Written work and portfolios

Applicants for Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. These can be in any subject, but it would be most useful if they are in the subjects you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Archaeology need to submit one piece of written work.

This should be in essay format (not science coursework or a timed exam) with a word limit of up to 1500 words, written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. The work can be taken from an EPQ. It can be in any subject, but it would be most useful if it is in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Architecture need to submit their own artwork. This submitted artwork needs to be in PDF format, up to 6 A4 pages, and less than 15MB in size. The work you choose should, at least in some way, reflect material you might bring as part of your portfolio if invited to interview.

If called for interview, you will then be asked to show your full portfolio. This could be a set of photographs or a slideshow of images, but it should be enough images of finished and sketch work for you to talk about for 10-15 minutes. In the full portfolio we would like to see any graphic work in any medium on any subject which is currently of interest to you – please do not feel you should restrict your samples to only those with architectural references. Please place most important work first. It is essential that your portfolio contains at least three drawings from life- this might be still-life as well as figure drawings but should include at least one human figure drawing or portrait. In addition, you can show sketchbooks if you have them but do not worry if you do not have them available.

Applicants for Asian and Middle Eastern Studies need to submit one piece of written work if they are combining their chosen language with a European language.

• If applying to continue a European language you are already studying, the written work should be an essay from your A Level (or equivalent) work for that language.
• If applying to study a European language from scratch, the written work should be an essay from any of your A Level subjects (or equivalent), but it would be most useful if it is in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Classics (3 years) need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses or one recent essay and a composition into Latin or Greek, marked by your school teacher.

Applicants for Classics (4 years including a preliminary year) need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. These can be in any subject, but it would be most useful if they are in the subjects you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Design need to submit their own artwork. This submitted artwork needs to be in PDF format, up to 6 A4 pages, and less than 15MB in size. The work you choose should, at least in some way, reflect material you might bring as part of your portfolio if invited to interview.

If called for interview, applicants are expected to show a portfolio of recent work:

• You don’t have to include work of an architectural nature, such as plans or sections
• We want to see something that illustrates your interests, experience and ability in the visual and material arts
• You may want to include drawings, paintings, sculpture and/or photography
• If you want to show us your three-dimensional work, it’s usually sufficient for you to show it through photographs

It is useful to bring to interview:

• any drawings you have been working on, in any media such as pencil, charcoal or crayon

This should include a variety of subject matter. It can be material prepared for school-leaving examinations, but creative work you have done outside formal courses is also welcome.

Applicants for Education need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. They should be in essay format (not science coursework or a timed exam) and can be extracted from an EPQ. If you do not have any essays that you can send, our preference is for candidates to ask their teachers to set them essay-writing tasks in a relevant subject to the course applied for.

Applicants for English need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as recently as possible. They should be written on a literary subject as part of your current English course and marked by your school teacher. We would like one extended piece of (revised) coursework and if at all possible, a handwritten piece composed in class or an examination, under timed conditions. If you do not have any essays that you can send, our preference is for candidates to ask their teachers to set them essay-writing tasks in subjects most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for History need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. Drafts of extended projects and coursework are acceptable as well. These can be in any subject, but it would be most useful if they are in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge. It is helpful if one the essays was produced under timed/exam conditions. If you are including work based around sources, please ensure that you include the source material as well.

Applicants for History and Modern Languages need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays you have written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. One should be from your History A Level (or equivalent); if you are including work based around sources, please ensure that you include the source material as well. The other should be written in the language you intend to study at university if you are studying a post-A Level language. If you are applying to study a language from scratch, the second essay should be in English, and can be from any of your A Level subjects (or equivalent). However, it would be most useful if it is in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for History and Politics need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. These can be in any subject, but it would be most useful if they are in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Human, Social, and Political Sciences need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. These can be in any subject, but it would be most useful if they are in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Linguistics and Modern Languages need to submit one piece of written work.

• If applying to continue a language you are already studying, the written work should be an essay from your A Level (or equivalent) work for that language.
• If applying to study a language from scratch, the written work should be an essay from any of your A Level subjects (or equivalent), but it would be most useful if it is in the subject you consider to be most relevant to your intended course at Cambridge.

Applicants for Modern and Medieval Languages need to submit two pieces of written work.

These should be recent examples of writing completed for school, one of which should be in one of the languages you intend to study at University and marked by your teacher.

Applicants for Music need to submit two pieces of written work.

Please send at least one example of each of your recent music theory (harmony and counterpoint) and essay work for A Level (or equivalent) in Music.

If you compose and would like to submit original compositions in addition to the two pieces of required written work, please submit your composition(s) at the same time.

You may be asked questions about the work that you submit during the interview so please make sure you keep a copy of everything you send.

Applicants for Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion need to submit two pieces of written work.

This should consist of two essays written as part of your current courses and marked by your school teacher. At least one of the two essays should be in the area of theology, religious studies, or philosophy, but if none are available, then essays from other subjects (history, literature, ancient history, politics, etc.) are acceptable. Ideally, these essays should be on subjects with a religious aspect.