English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT); 2x interviews
Interview 1: poetry analysis, personal statement; Interview 2: discussion of A Level texts, personal interests
Practised close analysis of texts
Expand on the interests you showed in your personal statement
Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.
Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.
Test taken:
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 20 minutes
Length of interviews: 25 minutes
Online interview: No
In both interviewers, I was given a poem to analyse and discuss, although in one interview the poem was longer and conversation more in depth. We talked about things written in my personal statement and was posed questions about texts I was studying at A Level and my opinions on them.
In my second interview, we talked about A Level texts as well and my personal passions within the subject. The first interview was more challenging but the structure and pressure helped form my answers, whereas I was more
I looked up tips for text analysis and literary terms.
Try to be confident about what you write in your personal statement. I found that genuine interest in the subject and how you show this in your personal statement is more important over any other preparation. The ELAT was fun to do and only one part of the process, so as long as you keep your timings and arguments clear you may not need hours of preparation.