The Student Room Group

A Guide to the ELAT

Based on a post I made before the ELAT 2009. Now updated with more advice given before the ELAT 2010.



In this post I summarise the information given on the ELAT website, attempt to explain what is expected of you in the test, give some ideas for preparing for the ELAT, and work through the sample paper as an example.

None of the advice contained here is in any way authoritative, because it only comes from me. To minimise the possibility of my bad advice leading you astray I've stuck like a limpet to the information given by Cambridge Assessment. You should go to their website first. The intention of this post is the allay any worries that you may have about the test.


The Test



The test for applicants this year will be at 9am on the 3rd of November, 2010. You will need to be registered through your centre for the test by the 15th of October, which is the same date as the deadline for Oxford applications.


From the ELAT website:

The ELAT is a pre-interview admissions test for applicants to undergraduate courses in English at the University of Oxford. The test is designed to enable applicants to show their ability in the key skill of close reading, paying attention to such elements as the language, imagery, allusion, syntax, form and structure of the passages set for comment.
...
ELAT is a 90-minute test, candidates write one essay comparing two or three passages. This is not a test of wide reading, nor is it based on the assumption that there are certain texts that all students should have read by this stage in their education. Marks will not be awarded for reference to other texts or authors, nor will candidates be expected to try to apply any theoretical frameworks to their essay.
...
Candidates will be given six poems or passages from prose and/or drama. The prose may include fiction and non-fiction. The six passages will be linked in some way, and this link will be made explicit in the introduction to the passages.
...
There will be a single task worded as follows:

Select two or three of the passages (a) to (f) and compare and contrast them in any ways that seem interesting to you, paying particular attention to distinctive features of structure, language and style. In your introduction, indicate briefly what you intend to explore or illustrate through close reading of your chosen passages.


The most important resource on the website is the sample test, which can be found here. If you have not done so already, I suggest that you sit the sample paper as if it were the real thing, and then ask a teacher very nicely if they can mark it for you. The marking criteria for the ELAT is here. Your teacher probably won't be able to give you a score but they can at least give good feedback.

I am going to be using the sample paper as a running example from now onwards, so if you are yet to try it stop reading otherwise I'm going to be giving you ideas and ruin it. Click the spoiler for more...

Spoiler



You will receive your results on the 14th of January, 2011, which is most probably after you have heard from your college whether you have an offer.

Preparation



If you have not done the sample test yet, do it! Also you could ask your English teacher into finding a some unseen pieces of poetry or prose with a common theme that you could look at then give to them to mark. If you don't have a teacher you could ask and you're really desperate you could always try posting in this thread, and someone might be able to come up with something for you.

You can do some reading to improve your close reading. At the least, there are plenty of articles on The Internet that purport to explain close reading (such as this, or this, or this, or this). This webpage is very good: a 'virtual class' by Cambridge's English faculty. Like most things, there is no authoritative method to a close reading, so looking at more than one will give you an idea of the essential features. If you want to do more than this, you could try a book on the subject. Some have been recommended by other users, such as How to Read a Poem by Terry Eagleton.

If you have time for even more reading, the various 'introductions to literary theory' in my reading list for prospective English applicants will help you to think about literature in a more sophisticated way. However, remember: "Marks will not be awarded for reference to other texts or authors, nor will candidates be expected to try to apply any theoretical frameworks to their essay". You don't need to produce psychoanalytic readings, for instance, to get good marks in the ELAT.


Final Encouraging Remarks



Even if you don't get time for much preparation, don't worry about it. Close reading is a skill that, without really knowing it, you've been learning in your English lessons throughout school, and even in your everyday reading (since, as a good English applicant, you will always be reading with a critical and incisive mind). The ELAT isn't set by nasty Oxford to trick you out; Oxford can only find the best applicants if they provide you with a platform to really show off your skills, even if you didn't know you had them. As we saw in the worked example above, the passages have been put together to provoke a good result from you. Even if you think it's going badly, the chances are your answer is more interesting than you think.

That said, doing badly on the ELAT is not a catastrophe:
a) because, although it is important, it isn't the only factor in your admission
b) because, although it is quite nice, Oxford isn't the only university in the world.


Resources


From admissionstests.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/adt/elat (all .pdf):
- sample paper
- marking criteria
- glossary of 'ELAT terms'
- leaflet (to distribute amongst your friends and relatives)
- a POSTER of "key dates" (you can put it on your wall and everything)

From ox.ac.uk:
- Oxford application timeline
- Specific English application information


Post in this thread if you have any comments or suggestions about this guide, and please ask if you have any questions which aren't answered above. If you found this helpful, press the thumbs up at the bottom.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 1
MSB
Based on a post I made before the ELAT 2009.
Some Opening Remarks


None of the advice contained here is in any way authoritative, because it only comes from me. To minimise the possibility of my bad advice leading you astray I've stuck like a limpit to the information given by Cambridge Assessment. The intention of this post is the allay any worries that you may have about the test.

That should be 'stuck like a limpet.:p:
Anyway, stickied. Well done for taking the time to compile all that information.:smile:
Reply 2
I'm really confused and have an urgent question..I'm applying to university of cambrdige for literature.. do i need to give the elat? i know that its written for oxford, but do ppl who apply to cambridge give it?
Reply 3
Original post by ishterz
I'm really confused and have an urgent question..I'm applying to university of cambrdige for literature.. do i need to give the elat? i know that its written for oxford, but do ppl who apply to cambridge give it?

No. Only Oxford uses the ELAT. Some Cambridge colleges do their own written tests during interviews, though.
Reply 4
Oh ok thanks. If I'm not applying to Oxford and am going for UCL, do I do the ELAT anyway?(although ELAT is only for Oxford) UCL can't really interview me because I'm an international applicant.Is there a particular advantage to do so?
Reply 5
Original post by MSB



Post in this thread if you have any comments or suggestions about this guide, and please ask if you have any questions which aren't answered above. If you found this helpful, press the thumbs up at the bottom.


Thanks so much for this. I was just wondering if you have any sample answers? Thta would really help. If not, is there any way you can show us an intro? Or some parts from the main body? :smile:
Reply 6
The ELAT will take place on 2nd November 2011 at 9.00am GMT.

International candidates should check with their centre to confirm the start time.
Reply 7
Original post by torryton
The ELAT will take place on 2nd November 2011 at 9.00am GMT.

International candidates should check with their centre to confirm the start time.

Erm, what exactly are you trying to say there?:erm: Today's the 10th, so the ELAT 'will' not take place on the 2nd, it already has. And anyway, why post this?
Reply 8
Original post by ishterz
Oh ok thanks. If I'm not applying to Oxford and am going for UCL, do I do the ELAT anyway?(although ELAT is only for Oxford) UCL can't really interview me because I'm an international applicant.Is there a particular advantage to do so?


no. It's an Oxford test.
Original post by sundogs
no. It's an Oxford test.




It used to be. From this year on, Cambridge colleges (except the 4 "mature" ones) will use it too.

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