Free Interview Resources
Free practice questions, preparation advice, and expert insights for English Literature interviews at Oxford.
Real English Literature interview questions in the style Oxford asks. Try answering each one aloud before you reveal the hint.
Before we start with any specific questions, can you give me a more general impression of whether you found the poem interesting, whether you liked it, and what particular points in the poem drew your attention?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
When you say the image is distorted, where do you see that in the text?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
What do you think of the final line of the first stanza, 'and do not wilt so much as faint'?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
What have you noticed about the form of the poem: the number of lines, the rhyming, or how the poem is organised or shaped?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
What do you make of the fact that the bracket is broken between two stanzas?
Close-Reading & Passage Analysis
Tutorial-style interviews with subject-specific problems, often involving unfamiliar material.
Oxford interviews typically take place at the college you applied to. You will usually have two or three interviews of around 20-30 minutes each, sometimes at different colleges if you are pooled. The atmosphere is meant to resemble a tutorial: the interviewer gives you a problem and watches how you reason through it.
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Why not just say 'wearing decay'? Why does the poem use the comparison 'like diadems'?
Tell me something interesting about this poem.
JK Rowling has just published a book for adults after the hugely successful Harry Potter series. In what ways do you think that writing for children is different to writing for adults?
Why do you think an English student might be interested in the fact that Coronation Street has been running for 50 years?
Why might it be useful for an English student to read the Twilight series?
Should poetry be difficult to understand?
What makes a novel a classic? Can a modern novel be a classic?
Is an understanding of rhythm important when writing prose?
Could the sentence 'Tom failed to catch the train on time again' be said to be poetry?
What is the difference between poetry and prose?
What makes a short story different from a novel?
Can a reader ever know a writer's intention?
Is an author's life important when looking at their work?
Do you think there is any point to reading criticism?
Can you sum up the critic's argument and then respond to it with your own thoughts?
Do you think it is important to study literature in chronological order?
If you could design the A level English course, which texts would you include?
If language is 'the house of being', what might that make literature?
Tell me about this literary work you have mentioned in your UCAS personal statement.
Why have you chosen Oxford, and why the English Language and Literature course specifically?
What books are bad for you?
12+ weeks
8-12 weeks
4-8 weeks
2-4 weeks
1 week before interviews
Unlock the full guide
Free Resource
The Complete Oxford English Literature Interview Guide
Enter your email to unlock the full question bank, worked approaches, a week-by-week prep roadmap, and the mistakes that cost offers.
Practice with a Oxford English Literature graduate who's been through it.
Book Mock Interview →Further Reading
by University of Oxford
Official course facts, entry requirements, written work, and admissions context for English Language and Literature.
by University of Oxford
Official guidance on interview purpose, online format, interview timing, and what applicants should expect.
by University of Oxford
Official sample questions, including English prompts on children's literature, long-running television, and personal statement reading.
by Faculty of English, University of Oxford
English-specific guidance on interview style, preparation, and the kinds of qualities tutors look for.
by Faculty of English, University of Oxford
Faculty guidance on selection criteria, personal statement expectations, and written work assessment.
by University of Oxford
Oxford-supported literary resources for exploring writers, periods, genres, and critical approaches beyond school set texts.
by University of Oxford
Oxford English Faculty resource introducing Black and Asian British writing through essays, author materials, and teaching resources.