<p>I am an English major who would like to eventually earn a master’s in Library Science. I did not try very hard while I was in high school and I have not done very well in the few English courses I have taken in college so I am asking what knowledge an English major is expected to bring to college with them. I really want to succeed and I have almost two months to review. Any help at all would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Why aren’t you doing well? Are you trying hard enough?</p>
<p>I’m an English major at a small liberal arts college. What kind of school are you going to be attending? That’s important if you want your question answered well. Is it a large school or small? State or privately run? Because it does depend.</p>
<p>Generally I would say:
- Make sure you can write an essay. Talk to professors about their requirements and how stringent they are. I’ve heard that at some colleges you are allowed to make 3 grammar mistakes and if there are more, your paper will be given an F. Professors just got sick of English majors with sloppy grammar. But at my school, there’s a bit more grace, so check with the school. Regardless, make sure you can write a good 5-paragraph essay.</p>
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<li> Read books that are current and challenging. I’m thinking of books in particular like Drown by Juan Esparza (don’t know how to spell his last name?) Not only will you be reading classics, you will also be reading new literature. You will be reading both of these kinds of literature in light of ideologies like Marxism and feminism with an eye for racism, homosexual undertones, etc. In other words, you’re going to have to have good critical reading skills. Careful reading of thought-provoking books will help you prepare for this.<br></li>
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<p>Best of luck as you embark on this!!</p>
<p>P.S. People might tell you to bring an open mind. I disagree. People with this approach usually end up becoming clones of their professors. That attribute is uninspiring and tiresome. Bring instead a critical mind. Your professors will teach you lots of new ideas, and you will have to learn and understand them; however, all these ideas are subjective, and therefore open to criticism. Your ideas and values are just as valid as some of the whacky ones out there. In addition to learning to defend ones besides your own, learn to defend your own interpretation of literature.</p>
<p>Writing a great essay that’s free (or close to) of grammatical mistakes is going to be crucial to doing well.</p>
<p>You should be able to do a good analysis of a book or story, discussing the underlying themes, etc.</p>
<p>If you’re not doing well in your English classes, are you sure that English is the appropriate course of study for you? If you’re concerned about not getting into Library Science with any other degree, my cousin majored in History and was still able to get his masters in LS. Obviously, this is just a personal example, but it’s worth exploring other majors if English isn’t your forte.</p>
<p>I’m going to have to slightly disagree with what has already been said.
I don’t know what school you are attending, but you don’t have to declare your major during your freshman year. Depending on the school you attend, most will require you to take some sort of literature class, and a writing course, as part of your GEs. The writing course will most likely prepare you for writing papers at the college level. The literature class will teach you how to “read”.
What you learn during your freshmen and sophomore years in college will be sufficient to do the major. Just understand that if at first you don’t succeed(in your writing/literature classes) with experience you will get better.</p>
<p>English at the high school level is not anything like English at the college level.</p>
<p>Oh, I am sorry, but I forgot to mention that I am not a freshman, but rather a junior in college. I am trying desperately to declare a major, but I feel rather lost. Thank you everyone for your replies. You have been very helpful.</p>