A Level English Language or Literature?

[stuart514]

I'm in Year 11 and I'm choosing my A level subjects. I was wondering if anyone could help me to choose which is best for journalism between English language and English literature.

[andy hughes]

English Langauge is the one you want. Sub-editors will never moan because you haven't read Wuthering Heights, but if your sentence construction and syntax are wobbly, they'll be on you like a ton of bricks.

Literacy is being eroded by a combination of cultural changes, and the lack of time for it to be taught properly in schools. Serious media is the last stronghold of good English, so to work in it, you have to know how to use it fluently and correctly to express yourself and convey facts and opinions.

That said, read as widely and as often as you can - learning how others express themselves in print can only ever help you to do the same.

[Grimalkin]

Although I am not as well-positioned as Andy to answer this (I went the Lit route), I would say Language too.

You may want to make sure you read some of the classics/outstanding, well-written novels that would be on a literature sylabus (I'm sure the Eng Lit a-level teacher would give you a copy of the reading list) to make sure you have a reasonable background knowledge, and to develop an ear for good writing. New Grub Street by Geroge Gissing may be a good place to start for an aspiring journalist. You could also look at non-fiction such as biographies or books of essays by wirters you admire.

[Buenchico]

While English Language is the obvious choice, I'd recommend taking the course which you know you'll enjoy best. (I'm actually rather surprised that these two courses co-exist at A-level. Both when I was at school and when I was teaching, the two courses were only offered to O-level or GCSE. Thereafter, it was just 'English' which was studied at A-level. This actually meant 'English Literature'. The assumption was that the 'technical side' of English was comprehensively covered in the O-level and GCSE courses).

While Andy is correct to say that sub-editors don't care whether you've read 'Wuthering Heights' or not, the people who control the selection processes for university courses in journalism might like to see that you've encountered a broad selection of writing. So, Eng. Lit. wouldn't necessarily be wasted. (Other subjects which might also really impress universities include English Law and Communication Studies).

It's also worth remembering is that journalism is one of the few professions where you don't actually need any qualifications. Yes, they help - but if your writing is good enough it'll still get accepted. I started writing sports reports for a local newspaper when I was in the 3rd form (which is now called Year 9) and I've been doing freelance work ever since. (Thirty years after I started writing I decided to study journalism at night school. I got a distinction but it's made no difference to whether my work gets accepted or rejected!).

So, if you haven't started submitting work for publication yet, now's the time to get started! It's fun, it might make you a few quid and it'll impress any university far more than a whole batch of A-levels!

Chris

[dippy_dumbo]

I'm so glad you asked this question Stuart, I am in exactly the same position!

However, when I was speaking to my English teacher about A-Level choices, I told her that I really wanted to be a journalist (yes, I'm aiming for something high, such as a large national newspaper), and she advised me to take English Lit, as that was the more interesting. When she said 'interesting' I took this is though it would be the most relevant when thinking of a career in journalism, but after reading these comments, my opinion has totally changed and I am not back to square one, where I am totally undecided on which English to take!

Thank you for helping anyway, at least now I know that I need to check this out with a careers advisor before I choose my final options. :o) x

[higgirach]

hi there! I am currently in year 12 and i am studying English Literature. Like you I am very much interested in following a career in Journalism. I was advised to take English Literature by my head of year at school. I am expected to gain a good grade in English Literature, however I am now beginning to worry that it was a mistake to take just English Literature. I wish i had taken A level English Language instead. Therefore I will take it up next year as an AS-level. I would recommend taking both English Lit and Lang next year.