BA English Language and Literature

University of Essex

Bachelor's degree

In Colchester

£ 9,250 + VAT

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Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Colchester

  • Duration

    3 Years

About the course
How has English literature changed since the time of Shakespeare? What are the differences between literature written in the UK and literature written in other English-speaking countries? How has social and geographical mobility given rise to the formation of new accents and dialects of English?
An understanding of our language enhances our self-awareness, inspiring us to address fundamental questions about our communication as human beings; and this is epitomised in literature


Our course provides a sound foundation in linguistic and sociolinguistic aspects of the structure and use of modern English, and offers you the chance to study a range of literary genres and approaches to literary criticism

This is a very flexible degree, with the opportunity for you to explore a wide range of topics including:
Language disorders
The relationship between language and society
Literatures of the United States and the Caribbean
English (and European) literature of the 15th-17th centuries
Writing science fiction
We are one of the largest and most prestigious language and linguistics departments in the world, a place where talented students become part of an academic community in which the majority of research is rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, placing us firmly within the top 10 departments in the UK and among the top 150 departments on the planet (QS World University Rankings 2016)


Meanwhile, our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies is ranked Top 20 in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2015)

Facilities

Location

Start date

Colchester (Essex)
See map
Wivenhoe Park, CO4 3SQ

Start date

On request

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Subjects

  • Employability
  • University
  • English Language
  • Teaching
  • English
  • Phonetics
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Learning Teaching
  • Skills and Training

Course programme

Example structure
Studying at Essex is about discovering yourself, so your course combines compulsory and optional modules to make sure you gain key knowledge in the discipline, while having as much freedom as possible to explore your own interests. Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.
For many of our courses you’ll have a wide range of optional modules to choose from – those listed in this example structure are just a selection of those available. The opportunity to take optional modules will depend on the number of core modules within any year of the course. In many instances, the flexibility to take optional modules increases as you progress through the course.
Our Programme Specification gives more detail about the structure available to our current first-year students, including details of all optional modules.
Year 1
Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics
Sounds
Skills for Linguists
Language Variation and Change
Words and Sentences
Literature: Origins and Transformations
Introduction to United States Literature (optional)
Close Reading Skills (optional)
Year 2
Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics
Phonology
Semantics and Pragmatics
Analysing the structure of English
Research methods for language and linguistics
Early Modern Literature
Versions of Modernity
Final year
Careers and Employability Skills for Languages and Linguistics
Post-War(s) United States Fiction (optional)
Film and Propaganda (optional)
Varieties of English (optional)
Project: Linguistics (optional)
Sentence Processing (optional)
Year abroad
On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree. Our Programme Specification gives more detail about modules on your year abroad.
Teaching
Teaching is arranged to allow freedom in how you organise your learning experience
Innovative ways of engaging with texts include editing 16th century sonnets and archival research
Examples of practical work include digitally recording dialect speakers in a small traditional fishing community, or scouring digitised child language databanks
Other teaching methods include lectures, demonstrations and learning by teaching others
Assessment
You are assessed through a combination of coursework (assignments, essays and tests) and end-of-year examinations
Weighted 50% coursework and 50% examinations
Other methods of assessment include graded participation in seminars and classes, presentations, or group work
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Additional information

“My time at Essex helped me to become a more confident and independent person In my final year I was offered an internship with a partner university in Germany, and experiencing a new culture was fantastic I’m now working with a charity, helping migrant workers improve their English language skills ” Natilly Macartney, BA English Language and Linguistics, 2013 Study abroad Your education extends beyond our University campus We support you extending your education by offering you an additional year at no extra cost The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend your third year studying abroad or employed on a placement, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised Placement year On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry Our expert staff Our English Language staff are internationally recognised for their language research (REF 2014) Their books dominate the reading lists at other universities We maintain excellent student-staff ratios, and we integrate language learning with linguistics wherever there is synergy At Essex, we also have an impressive literary legacy Our history comprises staff (and students) who have been Nobel Prize winners, Booker Prize winners, and Pulitzer Prize winners Our academic staff specialise in a range of areas including modernism, comparative and world literature, Shakespeare, the Renaissance, travel writing, nature writing, translated literature, cultural geography, Irish and Scottish writing, U S and Caribbean literature, and the history of reading Specialist facilities Our Languages for All programme offers you the...

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BA English Language and Literature

£ 9,250 + VAT

The best English courses

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