A day in the life of an English Literature and Creative Writing student

• Author: Angelica Blake-Lawson, English Literature and Creative Writing, School of Humanities and Social Science

Hi, I’m Angelica and I’m in my second year of my English Literature and Creative Writing degree. My days vary depending on what day of the week it is, but in this second semester, Mondays are my favourite!

I start my Monday by walking along the undercliff to my placement. I still live at home, meaning travelling is a big part of my day, so I like to make it enjoyable! As part of our Literature in Practice module, all students undergo a 50-hour placement or creative project. I have been lucky enough to secure a placement at The Old Police Cells Museum in Brighton as an Education and Engagement Officer, which is really exciting!

Museum placement and script writing

I arrive at the museum at 10:30am and have a meeting with two other volunteers about a drama script I will be writing for the museum about mods and rockers. We discuss our aims for the project – a 15-minute historical interpretation of the Whitsun weekend offering different viewpoints from a mod, rocker and police officer. We also consider the boundaries of the project in terms of space, resources and funding. I finish my shift at the museum by beginning to gather research to support my script, as we want it to be ‘semi-verbatim’ (meaning using quotes from individuals during the historic period as dialogue in the script). Overall, I’m feeling really inspired and I can’t wait to start getting creative with scriptwriting.

I leave the museum at 1:30pm and eat some homemade soup on the bus. I like prepping my meals rather than buying them because it saves money, and I find it more delicious! I arrive at the Falmer Campus (where my course is led until the new academic year) and write a journal entry about my morning at the museum. This is recommended by my lecturer to reflect on my experience, which will in turn help with assessments.

Literature lecture and seminar

At 2:30pm, it’s time for my Literature in Practice module. Although this lasts for three hours, it’s split between a lecture and a seminar with a short break in the middle. A lecture is where an academic stands at the front and presents information while we take notes. A seminar is more active, and we get to contribute to smaller group discussions. For this module, as well as completing a 50-hour placement or creative project, one of the main goals is that we will collaboratively organise an end of module event, and this is what we are discussing today. We outline the why, what, where, when and how of our event, which made sure we are clear on what we’ll be working towards in the coming weeks.

An evening in the SU bar

By 5:30pm, it’s time to head home, and I’m very kindly picked up by my dad, as finishing at this time coincides with his work, and driving is a lot quicker than getting the bus home. We have a lovely family dinner, and I’m then dropped off outside The Venue, the SU bar on the Moulsecoomb campus, to meet some of my course mates for Drag Bingo! The Students’ Union holds lots of fun events in the evenings, and the SU bar is a great venue, with air hockey, pool tables and cheap drinks. This event is really fun, so it’s definitely worth looking out for upcoming events on their socials. IG: @subrighton_thevenue

Mondays are by far my busiest days, with the rest of my week being less full-on with only one or two lectures or seminars per day. I also have Thursdays completely free, which I use for studying. Being able to structure my course to my interests has been great, as the Literature in Practice module was optional for this semester. I’m so glad I chose it, as it’s giving me great industry experience which will be really useful once I graduate.