The English Language and Literature course is one of the broadest in the country, giving you the chance to study writing in English from its origins in Anglo-Saxon England to the literature of the 20th and early 21st centuries. As well as the literature of the British Isles, you can study works written in English from many other parts of the world. The course also allows you a considerable degree of choice about the topics you would like to concentrate on. Studying literature at Oxford involves the development of sophisticated reading skills and of an ability to place literary texts in their wider intellectual and historical contexts. It also requires you to consider the critical processes by which you analyse and judge, to learn about literary form and technique, and to study the development of the English language.

A number of English graduates (about 7%) choose to undertake research, while many more use the communication and analytical skills they develop at Oxford in a range of careers including advertising, acting, publishing, teaching, librarianship, public relations, journalism, the legal professions, management consultancy and finance. Recent English graduates include a projects coordinator in education for a London theatre, a trainee solicitor, and a teacher. Duncan, who was an English graduate in 2000, now works as a Senior Manager in Deloitte’s strategy consulting practice. He says: ‘The skills I acquired at Oxford, in being able to analyse and assimilate complex volumes of information in short timeframes, have allowed me to write and present board papers and reports to senior business leaders from a young age’. Laura, who graduated in 2000, works as a freelance journalist and is Associate Editor at i-escape.com. She says: ‘Being able to hit a headline, develop ideas, conduct thorough research and talk to anyone at any level, is essential in my job and my English degree gave me the specific skills to do that’.