English Literature Admissions Test; 2x interviews.
Interview 1: Pre-1800 literature, personal statement, poem analysis; Interview 2: Post-1800 literature, poem analysis.
Preparing conversation topics based on personal statement; mock interview with a teacher.
You don't have to know everything; inform the interviewer if you're confused.
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: 30 minutes
Online interview: No
My first interview was structured to focus on pre-1800 literature and I was asked several questions on my personal statement and my reasons for applying to Cambridge. I was also given ten minutes before the interview to analyse a poem which we then discussed.
My second interview was on post-1800 literature and I was asked a lot about famous authors from this period, even though they were not in my personal statement. However, it did not matter if I did not know who an author was, as my interviewer only spoke about topics I could contribute to. I was also handed a short poem on the spot to read aloud and talk about.
I learnt lots about the authors I included in my personal statement and made sure I had interesting opinions on each of the texts which would spark a topic of conversation I felt comfortable talking about, such as mentioning feminism when asked about the Brontës.
The best experience was the
Looked at practice papers and worked out timings
Take confidence in the fact that you do not need to know everything. Tell your interviewer if something confuses you or if you don't know who they're talking about and they will gladly teach you/move on to a better topic.