English Arts

Conors10262

Hey guys just finished my lc and got a c2 in English . i was thinking of doing English as part of an arts degree in maynooth. can anyone tell me what its like and how difficult it is eg. how much work is required thank you !

Seren_

I got a C3 in English back in the day and had no problems with it in college. Absolutely loved studying it - the course is very interesting and covers a lot of different types of texts/authors. There's quite a bit of emphasis on theory/criticism (especially in 2nd and 3rd year) and that is something you will either love or hate tbh. I found it really interesting, but know many others who hated it. Lectures are often very entertaining and the staff all tend to be very approachable.

Workload can be as much or as little as you want really. you could get by and pass modules but just reading 1 or 2 of the books and a few articles, but sometimes this doesn't always work well. There is a lot of essay writing involved, and some shorter assignments for tutorials etc but it's not hugely taxing (in first year - things obviously get a bit more difficult as you go on). Try it out for a few weeks and see what you think - there is a few weeks at the start of the semester before you have to definitely decide on your subjects.

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1st year English is not all that difficult to be honest. How you do will all depend on how much work you do and how you enjoy it at the end of the day to be fair. I'm not saying a good Leaving Certificate Grade won't help you along, it will, particularly with your spelling, grammar, use of syntax and ability to structure an essay, but it's not everything.

I took English with my Psychology degree this year and to be honest, I absolutely detested it. I got an A1 in my Leaving Cert exam and really loved the structure of the LC exam and the Creative writing aspect of it. There was just something about the University's teaching of English that I didn't enjoy. I am not saying there's anything wrong with the way English is taught, as a lot of my friends in English love the course and have nothing but positive things to say about it, it just genuinely wasn't for me.

I think what happened to me was the fact that I knew I wouldn't be studying English for the remainder of my degree as I was doing a Single Honours course and therefore didn't put the work in from the start, didn't go to lectures/seminars etc. However if you put the work in from the start and read your readings as recommend as you go along, you'll definitely have no trouble passing.

I posted something about 1st English here before so i'll try and dig it out! Remember you have 3 weeks to decide if you want to take it or not at the start, so don't be too stressed out making a decision

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I'll do a little bit on 1st year English, although I hated it and dropped it, it was the one I found hardest to know how to prepare for, so I hope this will help a little.

You do 4 modules in 1st year if you're doing it through MH101 or a separate degree, (such as myself and MH106 Psychology where I took English as a second subject).

In Semester 1, you take 2 modules:

1. EN150 (Criticism, Research & Writing)
This module is delivered in the form of 2 small seminar classes a week where you complete a number of small assignments in class and get assignments to have completed for the following week. This module is 100% continuous assessment, so you have no big examination to do after the Christmas holidays, which is excellent. For assessment you do a 2,000 word essay worth 50% due around the end of November and a number of smaller assignments (6) worth an additional 50%. My advice for this module, is to make sure you do all the assignments. It can be easy to decide not to bother doing one seeing as they're only worth less than 10 marks each, but those marks add up quickly. Oh and finally, go to each seminar, you lose a large amount of marks for every seminar you miss, which can result in you doing poorly in this class, even if you do each assignment excellently!

2. EN152 (Poetry)
In this module, you will attend 2 lectures a week and discuss a wide range of poetic techniques and poems in order to build upon your knowledge from school. This is a 100% exam based module, but is very easy to pass. Once you attend your lectures and take your notes well in class, you should have no problem in passing at all!

Semester 2:

3. EN153 (Fiction)
In this module, you have 2 lectures a week and you will have 5 novels to study in class. This module is grand, because in reality, you only need to read and study 1 book to be able to sit the exam, as they only ask you to discuss one novel. The exam is worth 50% and you will have an essay to do which is worth 50%. In reality, you will find at least 1-2 novels which will interest you and once you read the novel thoroughly you should have no problem doing very well in his class.

4. EN154 (Drama)
This is a 2 lecture a week module and is a 100% exam based 2 hour examination module. You will study 5 plays, 4 in textual form and you will get to see the final one performed live some time in April. You will study 2 pre-modern plays, usually by Shakespeare and another "older" playwright and the final 3 will be modern plays. In the exam you must discuss one older play and a new play (or 2 new plays in a comparative form). Also this exam is fine and not that difficult if you keep up with your work.

That's English for 1st year anyway, I'd be more than happy to do a post on Psychology or Sociology if anyone is interested! Hope it helps!

Shaneen

Hey, I got an A1 in honours and to be honest, it didn't make it easier! English is a great, diverse subject but it does require a lot of work. It is totally different to school so pleae erase it from your head. It is a great subject and I guarantee you will enjoy it, all with a pinch of effort and a lot of Craic

mickstupp

Conors10262 wrote: »

Hey guys just finished my lc and got a c2 in English . i was thinking of doing English as part of an arts degree in maynooth. can anyone tell me what its like and how difficult it is eg. how much work is required thank you !

I hated it. Almost every second. Dropped it after the first year.

I'm not going to tell you why, though. I'm just making a point. How difficult it is depends on you. As does whether the course is good or not. No-one else can really tell you if it's 'good' or not because everyone's different. I would say, however, that even if you're like me, and despise theory with the burning hatred of a million dying suns, the first year course is diverse enough that you'll probably find at least one thing you're into. And you may fall in love with it. I hope you do, because if you do subjects you love they won't be so subjectively difficult. And you'll probably do better in them, because the work won't feel like work. So try out a bunch of subjects for the first few weeks (I did 5 before deciding on 3).

As for workload. You get out what you put in. The idea that Arts students have 12-15 hours plus tutorials per week and need to do nothing else is pure crap. That doesn't include study/reading/essay time. First week of college one lecturer advised us to do 3 hours of study per 1 hour of class time. That was good advice and helped me get great marks. I put in 40 hour weeks, more when I had essays due, and I don't think I could've done any better. Of course... that raises the question of whether you want to do your best, or just do enough to get a piece of paper.

I know I sound like a boring old fart, but part of my point (in a roundabout way) is don't worry about your leaving cert mark. Mine was lower than yours, still did great. Some people who got A's did terribly. Assuming your spelling and grammar are good, it's more about how much effort you're willing to put in, and having an opinion. You can't just regurgitate stuff and hope to do as well as someone putting ideas together in interesting ways. That's where the reading time comes in. If you've covered all the material and more (and that'll be far more than 3 hours reading per class) you'll have a much better foundation from which to make interesting points, comparisons and arguments. Regurgitation won't get you as many marks. One lecturer I know keeps going on about 'analysis, not narrative!', and he's right. Listing facts, telling the narrative, that's boring. You don't want the person correcting your essays/exams to be bored. I think I've gone off the point... I can't help myself.