Test taken: English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

My first interview took the form of a general chat, where my answers generally led the topics explored and the discussion we had. In the first interview I was asked about my personal statement, including what I had read, as well as one of the essays that I had sent in being picked apart with the interviewers input and commentary. That sounds really scary but it was basically a discussion about my essay where what I had written was challenged and the interviewers gave their perspective about what I could have written or meant. The first interview was more relaxed and took the tone and form of a conversation rather than a standard formal interview which I wasn't expecting.

My second interview had two parts, which I was not expecting and hadn't realised until I actually had my interview. The first part involved reading two unseen poems and then included answering some questions on said poems that were provided. I roughly had half an hour to read and analyse my poems. The second interview I felt had a much more formal tone, although this was probably exacerbated by the fact that I had one rather than two interviewers for my second interview. However, the conversation was still led and directed by my responses, although I felt in the second one I had to be prompted more because I felt more nervous due to the difference in topic.

I had lots of practice interviews including with teachers where general skills were talked about (like maintaining eye contact, focusing on asking questions if you don't understand). I also re-read some of the texts I had mentioned in my personal statement - this was helpful as my personal statement was mentioned and explored during my first interview for quite a while. One piece of advice I also got was to be as honest as possible - when I was asked what book Iwas reading, for example, I told the truth rather than what I thought was expected, which was invaluable as we discussed the book I had mentioned at some length.

To prepare for my test, I was advised to use the themes that I had mentioned in my personal statement to expand my knowledge. This practice initially led to eventually looking at and trying to complete sections of past papers, rather than past papers in their entirety straight away.