I studied Literature as a subject in my WACE, also on the med grind. I also, coincidentally, did quite well in the subject - I ended up coming 2nd in the state!
From what I can guess, Literature is more formulaic which is why I think a student like me, who leans very heavily into maths and sciences, was able to do well. If you have a structure for an essay, a good understanding of analysis and literary devices, and the passion to truly understand the cultural studies part of Lit, then it can be a very enjoyable and somewhat easy subject to do OK in (obviously, to do extremely well takes a large amount of work and memorisation) - understand the cultural context/zeitgeist, create main points, find quotes to support your arguments, and then write a highly structured essay just like the ones you've done so far. English, from what I've heard, seems to be much less organised/structured.
Ultimately, whether you continue with Lit or not I think should come down to these key points:
- Will you get a pass mark in English? (Yes)
- Will it be significantly less work to get a pass mark in English? (Not necessarily - it depends on you!)
- Will dropping Lit be worthwhile for your overall learning and education, ignoring the ATAR grind? (Debatable, but I enjoyed Lit for sure.)
If you can't say Yes to all three of these dot points, then you might want to reconsider any choice to drop Lit in favour of English.
Good luck on the path to medicine!
