Education and English literature degree personal statement example (1a) Cambridge offer

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

As a student who has been fortunate enough to enjoy a varied educational experience I feel a strong impulse to examine the process of education in differing circumstances. Time spent in both home education and state schooling has, I believe, given me the time to consider how this practice can either hinder or greatly enhance a person’s attitude towards learning both in a traditional and non-traditional setting.

The responsibility of those charged with the task of education is something which I find very interesting. Having studied the need for education through the idea of Plato’s philosophical approach to enlightenment through learning, I have been inspired to examine how the misuse of this form of power could negatively influence future generations of society. Education, in all forms, it is clear, can influence the conscious and subconscious mind. One result of this, I feel, is that the meritocratic principles of our education system can be distorted to the advantage of those from more socio-economically developed backgrounds, something I hope to be able to study more closely through my university career.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

In addition to this, through the study of the effect of restricted code and linguistic deprivation in my Sociology A-Level, I have been able to further my considerable interest in the development of language use in relation to perception of social class in period literature. My EPQ work has allowed me to conduct research into the duplicitous nature of wording in Henry V and Hamlet, and in particular, to the blurry line between period development of spelling and imagery invoked through deliberately specific use of lexis. This has allowed me to deal with the concept of verisimilitude in texts and the idea of the work of an author as non-static - that is, as having the ability to manipulate the hearts and minds of readers over time.

As well as this, there are certain nuances of the culture of a nation encapsulated in the writings of a native author, dramatist or poet that those who have no way of visiting themselves, it seems, would never be able to otherwise understand. I feel a history of the values, attitudes and personal lives of those alive in Norway would be lost upon me if not for Ibsen's excellent use of description and pathetic fallacy.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Writing mirrors the sense of a place in the same way other art forms, and even legal actions do, forcing the populace to sit up and take notice of the reality of a past or current situation anywhere in the world.

I feel that though English Literature and Education are divided areas of academic study, they are by no means entirely mutually exclusive. During a Sutton Trust summer school recently, I was given the opportunity to link the two in an independent research project exploring the role of children's literature in educational development through textual analysis, in particular, in Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. Despite the fact that the text is composed of ten sentences in its entirety, I was able to examine how introductory literature can promote the concept of rhyme, the psychoanalytical representation of anger and the importance of repetition for emphasis.

Education and literature have, I believe, an entirely symbiotic relationship, drawing strength and depth from each other. They cannot, in my opinion, exist as separate entities. Literature promotes education of the nation, but without education, literacy would be impossible. Through the interdependency of the two in my study of education, I have been able to come to terms with exactly why literature is important to me - because, it is in this way (the promotion of education) that the pen can literally be, to use the old maxim, "mightier than the sword".

Universities applied to:

• Cambridge
• Durham
• Keele

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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