School/college essays
For a number of our courses, mainly for arts and social sciences courses, you may be asked to submit one or two examples of your written work from a relevant A Level/IB (or equivalent) course. These should be as submitted to, and marked by, your teachers. A discussion of this work may then form part of your interview.
Information about which Cambridge Colleges typically ask for written work can be found in the relevant course information.
If this is required, the College that assesses your application will notify you about what sort of work this should be, how it should be uploaded and the deadline for its submission. If you have any queries or doubts about what you should submit or by when, please contact the relevant College’s Admissions Office as soon as possible for clarification.
You will be asked to complete a cover sheet to verify it’s your own work and provide details of the circumstances in which it was written and a contact teacher. If you're asked to send in some work, we recommend that you submit work that you’d be happy discussing during an interview and it's a good idea to keep a copy so you can re-read it before your interview.
If English isn't your first language, please note that any examples of written work requested must be submitted in English – either translated into English (and then verified by your school or a suitable third party), or piece(s) originally written in English.
Cover sheet for submitted written work
When uploading submitted written work, applicants should complete the Cover Sheet for Submitted Written Work (see Related Documents) and submit it alongside their written work. You should follow the instructions on our Guidance on Digital Document Upload page when submitting your work. Please note that some Colleges may have different cover sheets for their applicants - the College you applied to/were allocated to will notify you if this is the case.
