Extracurriculars for English and Literature Majors

If your favorite subjects have always been reading- and writing-related, if you’ve never had to feign excitement for a spelling bee, or if you can argue convincingly both for and against the Oxford comma, you may very well be a good candidate to major in English/Lit.

If that’s your chosen path, you will want to get involved in extracurricular activities that showcase your reading, writing, critical thinking, and storytelling skills — as these will be most necessary to your success in college and beyond.

There is a broad range of career paths available to English/Lit. majors. Some will go into teaching and academia. Others may opt for a career in journalism or writing. Some may even go on to pursue careers in which their reading, writing, and critical thinking are not shared with a public audience but are still core to what they do, such as a researcher or even a lawyer. What all these career paths have in common is that they require keen analytical skills and the ability to craft a narrative.

These are what college admissions teams are looking for when reviewing the applications of English/Lit. Students. And your choice of extracurricular activities can absolutely help demonstrate that you’ve got it.

Though the main prerequisite for acceptance at a top college is the breadth and depth of your studies, top grades, and excellent test scores, extracurriculars do matter. Our Crimson Education Strategists estimate they can count toward as much as 30% of your application. And that should be music to your ears, because when it comes to extracurriculars for English/Lit. majors, they’re likely things you’d enjoy doing in your spare time anyway.

When looking for inspiration, it can be helpful to see what other students have done — and at Crimson, we have that information. Our Education Specialists have been helping students get into their top choice colleges for more than a decade. Here are some of the extracurricular activities that students who have been accepted into top colleges have submitted on their applications.

18 Extracurricular Activities Ideas for English/Lit. Majors

Examples of Extracurriculars for English/Lit. Majors

When it comes to extracurriculars, what college admissions reviewers are looking for is passion for writing and literature — the acts of doing them and thinking about them — in and out of the classroom.

So showing that you take advantage of opportunities to pursue storytelling activities, even when it’s not for class credit, can make your application memorable.

Here are some examples of activities that will help demonstrate analytical and creative writing skills:

1. Writing for School Newspapers, Literary Magazines, or Blogs

If you’re a high school student who enjoys reading and writing and you want to make a career of it someday there’s no better extracurricular activity than writing for your school newspaper or other publications.

While writing in a private journal can certainly be rewarding, writing for a public audience raises the bar substantially. You will learn to:

• Research topics
• Evaluate sources
• Interview subjects
• Synthesize reporting
• Communicate your thoughts clearly and persuasively
• And to be persuasive, engaging, and when appropriate, even entertaining

You’ll also become familiar with the grammar and spelling rules of the most-used professional style guides, such as the Associated Press guide and the Chicago Manual of Style. You may even work your way up to an editorial role, yourself. Taking on a role like editor-in-chief of the school newspaper is a way to demonstrate leadership — and that’s something colleges like to see.

Another benefit to working on the school newspaper or another publication while you’re in high school is the opportunity to showcase your writing. You’ll begin to build a portfolio of writing clips, which is something you’ll need when you start to apply for internships or summer jobs.

You can even add links to your writing in the “Additional Information” section of your college application. Literary magazines offer a different type of experience. Being published in a literary journal is a great way to showcase your creative writing in the form of short stories, essays, and poetry.

Being published in a literary journal is a validation of your talent by professional editors and publishers. And through the editing and revision process, you’ll hone your writing skills.

2. Participating in Poetry Slams or Creative Writing Contest

If creative writing is your passion, there are additional ways to take your work public, including participating in poetry slams and entering writing contests. Winning or placing in a creative writing contest is another form of external validation of your talent.

It shows that your work stands out among others to professional judges. And this recognition can be particularly persuasive to another set of judges — college admissions officers.

Poetry slams take the written word to another level. When you write poetry, it’s just you and your imagined reader. But when you present your poetry live to an audience, it becomes additionally about the spoken word and your performance. You learn how to:

• Synthesize your thoughts and emotions
• Communicate through thoughtful use of language, body language, cadence, and rhythm
• Overcome any nervousness about public speaking
• Take risks with your creative expression

As poetry slams are less common than other forms of creative writing, sharing details about yours on your college application can really help you stand out.

3. Founding a Book Club or Joining One

Studying English/Lit. isn’t just about writing, it’s also about reading and appreciating the great works of other writers. So belonging to a book club is another worthy extracurricular activity for an English/Lit. major.

It counts when you want to show that you go the extra mile to pursue your passion for literature, even when it's not for school credit.

If your school doesn’t have a book club, consider starting one. Founding a book club shows initiative. It also demonstrates leadership — something admissions teams particularly look for — and you’ll gain experience recruiting others who share your interests.

