Hi, I’m Yasmin and I study English and French at St Catherine’s. I chose English and French because I really enjoyed both subjects at A-Level and the joint schools course combined my favourite aspects of both whilst avoiding the parts I didn’t like as much – it really was a win-win! Hopefully this short article will help demystify what the first year at Oxford is like.
As a humanities course, there are less contact hours as it relies more on independent study and reading. For the English side, you have to do Paper 1 and then you can choose to study for either Paper 2, 3 or 4. Paper 1 aka Introduction to English Language and Literature, is centred around understanding literary theory and how that affects the reader and the writer. The language side looks in detail at the construction of the English language and how certain linguistic features may influence the reader’s experience of a text. Papers 2 to 4 are known as the period papers; Early Medieval Literature c. 650-1350 (Paper 2); Literature in English 1830-1910 (paper 3); Literature in English 1910-present (Paper 4). The teaching for each period paper is slightly different, especially for Paper 2, but are fundamentally similar. For the French side, there are more different classes ranging from grammar classes, French to English translations and vice versa, résumés, conversation and culture classes, and literature seminars/tutorials.
A typical week in Michaelmas Term for me would be to watch the recommended lectures for that week (2-3 for each English paper and around 2 each week for French as well) then complete prep work for the approaches class (normally a lecture and consolidatory notes), an essay for my period paper (should complete over a minimum of 3 days), two translations (about an hour each), a ‘résumé’ exercise (1-2 hours), a French literature commentary (also should be done over at least 3 days) and preparation for conversation classes (up to 1 hour). Of course, these times are not prescriptive and change depending on your strengths and also your mindset. Imposter syndrome is a killer and will have you agonising over every detail, making even the simplest tasks not seem daunting and take a disproportionate amount of time to complete. Good morale holds just as much weight as pure academics and intelligence so never underestimate the positive impacts of taking some time for yourself.
When it comes to questions, it’s ok to take a second to think about them first and it’s ok to admit that you’re not sure. Really engage with what is being said – are there any alternative answers or interpretations? During my interview, I made a mistake when analysing the poem and it meant it completely undermined everything I was saying. The tutor wasn’t really concerned with my mistake but more with how I dealt with it. Sometimes admitting you were wrong and changing your answer is more impressive (but don’t go making mistakes on purpose!). You will switch to English later so don’t worry if there’s anything you couldn’t express in your target language. Just use what you know and do your best!
But what’s the actual Oxford experience like? You constantly hear talk of Oxford being ‘academically challenging’ but you don’t fully register what that means until you’re here. It’s hard. The workload is definitely no joke, however, being here is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Not only do you learn an incredible amount, the friends you make and the general life experience you gain is amazing. When you arrive, you realise there’s still so much more about your subject(s) and yourself to be explored – it’s so exciting! No matter how much I may complain, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I hope this helped and best of luck if you do choose to apply! If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me an email (yasmin.irving@stcatz.ox.ac.uk)