English Literature (BA)

We'll support you to become independent, creative and critical in your responses to literature and other forms of culture, such as film, art and photography.

At the beginning of your studies, carefully structured lectures and seminar discussions help you build key skills and gain confidence at university. As your studies progress, teaching is based on lectures and seminars, and gradually moves towards specialisation and independent research as you develop as a reader and critic.

In this supportive environment, you’ll develop your ability to analyse texts and arguments, work through problems with others, construct your own arguments, and present your ideas clearly.

Throughout the programme, you’ll develop communication and collaboration skills that you can transfer to the world of employment.

How will I be supported?

Your main sources of support are your module leaders and your personal tutor.

Module leaders hold weekly office hours during teaching weeks, so you can ask questions about course materials or assessments. While your personal tutor can advise you on academic matters, including study skills, careers and academic progress, as well as pastoral matters. You’ll be invited to meet your personal tutor regularly throughout your degree, and they are available for extra meetings if needed.

You’ll have access to specialist academic writing support throughout the programme. This includes online materials, workshops and one-to-one meetings about academic writing to support you with your assessments.

Our professional services teams can provide academic and student support, and can help with information and guidance if you have any queries. The University's range of support services and events are also available to help you plan your career, manage your emotional, mental and physical health, support you with financial issues and provide assistance for students with disabilities are also available to you. These services are co-located at the Centre for Student Life. 

How will I be assessed?

Your assessments are designed to develop key skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking and reflection.

Assessment methods include essays, group discussion assessments and reflective assessments. In your final year, you’ll take part in a collaborative project that involves communicating your findings to a non-specialist audience.

Optional modules can be assessed through creative work, creative-critical responses or short opinion pieces.

You’ll receive regular feedback on your progress as you move through the degree. Oral feedback in lectures, workshops and seminars will help you assess your understanding of the course material and your critical responses to it.

You’ll receive formative comments on essay ideas and draft work, and detailed feedback on all marked coursework.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.

On successful completion of your Programme you will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding:

• Systematically comprehend literature from different cultures and periods (including pre-1800) and the range of principal literary genres across prose, poetry, and drama.
•  Systematically comprehend the relationships between literature and other cultural forms, such as film, art, music, and material/digital cultures.
• Systematically comprehend the interplay between reading and writing, and between the critical, the creative, and the theoretical.
• Systematically comprehend how culture, language, technology, and economics affect how, where, and by whom texts are produced and received

Intellectual Skills:

• Examine different kinds of literary and cultural materials closely and critically.
• Communicate interpretations accurately for a specialist audience.
• Develop and apply arguments that respond creatively to literary and critical source.
• Communicate effectively in speech or writing for a non-specialist audience.

Professional Practical Skills:

• Compile and systematically evaluate complex information and diverse evidence with accuracy.
• Communicate persuasively, conveying academic ideas and technical arguments to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, using written or oral techniques.
• Assess and solve problems independently, taking the views of others into account in a systematic and evaluative way.

Transferable/Key Skills:

• Explain information and ideas clearly and professionally, applying advanced knowledge and skills to unfamiliar or wider world challenges or contexts.
• Develop initiative by taking responsibility for structuring and time-managing a research task, working in teams when appropriate.
• Develop positive and effective working relations with others in teams, especially through constructive and collaborative dialogue and feedback.