By Alice Hayes
Many courses at Oxford require you to submit as for written work as part of the application in addition to sitting an entrance exam. Remember your written work must be submitted by 10th November (earlier for Fine Art portfolios). This can seem like a difficult choice at first so here are some ways to stand out during applications:
This must be a piece of original work that (ideally) was produced as part of your course at school. However, if half of the applicants have studied the same book or concept at A Level, it may be worth picking a piece where you went off-piste and focussed on something different or unexpected to usual.
This piece of work may be discussed during interviews and if, for example, the history tutors have had a thousand discussions on Napoleon, they may respond more positively to the fact you’ve chosen to write about something different.
Pick an area that you are passionate about as it will make for a much better discussion.
Be sure to read over it again and again to check for any mistakes. I would suggest reading it OUT LOUD as you’re more likely to find errors and ways to improve fluidity this way as opposed to scanning over,
Make sure you fill in the cover sheet to go alongside your written work; this tells the tutors the conditions in which you wrote the essay and with what help etc.
Now that you’ve submitted your UCAS, your college will be in touch to tell you how to submit your written work. Wishing you the best of luck, you’ve got this!