Advice For New English Students

Read your set texts. You will become a better writer and do better in your degree.

I bet you’re feeling pretty excited. Maybe a little nervous? You’ve unpacked your cardboard boxes, bagsied some kitchen cupboard space and sat through those obligatory introductory seminars. You are an official uni student.

Prepare to be introduced to new ways of thinking by inspiring tutors, read more books than you thought humanly possible and make irreplaceable friends along the way. Everyone says it: your time at uni will be over before you realise. Pack your years full of fun and learning – these are my top three tips to get the most out of student life:

1. Read your set texts! I know a couple of students who got by during seminars on Wikipedia synopses and sitting quietly at the back of the classroom, but I guarantee they didn’t get the most from their degrees. You’ve invested a not-so-small fortune in this education and will be paying it off for years – don’t waste it by being lazy. Get stuck into the books ahead of time and I promise it’ll be worth it. Even if you hated the text (we can’t all love Joyce!)…at least you’ll have something passionate to say during seminars.
2. Take criticism. Even if you don’t agree with their opinions, you tutors are there to help you to become a better writer. They may be harsh or have a different way of looking at things, but they will certainly have a reason for their criticism. The writers I’ve met who have developed the least are strong-headed and arrogant – believing that nobody should be allowed to interfere with their art. It never hurts to challenge your own writing and consider different ways of approaching a project. This skill will also certainly help in the real world of book editors and adopting a voice when writing for clients.
3. Finally – get a life. You’ll like this one. It’s all very well sitting in the library all day then scurrying off home to read all night, but you won’t be a very interesting person. Your uni years are the most amazing time to make friends and try all kinds of new things (steady). Join a club. Better still, join three. Volunteer for things, go out with your friends and meet people. If you end up writing fiction, you’ll need to have more to draw upon that your memory of the Blu-Tack pattern on your halls’ wall. If you write non-fiction then you’ll need to know the kind of people who live in the world – your consumers – so that you can tailor your writing to apply to them. Be interested, be interesting and you will write interestingly. No experience is a wasted experience when it comes to a literary mind. So go on – get a life.