work in each year. 

You won't usually be able to resit any of your exams.

Year 1 (Part IA) 

You take two compulsory papers: 

• Practical Criticism and Critical Practice 
• Shakespeare (assessed by a portfolio of essays submitted in Easter Term) 

You also start work on two of the period papers, which will be examined in your second year. 

Year 2 (Part IB) 

You take one compulsory paper (English Literature and its Contexts 1300 to 1550) and a further three papers from the following list: 

• Early Medieval Literature and its Contexts 1066 to 1350 
• English Literature and its Contexts from: 
  • 1500 to 1700 
  • 1660 to 1870 
  • 1830 to 1945 
  • 1870 to Present. 

One of these papers, except Early Medieval Literature and its Contexts 1066 to 1350, can be replaced by a dissertation. 

Year 3 (Part II) 

You take two compulsory papers: 

• Practical Criticism and Critical Practice II 
• Tragedy, which ranges from ancient Greek drama to contemporary writing 

You also write a compulsory dissertation of 6,000 to 7,500 words. 

You will then either submit a second dissertation of 6,000 to 7,500 words and take one optional paper or choose two optional papers instead. 

The optional papers change regularly. The following are examples of recent papers:

• Chaucer 
• Medieval English Literature 1066 to 1500: The Medieval Supernatural 
• Material Renaissance 
• Lyric 
• Prose Forms 1936 to 1956 
• The Ethical Imagination 
• American Literature 
• Postcolonial and Related Literatures 
• History and Theory of Literary Criticism 
• Visual Culture 
• Contemporary Writing in English 
• Early Modern Drama 1588 to 1642 
• Special Period of English Literature 1847 to 72 
• Love, Gender, Sexuality 1740 to 1824 

It may be possible for you to take papers from these undergraduate courses: 

• Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic 
• Classics 
• Modern and Medieval Languages 

For further information about this course and the papers you can take see the Faculty of English website.

Changing course

It’s really important to think carefully about which course you want to study before you apply. 

In rare cases, it may be possible to change course once you’ve joined the University. You will usually have to get agreement from your College and the relevant departments. It’s not guaranteed that your course change will be approved.

You might also have to:

• take part in an interview
• complete an admissions test
• produce some written work
• achieve a particular grade in your current studies
• do some catch-up work
• start your new course from the beginning 

For more information visit the Faculty website.

You can also apply to change to:

• Management Studies at the Judge Business School

You can't apply to this course until you're at Cambridge. You would usually apply when you have completed 1 year or more of your original Cambridge course.

You should contact your College’s Admissions Office if you’re thinking of changing your course. They will be able to give you advice and explain how changing courses works.