This paper looks at the conceptual thresholds in relation to academic reading which might be crossed by undergraduate English Literature students. It is part of a wider study following 16 students through three years of undergraduate study. It uses theoretical ideas from Bakhtin and Foucault to analyse interviews with English lecturers. It identifies a number of specific thresholds which the lecturers suggest need to be crossed by successful students. These include active engagement with reading, an understanding of texts as discourse and the development of a personal yet critical voice. (Contains 1 note.)