Just don’t forget that a book club isn’t just about reading the works; it’s also about analyzing them. So a good book club leader will be thoughtful, choosing works that resonate with club members and facilitating vigorous discussions.

The latter might mean that you need to read the book ahead of everyone else and issue study questions that will prompt thoughtful critiques and discussions about theme, character development, dialogue, imagery, narration, story arc, etc.

You’ll want to be sure to foster a good club environment, where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. In addition, your club might invite guest speakers (usually authors) or engage in community outreach. Outreach activities can include fun events or projects, like having a book drive or building a free library for kids.

4. Volunteering for Local Libraries or Literacy Programs

If you feel passionately about how reading has changed your life, you may want to help others appreciate books as much as you do. Volunteering at your local library can be a very rewarding extracurricular activity.

In addition to learning how to communicate with and serve the public, you’ll learn practical skills, such as organization, time management, attention to detail, and research methodologies.

The experience you gain as a volunteer might just lead to a summer job or an internship along the way. It could even lead you to seek a career as a librarian or researcher.

Should you wish to extend your personal passion for literature to advocacy, you could do no better than to get involved with a literacy organization. This kind of work could be especially meaningful if literature has played a positive influence on your own life and you want to extend that gift to others.

Working for a literacy program, you’ll gain valuable skills in organization, communication, and teaching — plus, it shows a commitment to civic engagement, which many top colleges particularly like to see. This type of work could lead you to a career as a teacher, professor, or program director in a nonprofit or NGO.

5. Internships with Publishing Companies or Other Editorial Roles

An internship or other editorial role in book publishing, magazine publishing, or digital publishing can be a great extra curricular for an English/Lit. major. First, you’re getting invaluable firsthand experience in publishing. And, depending on the department you work in, you may get real-life insights into what it's like to work as an editorial assistant, a researcher or writer, or marketing assistant.

Interns are often assigned similar tasks as entry-level editorial assistants, such as writing, editing, or proofreading shorter articles, transposing video transcripts into copy, or gathering assets for a project. These are great introductory tasks that will help you build skills in communication, research, information gathering and synthesis, attention to detail, organization, time management, collaboration, and project management.

In addition, it’s an opportunity to grow your professional network. You may meet a mentor, or build trust with colleagues who can later write recommendations, refer you for a job, or even hire you one day.

You’ll also gain a deeper understanding of the business of publishing, including costs and revenue streams. And you’ll be introduced to the technology that editors and writers use in their daily work, including content management systems as well as analytics platforms that tell publishers who their audience is and which articles are most engaging to them.

6. Showcasing Creativity and a Passion for Storytelling

In addition to all the activities mentioned, there are still more ways that you could showcase your creativity and storytelling talent away from school.

You could start a podcast discussing books, poetry, favorite authors, or sharing writing tips and techniques. You could participate in a local writer’s group, attend a literary festival, or start an independent research project.

If you have an idea for a short story or novel, you could take a writing class at your local community college. There are also writers workshops available online that you could take advantage of.

Basically every activity that you do to engage in your core subjects even when it’s not for credit is viewed positively by college admissions teams who are reading hundreds of personal essays each year. What they’re looking for is to get to know you, to understand what qualities you would bring to their campus community. So they’ll be interested in seeing your creative work, whether it’s been published professionally or developed on your own.

Your extracurricular activities, what you get out of them, and how you communicate about them help make your college application real, moving, and memorable.

Why Extracurriculars Matter

Extracurricular activities matter to admissions teams because they help them understand who you are as a person. Sure, they’ve got your transcript. They see the rigor of your studies, your grades and GPA, and your test scores.

All of this tells them that you’re prepared to do college level work. But it doesn’t tell them what personal qualities you will bring to their campus community and if you’d be a good fit for their school. Your extracurriculars—and how you frame your experiences—could be a deciding factor.

What you learned from your extracurricular activities, and how you reflect upon that, can give you a personal story to tell that will set you apart from other students and make your application memorable.

This is increasingly important, because admission to top colleges and universities has never been so competitive. Top schools receive tens of thousands of applications — from far more students than they can ever accept. And admissions rates are shrinking every year.

This is why Crimson Education Specialists recommend that students begin strategizing about your extracurriculars as early as 9th grade. If you wait until 11th Grade, you won’t have time to strategically choose activities that help political science students grow, acquire skills, and have a story to tell that resonates.

If you're unsure how to build the perfect extracurricular profile and college application, our experts can help! Students working with Crimson are 7x more likely to gain admission to their dream university.