These special papers are each assessed by an extended essay of about 6,000 words written at set periods during the course of the final year. You may also submit, if you choose, a thesis on any subject connected with the study of English language and literature. Submitted work may thus constitute up to a third of your final work assessment. An alternative choice for the second and third years is course II which concentrates on early English language and literature and related subjects. Most students have one to two tutorials a week and are often, but not always, working on two papers simultaneously.
Most students attend three to four lecture courses a week.
Students will expect to produce between eight to twelve pieces of written work during a term. The third year extended essays are written over three weeks of term. As part of their application, candidates are required to submit two marked essays prepared in the normal course of their school or college work. These should not be specially rewritten for Oxford entrance, nor should they be timed essays, creative writing or critical commentary on a short piece of verse or prose. Both essays should be on an English Literature topic with the single exception that one may be on an English Language topic.