Recent Articles
8 Bad Habits Successful Students Don’t Have: And How to Avoid Them
About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg. Top tips on how to be less like you and more like the brain-boxes whose grades we all envy. 1) Plan to work right up...
9 Classic Novels for Students of English as a Foreign Language
Getting to grips with the best of English-language literature can be hard for those learning English as a foreign language. We’ve provided a list of essential English novels that everyone should read in a previous article, but many of these are likely to prove daunting if you’re not a confident reader of English. George Eliot’s […]
8 British Stereotypes and Why They Are (Mostly) Inaccurate
As with any other country, we Brits are subject to our fair share of cultural stereotypes. While, to a greater or lesser degree, there’s an element of truth in some of them, you’ll soon discover that many are comically far from the truth! That’s not to say that we deny responsibility; many of the stereotypes...
Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays that Answer the Question
About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg. We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points […]
How to Choose Your GCSEs: An Expert Guide to Finding the Right Subject Choices for You
You take many more GCSEs than A-levels, and you’ll be glad to learn that this means it’s much easier to choose. The idea of GCSEs is to give you a broad general knowledge, from which you can then become increasingly specialised through A-levels and then your undergraduate degree (or, more specialised still, a Masters...
How to Tell Which University Subject You'll Love
About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg. Deciding which subject to choose to study at university is no mean feat. Not only are there about a gazillion courses to choose from, many […]
8 Ways to Keep a Positive Mindset During Exams
For many people, exams are almost custom-designed to be unpleasant. You’re under heaps of pressure. You need to relax in order to focus on doing as well as you can. But being under pressure makes relaxing a challenge. Stress is making it hard to sleep, but sleeping well is vital if you’re going to succeed...
14 Literary Terms and Techniques to Deepen your Understanding of English
One of the enjoyable challenges you’ll face as you become increasingly familiar with English is reading some of the great works of literature written in this fascinating language. Having some understanding of some of the different literary devices an author, poet or playwright has used will help you gain a deeper appreciation of a work […]
6 Skills and Traits Employers Are Looking For and How to Demonstrate Them
Reading through job descriptions can start to feel like playing buzzword bingo. It can seem like every employer is looking for the same ideal employee, and often their requirements don’t seem all that realistic. They might want you to be motivated, passionate or enthusiastic, which is great if you’re a talent show contestant, but it […]