An English degree is a liberal arts degree that focuses on reading, literary criticism and writing. During the course of an English degree, you will find yourself reading a wide variety of materials as well as watching movies, plays and other forms of creative self-expression. To complete an English degree, you need to be able to read large amounts of material and, more importantly, respond to it in a critical, scholarly manner. You also need to write well -- English degrees focus on what you say, but they also focus more than other programs on how you say it. Bachelor's degrees in English take four years and tend to require a level of specialization in the final year.
Instructions
1. Choose an English program that relates well to your goals and interests. Some university English programs focus on literary analysis and criticism, while others focus more on teaching you to write well in a variety of styles. You should investigate these programs online and contact professors to see which program is best for you.
2. Choose classes whose content interests you. Not all English classes are the same. A class on Chaucer is going to expose you to profoundly different material than a class on postmodern fiction. So, look for a copy of the reading list and see if it is the kind of thing you want to read, read about, write about and talk about for an entire semester. Don't worry if you don't know what you are interested in. Your first-year English classes will be survey classes that expose you to a wide variety of material under a broad theme, such as "English literature from 1200-2000." These classes are a good opportunity to determine what interests you and, more importantly, what doesn't.
3. Take more and more specialized classes as your degree progresses. Most liberal arts degrees require more and more classes in your major discipline as you progress. So, for example, you may only need to take two English classes in your first year, four in your second year, six in your third and eight in your fourth.
4. Try to read all of the assigned books before the class starts. This is not always possible, particularly with second semester classes, but if you can make a dent in the reading list, it will become less overwhelming. When you read the books for the first time, don't worry about making notes or anything else. Rather, just experience the book. You'll be doing plenty of analysis later.
5. Participate in classroom discussions on the works assigned. It is often easier to formulate your thoughts once you talk them out. You will often realize during discussions that your opinion is different when spoken than what you thought it was.
6. Write recreationally. English degrees often focus on your writing skill, which is easiest to learn by doing. So, keep a journal or just write a couple paragraphs each day on a topic of your choosing. The more you write, the better you will become at it, and the better you will perform on your essays and other assignments.
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