How To Start Wider Reading For A-Levels and Oxbridge Applications

Are you struggling to start wider reading, wondering what it is or why your teacher keeps telling you to start? In this article, we explain what wider reading is, how it will help you with your A-level exams and university applications and how to get started.

Author: Rob Needleman

Are you struggling to start wider reading, wondering what it is or why your teacher keeps telling you to start?

In this article, we explain what wider reading is, how it will benefit you and how you can get started. Plus, you’ll find our in-depth recommended reading list for any Oxbridge applicant.

What is wider reading?

In simplified terms, wider reading is going beyond what is covered in class. Wider reading covers more than just reading too, you can watch documentaries, enter competitions and more. You don’t have to be a book worm to get better grades (but there is nothing wrong with that either).

Wider reading is a personal exploration of the subjects you enjoy. It will show your A-level examiners that you have a good understanding of the subject and demonstrate your passion for the degree during a university interview. Through reading, you will also gain a deeper interest before you start your degree.

Why Is Wider Reading Important?

Wider reading is important when writing your Personal Statement as it is your opportunity to talk passionately about the subject and show you are taking an invested interest in it.

It is important to read critically by thinking carefully about the arguments, assumptions and evidence presented by the author. The Admissions Tutor is likely to ask you questions on this during your Interview, so be prepared with your thoughts and opinions.

The Institute of Education carried out a study of 6,000 children between 10-16 years old. Those who enjoyed reading regularly scored higher on maths, spelling and vocabulary tests than those who rarely read. This does not mean you are too late to benefit from wider reading if you are sitting your A-levels in two months, but it does help to start early and build a well-rounded knowledge as soon as you can.

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Wider reading is crucial to boost your university application. Our weekly enrichment supervisions will help you to develop a deeper understanding of your subject. Our goal is for you to effectively demonstrate your passion and suitability to the Admissions Tutors in your Personal Statment and during your Interviews.

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Wider Reading For A-Levels

Often labelled as ‘super curriculum learning’ by schools and universities, wider reading helps you understand a subject at a higher level than solely through classroom teaching.

You may hear your teachers say that to do well, you need to read around the A-level specification.

Well, to reach those top marks in exams, examiners often expect you to show evidence of wider reading. Marking criteria for AQA A-level Biology mentions: ‘For top marks in the band, the answer shows evidence of reading beyond specification requirements’.

It is actually relatively easy to pick up these extra marks, especially if you are already interested in your subject area.

With practice, you’ll be confident at incorporating relevant and original concepts into your exam answers that you picked up from wider reading. For example, in a Geography essay, you could use case studies from publications to critically evaluate the degree of success of strategies used in response to natural disasters. This shows real flair and a wide breadth of knowledge.

Wider reading should also give you confidence in answering exam questions as you will have a deeper understanding of the specification.

Wider Reading For University applications

Wider reading will help you stand out against your fellow applicants and show your passion for the degree. This is a great opportunity for you to demonstrate your academic potential and ability to work independently.

Your Personal Statement should explain why you are suitable for your chosen course, so make sure you strengthen your points with evidence from wider reading. It should be noted that wider reading, particularly in your Personal Statement, should be relevant so look at the admissions criteria for your chosen degree. For example, the Key Criteria for Cambridge Medical Admissions mentions ‘possess a sound appreciation of ethical, legal and community issues’. You could therefore include wider reading into ethics to strengthen your application.

During your university interviews, you may be asked “tell me something interesting you’ve read recently”. This can be the key to a successful interview or the downfall. It is a great opportunity for you to show your passion by discussing an interesting and relevant topic.

Throughout your interviews, you are likely to be tested on your ability to think critically and engage with the concepts you have studied. Wider reading will help develop these skills and give you the confidence to answer tricky questions.

A Quick Reminder:

Anything you mention in your Personal Statement may be brought up in an interview, so make sure you go back through the wider reading you included in your Personal Statement to be fully prepared. Don’t get caught out!

Aside from your application, wider reading will help you develop key skills for university work, such as critical thinking, academic research and independent study. Our Enrichment Supervisions, delivered by expert tutors, provide you with valuable topics to mention in your Personal Statement and interviews. These sessions ensure you gain a wider understanding of your subject and an interesting look into the field.

What counts as wider reading?

Remember, wider reading is not just book-based. If reading is not your thing, there are many ways to go beyond your A-level subject specifications. Here are some examples of wider reading:

Books

Already mentioned, and a fairly obvious one. Books cover a variety of information, including your niche interests and main points for every subject. Ensure you keep notes of the titles and authors for when it comes to Interview season.

Websites

There are countless sources online, from societies and academics which will often have news and articles related to your subjects. Make sure to sign up to their newsletters to stay up to date with everything.

