English Literature (BA)

Throughout the degree, our research-led teaching will support you to become independent, creative, and critical in your responses to literature and other forms of culture, such as film, art, and photography.

First-year teaching provides a foundation with carefully structured lectures and seminar discussions to help you develop key skills and gain confidence at university. Teaching in Years 2 and 3 is lecture- and seminar-based and moves gradually in the direction of specialisation and independent research as you develop as a reader and critic. In this supportive environment you will develop your abilities to analyse texts and arguments, collaboratively work through problems, construct your own arguments, and present your ideas clearly to others.

Throughout the programme, but particularly in the final-year core module, you will develop skills in communication and collaboration that you can transfer to the world of employment.

How will I be supported?

Your main sources of support in your studies are your module leaders, your Personal Tutor and our in-house Writing Development Centre. Your module leaders have weekly office hours sessions during teaching weeks that you can attend if you have any questions about course materials or assessments.

Personal Tutors can advise you on academic matters, including study skills, careers, and your academic progress, as well as on pastoral matters. You’ll be invited to meet your Personal Tutor regularly throughout your degree, and they are available for extra meetings as needed. Welsh-speaking students can request a Welsh-speaking personal tutor.

The School’s Writing Development Centre provides specialist support for academic writing across the programme. You can access online materials, workshops, and one-to-one meetings about any aspect of academic writing to support you with your assessments.

The School of English, Communication and Philosophy’s undergraduate office provides academic and student support and is there to help you with information and guidance if you have any queries. Beyond the School, the university offers a range of support services and events 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. These services are located at the University's Centre for Student Life. Libraries, study spaces, and other resource centres will all be available to you.

How will I be assessed?

Your assessments are designed progressively to develop key skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and reflection. These assessments include essays, group discussion assessments, and reflective assessments. In the final year, you will take part in a collaborative project that involves communicating your findings to a non-specialist audience. Optional modules can be assessed by 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.