How Much Reading Should I Expect in an MA Program in English Lit?

[A blighted one]

Hi everyone, 

So I'm starting my MA in English literature this fall and I'm wondering if any of you would enlighten me as to how much reading I'll likely be assigned per week. I know this probably varies a lot depending on school/department/class, but if you could give me a rough estimate, that'd be super helpful. I want to make sure I get used to the expected pace before I start classes so I'm not totally overwhelmed. Thanks so much!

[erosanddust]

You're right that it will certainly vary, but most literature classes I've been in have typically assigned one primary text (be it a novel, play, or group of poems) and 1-2 related articles or chapters of theory/criticism per week. If you join any extracurricular research or reading groups, those often bring additional weekly/biweekly reading too.

[Dr. Old Bill]

I would venture to guess that it varies too much to even give you a rough estimate. Different programs, different professors, different eras, different focuses...all of these things are going to determine how much reading you'll have to do.

My current graduate Shakespeare course (just a general course -- no specific theme etc.) has a play and five or six critical essays in an average week, which feels appropriate for the class. Last week there was no play but around a dozen critical essays and historical pamphlets from the 16th century, which was a lot of reading. A Modernist fiction course I took last semester usually had a novel and a few short stories (or sometimes poems), plus a couple of critical essays per week. A comp-rhet course had around ten or so essays per week (plus a heavy writing load).

All of this is to say that it really does vary. Maybe 300 - 400 pages per course per week is a general average, but YMMV.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Wyatt's Terps
Cross-posted with erosanddust who seems to have it a bit lighter ;)

[CrunchyMamademic]

I've had wildly different courses. Some had 400 page novels weekly (with writing assignments); others were lighter on the classroom reading, but had research projects we were continuously reading for on our own time. One poetry class had us read 20 or so poems each week and only a few pages of biography. Still another I hardly remember more than 30 pages at at a time, if that. That course was much more hands-on, research-based than some other classes, but it was still by far the least demanding course.

I think the important thing to note is that you will need to do a lot of independent reading, so although individual courses may not require much for classroom discussion, the behind-the-scenes research is what will really eat your time. (At least in my experience.)

[orphic_mel528]

I think Wyatt Terps' estimate is in line with my own MA work. The short answer is "a lot." It honestly depends on the class, but overall, I always found the writing to be the most time-consuming, not the reading that was the basis for the writing. 

[A blighted one]

Thanks everyone! This is all totally helpful!

[Dr. Old Bill]

14 minutes ago, orphic_mel528 said:

I think Wyatt Terps' estimate is in line with my own MA work. The short answer is "a lot." It honestly depends on the class, but overall, I always found the writing to be the most time-consuming, not the reading that was the basis for the writing. 

Yeah, this really can't be overstated. You have the mandatory reading for the course, which can be reduced a bit if you feel you're swamped (I'd say I've done 95% of the reading I've been assigned as a grad student, but every once in awhile you're simply overloaded and something has to give / be skimmed etc.), but then there's all the reading that you need to do when you're researching a paper. As an undergraduate I used to have a "source-per-page" rule, meaning that if I was writing an eight-page paper, I should have at least eight sources. You can safely double that as a graduate student in English. And while reading during research is arguably a different kind of reading (more like a strange combination of skimming and close-reading), it's very time consuming. And -- don't forget -- it's in addition to your mandatory class reading.

This is where time management becomes essential, and I truly believe that it's a woefully underdiscussed competency. I'm personally very lucky to have a strong sense of time management and organization -- if I didn't, I really wouldn't have excelled in academia. Being able to assess the amount of reading you have in a given week, and cross-reference that with how fast you personally can get through the material (factoring in your reading speed and mental health breaks etc.) goes a long way. Sometimes I'll have the readings for a Wednesday class done on the previous Saturday, because the readings for a Thursday class are going to be more time-consuming and will require a lot more attention etc. There are so many of these little nuances you'll eventually discover...and they're one of the many elements of the adjustment between college and graduate school.

