Prospective higher education students usually find that the rite of passage from school to university is marked by the arrival of an intimidating reading list, signalling everything that should be covered between A-level and freshers’ week.

Doing English is an immensely helpful introduction to theacademic transition from school to university ways of studying English. The sudden appearance of literary theory on the syllabus is only one of many ways in which the “subject” of English is reconstituted at this stage, and the first months can be very disconcerting. Eaglestone’s clear and stimulating guide is exactly what students need to get their bearings.

Peter Hollindale