Research the various career options available within the English field. This can affect the type of bachelor's degree in English you receive. Your high school guidance counselor or professionals in the English field can help you. For example, if you would like to ultimately teach literature at the college level, your undergraduate degree should be in a specific literature field, such as English or American literature. On the other hand, if you want to work as a fiction writer, high school teacher or journalist, English programs are available with concentrations in creative writing, secondary education and journalism respectively.
Find out what schools offer the type of bachelor's degrees in English that you're looking for. For example, if you would like to work as a technical writer, find schools that offer concentrations in technical writing and have professors with this degree or work experience in this field.
Learn more about the coursework that's available through each program you're considering. Basic English coursework should include literature, creative writing and courses in the humanities. However, more specialized courses, such as those in journalism or technical writing, are available through some programs.
Learn about practical experience by getting involved outside of the classroom. Since many English fields are highly competitive, it's important to get practical experience while in college. Universities with established newspapers or literary journals, for example, can open up opportunities. Some degree programs also require an internship in writing and editing, which can help prepare you for your future career.
Demonstrate your best English skills throughout the application process. For example, the essay is a great opportunity for you to simultaneously express yourself and demonstrate your writing skills. Typos and grammatical errors are never good, but they can came across even worse for an aspiring English major. Another way to demonstrate your skills is by picking people to write letters of recommendations for you that can give real examples of your talent, such as a newspaper editor that could write about the columns you wrote.