I'm glad you started this thread, though, as I'm realizing how little this stuff actually gets discussed...

[A blighted one]

31 minutes ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

Yeah, this really can't be overstated. You have the mandatory reading for the course, which can be reduced a bit if you feel you're swamped (I'd say I've done 95% of the reading I've been assigned as a grad student, but every once in awhile you're simply overloaded and something has to give / be skimmed etc.), but then there's all the reading that you need to do when you're researching a paper. As an undergraduate I used to have a "source-per-page" rule, meaning that if I was writing an eight-page paper, I should have at least eight sources. You can safely double that as a graduate student in English. And while reading during research is arguably a different kind of reading (more like a strange combination of skimming and close-reading), it's very time consuming. And -- don't forget -- it's in addition to your mandatory class reading.

This is where time management becomes essential, and I truly believe that it's a woefully underdiscussed competency. I'm personally very lucky to have a strong sense of time management and organization -- if I didn't, I really wouldn't have excelled in academia. Being able to assess the amount of reading you have in a given week, and cross-reference that with how fast you personally can get through the material (factoring in your reading speed and mental health breaks etc.) goes a long way. Sometimes I'll have the readings for a Wednesday class done on the previous Saturday, because the readings for a Thursday class are going to be more time-consuming and will require a lot more attention etc. There are so many of these little nuances you'll eventually discover...and they're one of the many elements of the adjustment between college and graduate school.

I'm glad you started this thread, though, as I'm realizing how little this stuff actually gets discussed...

I agree! As for time management...oh boy--this doesn't and never has come naturally to me. I'm the worst procrastinator. I wonder if there's a thread on here somewhere with tips on managing time effectively? **goes searching**

[rimeroyal]

In medieval studies, my program has us doing 2-3 sources (which could be anywhere from a short book to a 10k line poem) and 5-6 scholarly articles a week, on average. It varies by class, though; my load this semester is different thanks to a paleography class, so sub one of those sources from just reading to transcribing. But yeah, period will make it vary wildly. In the UK, we have a little more freedom with how we structure our time since we only meet once a week, but that also means we have to have a lot ready to talk about in each class. Those reading loads were pretty common in the first half of the semester, but toward the end, most people I knew (me included) cut back on class reading to make room for finals reading.

For me at least, reading is a lot more time-consuming than the writing. I can fire off a full paper in a day, but only after weeks of reading at my snail's pace.

[Yanaka]

52 minutes ago, rimeroyal said:

For me at least, reading is a lot more time-consuming than the writing. I can fire off a full paper in a day, but only after weeks of reading at my snail's pace.

Same. Except that I don't know how long your papers are! But I'm a very slow reader... I'm scared now!

[Dr. Old Bill]

23 minutes ago, Yanaka said:

Same. Except that I don't know how long your papers are! But I'm a very slow reader... I'm scared now!

I'm a very slow reader as well, and can only read for about an hour at a time without a break. It's doable! You just need to be able to plan around your limitations (which becomes a case of time management once again).

[Yanaka]

1 minute ago, Wyatt's Terps said:

I'm a very slow reader as well, and can only read for about an hour at a time without a break. It's doable! You just need to be able to plan around your limitations (which becomes a case of time management once again).

Good to know! I planned to work on time management and train myself to have schedules, but applications have gotten me all over the place.

[anxiousphd]

My experience has been similar to @Wyatt's Terps and @orphic_mel528-- during my first semester, I read roughly 1000 pages/week. I had slightly less reading-heavy courses in my second semester, but I was also TAing a lit class, so I averaged around 1100/week. My third semester was much lighter; one course on Yeats (all of his poetry and light on criticism), a Jewish Lit course that had a fair amount of reading, and TAing a lot course. I probably only read 800/week that semester. 

I also like to break up my work, though I find that switching between work for each class and changing locations pretty often (like moving from Starbucks to the library) helps me stay focused. 

Best of luck in your MA program! I'm sure you'll do great.