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3 Thrilling Reads for Oxbridge Applicants – Linguistics

Good Daytime, What is language? How does it evolve? Is communication possible without language? Well this book recommendation would be RUBBISH without language, that’s for sure. This is the 4th instalment in our book recommendation series. If you haven’t guessed already, it concerns Linguistics. Enjoy!  
  1. The Story of Human Language by John McWhorter (audiobook, The Great Courses) 
Applying for Linguistics, a subject not taught in schools, is about aptitude and interest rather than previous experience.  This is why I’ve chosen to put an audiobook at the top of this list – a low-impact and portable way of getting a great overview of the subject.  The style can be a bit twee at times, but the content is fantastic; it touches on most aspects of linguistics as well as giving an idea of what language is in general.  The chapters each deal with different areas of the subject, and flow in a logical order with an entertaining host.  There is also an accompanying PDF, which I think is extremely helpful.  (Recommended by Rhys, who studied Linguistics and Spanish at Oxford)  
  1. How Language Works by David Crystal 
Crystal gives a polished and transparent (see what I did there?) look at much of the mechanisms through which language is generated, perceived, and acquired by young children.  There are other good books on the subject with a more psychological bent (look at The Stuff of Thought or The Language Instinct, both by Steven Pinker, if that’s more your thing), but this one was my pick for its structure and readability.  It also touches on a few other topics, such as parts of communication that accompany language (e.g. facial expressions, or hand gestures) to give a solid overview of the disciplines that you may be studying.  (Recommended by Rhys, who studied Linguistics and Spanish at Oxford)  
  1. Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch (book or audiobook) 
A very recent book which might seem like an odd choice, but I think this is an excellent introduction to how Linguistics can be applied in the real (or virtual) world.  The internet has altered how we speak – or, as the book shows, our speech has altered how we internet (yes, including using “internet” as a verb).  Through the prism of grammatical analysis, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics, the book explores several online language phenomena, and explains them with standard linguistic theory.   A light-hearted sideways approach towards the subject.  McCulloch also hosts a podcast called Lingthusiasm, which is another easy source of good ideas and information on Linguistics.  (Recommended by Rhys, who studied Linguistics and Spanish at Oxford)
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11 Extraordinary Reads for Oxbridge Applicants – Biology

Round 3. Welcome!

We are Biology. We rely on Biology. Here are a range of resources for those considering studying this world-changing subject at university.

We hope you find the resource useful. We will be uploading a new blog covering a different subject each week.

 

  1. The Greatest Show on Earth – Richard Dawkins

Great coverage of the range of arguments / pieces of evidence that support evolution by natural selection. This book gives someone a solid grounding / understanding of the crux of evolution, and can be a good springboard from which to explore further, if interested.

Recommended by Toby, who studied Biological Natural Sciences at Cambridge

 

       

  1. The Epigenetics Revolution or Hacking The Code Of Life – Nessa Carey

Epigenetics is an important area of Biology as it reveals layers of complexity between the genetic code and the proteins that genes can code for. This allows for greater variation in potential protein structure from a given genome, and more avenues for regulation of expression. Since I left school, Epigenetics has started being included on A-Level syllabuses. A huge area of interest in both the biological, healthcare and investment worlds is gene editing, and the potential benefits (and challenges) it can bring. With this in mind, Nessa Carey’s more recent book: Hacking the Code of Life, seems very relevant, although I have not read it yet.

Recommended by Toby, who studied Biological Natural Sciences at Cambridge

 

  1. Hallmarks of Cancer: The Next Generation: Cell Hanahan and Weinberg

A thorough overview on Cancer Biology. This is an updated version of the original ‘Hallmarks of Cancer’ paper that was published in 2000. The original is a very well-known and well-cited paper, but it makes sense to read the more up-to-date one, as the frontier of science has advanced since 2000.

Recommended by Toby, who studied Biological Natural Sciences at Cambridge

 

  1. Read up on Short-Read Sequencing (eg Illumina), Long-Read Sequencing (eg Pacific Biosciences of California) and Ultra-Long-Read Sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technologies).

The future of biological research is likely to be heavily reliant on genome sequencing, so an understanding of the main approaches, their pros and cons will be beneficial. Short-Read is dominant now, but will it remain so…?

Recommended by Toby, who studied Biological Natural Sciences at Cambridge

 

  1. Denis Noble, The Music of Life

In this highly accessible and readable, yet profound, book, Noble argues that contemporary biology is, rightly, moving away from a gene-centric understanding of life, and towards a more holistic picture. Living organisms are not puppets of their genetics. In fact, life emerges from a complex reciprocal interplay of DNA, cells, organism physiology and the environment. This new vision of life demands a different approach to biology, one that seeks to integrate the molecular (DNA, RNA, proteins and metabolites), cellular and physiological worlds that make up the organism and respond to its environment. This sets the scene for the growing interdisciplinary field of Systems Biology, a subject transforming contemporary biological/biomedical research and bringing together biologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers to build this more holistic picture, where life and its processes emerge from the orchestral interplay of its multidimensional components.

Recommended by Alex, who studied Natural Sciences and Systems Biology at Cambridge

 

  1. Schrödinger, What is Life?

One of the most important physicists of the 20th century muses turns his attention to biology, namely to the question of how we understand life as a physical phenomenon. This highly read, and critiqued, short book influenced many of the minds involved in the development of molecular biology, which has engulfed biological research ever since. Though Schrödinger’s ideas don’t all prove true (notably, he suggested that genetic information is stored in proteins), there is a remarkable depth to his arguments, which will broaden the mind of any reader interested in the intersection of biology and physics.

Recommended by Alex, who studied Natural Sciences and Systems Biology at Cambridge

 

  1. New Scientist and National Geographic 

For up to date new technology in the Science world and discussion points for interview.

Recommended by Josephine, who studied Biology at Imperial and Oxford

 

  1. Carroll, S. (2005), Endless Forms Most Beautiful

An excellent introduction to the diversity of life and its genetic basis, from an eloquent writer on the subject.

Recommended by Josephine, who studied Biology at Imperial and Oxford

 

  1. Leroi, A. (2003), Mutants 

An excellent introduction to genetics and the formation of the phenotype, illustrated with the extraordinary range of human mutations: it links together genes, cells and organismal form.

Recommended by Josephine, who studied Biology at Imperial and Oxford

 

  1. Darwin C. (1859), On the Origin of Species

Needs no introduction! This is a long, dense read but of course a foundational text in the life sciences.

Recommended by Josephine, who studied Biology at Imperial and Oxford

 

  1. Holland, P. (2011), The Animal Kingdom: A very short introduction 

This one is relatively close to the diversity of life strand of the first year course, or at least the zoological part of it, and provides an insightful yet accessible introduction to the diversity of animal life.

Recommended by Josephine, who studied Biology at Imperial and Oxford