Important
The ELAT is no longer held. It was last sat in October 2023, and the University of Oxford has not set it in any admissions round since. No other test has replaced it: Oxford now assesses English applicants on their UCAS application and samples of written work, plus interviews for those shortlisted. Oxford's Faculty of English confirms that candidates applying in October 2026 will not sit an admissions test.
Overview
The English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT) was a pre-interview admissions test for undergraduate English courses at the University of Oxford, including the joint courses that combine English with another subject. Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing developed it with Oxford. Oxford trialled it in 2006 and used it from 2007, and the University of Cambridge also used it for a time.
In October 2023 the test moved online with a new provider, after Cambridge Assessment decided to leave the admissions testing market. That sitting, on 19 October 2023, had technical problems, and the instructions referred to the previous year's theme. Oxford then announced that ELAT scores would not be used in any formal shortlisting that year. From the next admissions round Oxford's Faculty of English stopped setting the test.
The faculty's own pages say only that the test is no longer set. The description of the test below comes from Wikipedia and student press reports, because the former test provider's pages are no longer online.
Exam pattern
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Length | 90 minutes |
| Delivery | Computer-based in its final years; earlier sittings were usually taken at the applicant's school or college |
| Material | Six unseen literary extracts (poetry, prose or drama) linked by a common theme |
| Task | One essay comparing two of the six extracts |
| Timing | Late October or early November, before interviews |
Until 2018 candidates could compare two or three extracts; from 2018 they could choose only two.
Syllabus
The ELAT did not test wider reading or knowledge of particular texts. It tested close reading of unfamiliar material: candidates were expected to discuss features such as language, imagery, allusion, syntax, form and structure. Marks were not given for referring to other texts or authors, or for applying literary theory.
Marking and results
Two examiners each marked a script out of 30, giving a total out of 60. If their marks differed by five or more, a third examiner marked it and the two closest marks were combined. Oxford grouped scores into four bands, from candidates most likely to be invited to interview to those least likely. The score was only one of the factors used to decide on interviews.
What replaced it
There is no replacement test. Applicants to English at Oxford are assessed on their UCAS application (results, predicted grades, reference and personal statement) and on samples of written work they send in. Applicants for English with Classics, History or a Modern Language may still have to take an admissions test set for the other subject.
Is the ELAT still held?
No. It was last sat in October 2023, and Oxford has not set it since. Oxford's Faculty of English has confirmed that candidates applying in October 2026 will not sit it.
What do Oxford English applicants submit instead?
Samples of written work, alongside the UCAS application. Applicants for a joint course should check whether the other subject sets its own admissions test.