Timetable

Some of our current undergraduate students have helped us compile a typical timetable to give you some information about being a student in the School of English.

 

The First Couple of Weeks:

Weeks One and Two can seem a little daunting, but don't worry... here's how it works:

Week One - as a first year student you need to register on-line on the student portal from 1 September onwards. You will then need to confirm your attendance in person at the Sports Centre on University Park Campus, attend the School induction event (see below) and other registration events and get settled into your accommodation. Spend this time getting to know people and wandering around campus finding your way about. Everyone's in the same boat so don't panic and just enjoy yourself.  Also go to the Freshers' Fair and get involved in your accommodation activities. 

There will be a School induction for all new first year students in Week One.   You will receive a letter from the School before you arrive giving you a full set of maps and information to let you know where you need to be and when! It will also include your Week One Timetable.

If you don't receive anything by the end of August, please get in touch with us.

Week Two   - teaching will begin in the School of English. 
(But it may begin in Week One for other Schools/Departments.)

Aim to arrive early this week in case it takes you a bit longer than you think to get to your lecture rooms. This week is a good time to have a look round the Hallward Library, and familiarise yourself with the English Corridor - e.g. where Module Convenors' offices are and which noticeboards are relevant for you.

 

After That:

Your university timetable will feel strange compared to school/college because there are fewer timetabled teaching hours.  In your First Year, you have about six lectures per week and six seminars per fortnight (though some seminars are weekly) plus, if you are taking Single Honours, your fortnightly meetings with your Personal Tutor for the module Academic Community.

 

Lectures

Lectures are the most formal type of instruction.  You will quickly develop a note-taking style and although some lectures can offer up an intense amount of information, you will quickly adapt to this way of working.  Use your own quick shorthand, but always make sure you can actually read what you have written.  If you can't, write it up after the lecture while what was said is still fresh in your mind.

 

Seminars

In seminars you will be with a small group of fellow students.  Although there will be a seminar leader, these sessions are driven by you and your discussion.  The atmosphere is friendly and informal and seminars are a really good opportunity to get to the heart of a text and discuss any issues you may have about it based on the lecture and your own reading. 

Lectures and seminars may be supplemented by other teaching methods such as drama workshops or peer tutoring sessions.  In addition, all tutors and lecturers have office hours when you can chat privately about the course and your work.  These are incredibly useful and I strongly encourage you to get into the habit of using them from Year 1 because I didn't and wish I had. 

Teaching and learning processes at Uni are different from the sort of methods you've probably encountered so far in terms of, for example, the speed at which the course moves: whereas before a literary work may have been focussed on for several weeks, at Uni you may be covering a new novel every one to two weeks and usually one a week by Third Year. You'll soon get used to the pace and the key to success is your individual work outside of contact hours.

 

Self-Directed Learning

With roughly eighteen hours contact time per fortnight, the rest of the time is yours to carry on independent work.  What does this consist of though?  In Year One I spent roughly one or two hours a day in the library / campus cafes / my accommodation / reading books and articles from the reading list (you will be given this as part of each subject's module booklet). In addition I did between one and two hours prep for each seminar: reading critical texts and journal items about the works to be discussed and thinking of a couple of questions to ask and points to make.

 

Assessment

Assessment at Uni is much the same as in Sixth Form  - coursework and exams and maybe a presentation or performance depending on which modules you choose to take.  Essay writing at University is pretty different from school/college and you should start your prep about 3 weeks in advance:

Week 1: reading and researching in the library;

Week 2: writing a draft and discussing it with my tutor/lecturer/course friends and maybe doing a bit more appropriate reading;

Week 3: writing, editing and proof-reading my paper.

 

Social Life

A lot of your time in First Year will be spent taking advantage of the amazing extra-curricular activities and social opportunities that University life provides.  Get involved - sport, music, volunteering, writing, art, film, English Society - anything and everything you could possibly think of are represented by University student societies. Get yourself down to Freshers' Fair and sign up to things that interest you and get stuck into life at your Uni accommodation. 

As you continue through your Uni career, you'll spend more time in the library and less with societies, but these are always an important part of the Uni experience because they make Uni life what it is and can often be good CV building tools.

 

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