Publications

Reading journals, reviews and reports is a big part of university, so getting used to understanding how to scrutinise and review publications is a key skill to develop.

Film and Television

Documentaries are a great source to utilise and are easier to consume than other forms.

News

The best source to keep across current affairs. Make sure you are checking the news regularly, particularly in the areas which you are wanting to study to stay up to date with the latest topics.

Online Courses

Universities, such as Reading University, now offer free online courses and supporting study. These courses cover a variety of topics such as Archaeology. Search for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) online.

Lectures

Taster days and relevant lectures are a great talking point during interviews and will also give you an insight into university teaching.

Competitions

The Big Bang Competition, debating competitions and Maths Challenge all show initiative and a real commitment to your subject. These competitions will help develop key skills for university, such as academic research, public speaking and presentation skills and look great on your Personal Statement.

We also suggest reading outside of your subject to avoid running out of steam or getting too narrow. This includes personal development books to improve your organisation and time management skills. At university, you will need good organisation skills to plan your time effectively around lectures, labs and leisure time.

How to start

With all these options available for wider reading, it may seem incredibly easy to jump in and build up a great collection of texts and experiences to reference. However, with so many choices, you may end up feeling overwhelmed by the number of options. With so many books published for each and every subject, how do you know what the best pieces will be to read first?

As with many things in life, the best thing to do is to check with the experts. While notable figures in your chosen subjects will provide you with plenty of good suggestions, you should also be sure to check out the universities themselves. Both Oxford and Cambridge have reading lists which demonstrate the types of texts they would like their applicants to read, with some individual colleges also having unique lists.

Choosing from a recommended reading list

These reading lists will be a huge help in narrowing down your options, but you may find that there is still more than you could realistically get through before your personal statement and interviews. While you should aim to read as much as possible, you may still need to be selective with your choices.

Here are a few tips to help you work through the various reading lists available:

Start with shorter texts, such as articles, and look at their bibliographies or perhaps literature reviews.
Identify your topics of interest and search for texts that cover new subjects that will increase your understanding.
Add some variety to your reading, don't just stay in your comfort zone.
Follow blogs, medium profiles, social media, podcasts, videos and lectures to increase you collection of short-form content.
Ask your school teachers and current students.

Organise Your Reading

In order to provide a clear answer during your interviews, it is really important to review and organise your reading. Each time you read a new text, it is helpful to go through some sort of process to make sure you digest what you’ve read.

As an Oxbridge Interview recommended reading strategy, we suggest that you set up a table or book review, which you fill out for each reading. This way, you can keep track and be prepared to use them to answer Oxbridge Interview questions. Here is a suggested format:

Book Title & Author:

Date Read:

Author’s Main Argument & Key Ideas:

Look out for any points of view which the author supports or challenges. Make note of any new concepts that the author proposes and any key debates with which the author engages.

Useful Facts Learnt:

Note down any interesting/useful bits of information you picked up.

Analysis:

Who is the author? Are they known for advocating a particular position?
Type of source? What are the limitations of this text as a source?
Are there any challenges I make to the author’s argument? How does their argument fit with the time/geography/politics of writing?
What might or might not affect any bias of the source? Which bits do I agree or disagree with?
What questions might I like to ask the author?

Keep a record of these tables and read over them before you go into the Interview. It’s especially important to do this for those sources you have mentioned on your Personal Statement. Highlight those mentioned or stick post-it notes on them so you can find them easily.

You can do this exercise by hand or digitally (however you work best), but make sure you summarise your thoughts as best you can! You really want to show the difference between just reading a source, to being able to understand the source you are reading and process the key ideas. Each subject will also have a slightly different approach to analysing sources.

Prepare properly for the Oxbridge Interview using our recommended reading lists and through Mock Interview practice and One-To-One Tuition.

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Subject Specific Oxbridge Interview Reading Lists

Aside from the Oxford and Cambridge recommended reading lists, take a look through our subject-specific reading lists to get you started before the Oxbridge Interviews.

Biology and Medicine

Chemistry

Physics

Psychology

Engineering

Maths

Law

Geography

MML

French:

Spanish:

German:

Classics

Texts in Translation:

Secondary Works:

History

Economics

PPE

Biological Anthropology

English

Politics

Sociology

HSPS

Conclusion

Wider reading is a personal exploration of the subjects you enjoy. It helps you to demonstrate a deeper understanding of your A-level subjects and convey your passion for your degree to university interviewers. There are more forms of wider reading than just books, so make your life easier and choose an approach that you enjoy to keep you motivated. From wider reading, you will quickly gain a more comprehensive understanding of your subjects, which will place you in a stronger position for starting your further education.

Looking for wider reading support to broaden your subject knowledge and demonstrate your passion to Admissions Tutors?