English degree personal statement example (1y) Cambridge offer

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

My desire to study literature at an academic level was sparked by my reading of Lolita and Lord of the Flies, whose complex narratives, laced with metaphor, symbolism and leitmotifs, I found awe-inspiringly 'clever'. I couldn't quite believe that a human being could be capable of loading a sentence as simple as Golding's '[the boys] ran into the jungle screaming' with so much emotional weight and implied meaning, and have since been absorbed in trying to understand the mechanics of the profound power of literature.

19th Century female writers have been a particular interest of mine since reading Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic. Their discussion of the struggle for a female identity of some of my favourite authors, from Dickinson to the Brontës, introduced me to feminist literary criticism, which I have since been endeavouring to apply to everything I read. I have found it to be a particularly interesting approach to my recent studies of King Lear, whose contrasting zoomorphic descriptions of its female characters as 'vulture' and '[singing] bird' are reminiscent of Freud's 'Madonna-whore complex', which has influenced literature since Genesis.

Having always enjoyed the theatre, Shakespeare in particular, I find it curious that he does not echo this sentiment through all of his plays. From Kate's degradation in The Taming of the Shrew to Rosalind's wit and intellect in As You Like It, I have found trying to pin down his ambiguous attitudes to women to be endlessly enigmatic and fascinating.

My burgeoning enthusiasm for a feminist approach to literature has led me to work towards an EPQ dissertation on representations of gender and sexuality in the Twilight saga and their roots in classical literature. My exploration of academic texts for English A Level has heightened my appreciation of intertextuality and, whilst I once dismissed the Twilight books on the basis of their aesthetic value and substance, I have come to see them as important cultural artefacts: the culmination of centuries of writing, from Perrault's and the Grimms' Fairy Tales to Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.

Recently, I have been endeavouring to read outside my 'comfort zone'. Camus' L'Étranger has been my first foreign-language text, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales my first medieval. I have relished the challenge of these new experiences with language and, left with a heightened appreciation of nuance, syntax and sound, I am keen to explore French and Middle-English literature further.

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

I have always loved history and, through my AS course, I have developed a particular interest in the early twentieth century. Plato said that poetry is 'nearer to vital truth than history', and my reading of poets such as T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden and Stephen Spender has enhanced my understanding of the era beyond simple facts. Poetry is unique in its ability to communicate pure, elemental emotion, and I find the interplay between the cold, objective truths of history and the human, subjective truths of poetry vital to truly understand the past.

My exploration of academic texts for English A Level has heightened my appreciation of intertextuality and informed my academic development. The combination of literature and history in my studies has deepened my critical thinking and ability to interpret complex texts, skills I am eager to bring to university-level study.

University of Cambridge 'taster' lectures have given me a glimpse into undergraduate-level English and, inspired, I am fervently looking forward to the intellectual challenges and rewards of a degree in English Literature.

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

Last year, in order to extend my reading beyond the A-Level syllabus, I set up and ran a book club. We read Catch-22, The Remains of the Day, and A Clockwork Orange, meeting weekly to discuss our reading, with a particular focus on cinema adaptations, and how directors both translate authorial style and imbue their own.

I am also a keen reader of non-fiction including popular science, history and blogs. As well as my position on the student council, competing as a barrister in the national Bar Mock competition and as a delegate in a Model United Nations have improved my grasp of rhetorical English and my interpersonal skills.

Universities applied to:

• Pembroke College, Cambridge
• York
• Exeter
• Nottingham
• East Anglia

Grades achieved:

• English Literature (A2) Predicted A*
• History (A2) Predicted A*
• French (A2) Predicted A
• Maths (AS) A
• Critical Thinking (AS) A

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.

Need help with your personal statement? You can ask a question or get feedback from The Student Room community (and our trained personal statement experts) on the personal statement advice forum.