COURSE CURRICULUM

BA English Literature with Creative Writing at University of Reading combines the study of literature across periods and cultures with sustained creative practice, allowing students to analyse texts while producing original writing. In the first year, core modules introduce creative writing across genres, poetry in English from Renaissance to the present, prose focused on identity, and drama through early modern plays, alongside optional study of medieval storytelling, the short story, and contemporary fiction. Students also explore Victorian literature, creative non-fiction, and foundational narrative techniques. In the second year, the degree expands into historical, cultural and theoretical contexts, including modernism, Enlightenment and Romanticism, early modern literature, writing in the public sphere, the business of books, and writing America, alongside specialist creative writing workshops in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Optional modules allow deeper engagement with topics such as medieval romance, publishing industries, and political writing traditions. The programme emphasises critical thinking, encouraging students to question language, power, identity, and ideology. In the final year, students complete either a dissertation or a creative writing dissertation, producing a sustained independent project under supervision. workshops, peer feedback, and research-led teaching develop analytical and imaginative skills for careers in writing, publishing, media, and education.