Oxbridge Interview / The Oxford interview / English Language and Literature
Oxford English interview: the unseen passage, your essay and the published questions
Tutors say they are 'not looking for any particular reading, or particular answers'. Two-thirds of applicants are interviewed, and most will be handed an unseen poem or passage.
Updated September 2026Oxford's English Language and Literature course interviews about 67% of applicants and admits about 22%, with an intake of 208 (three-year average, 2023-25). There is no admissions test. You submit one analytical essay in English literature of up to 2,000 words, marked by a teacher and not rewritten, by 10 November, with a cover sheet. Oxford says successful applicants show wide, engaged and thoughtful reading, that the written work gauges your analytical skills, and that interviews explore your enthusiasm for literature, your response to new ideas and your capacity for independent thought. Shortlisted applicants may be asked to discuss an unseen piece of prose or verse given before or in the interview. Its tutors have published three questions: how writing for children differs from writing for adults, 'tell me about this work you mentioned in your personal statement', and why an English student might care that Coronation Street has run for fifty years. Shortlisted applicants are interviewed online in December, usually by two tutors, often more than once and sometimes by a second college. Oxford calls it 'a short tutorial with someone who knows the subject well'.
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS.
Merra: practise it out loud before it counts
Merra's Oxford English practice is a spoken mock in the tutorial style: five questions built on Oxford's published English questions and criteria, one follow-up each, about fifteen minutes, then spoken feedback and a written report. It cannot present an unseen passage, so the close-reading questions work from a text you name at setup.
- 1Sign up free — no card, 2 free coaching sessions available until used.
- 2Practise out loud — answer unseen discussion questions with an AI tutor.
- 3Get readiness feedback — see how you reasoned and how you handled the push, with a recording and transcript.
No card details required. Your first 2 coaching sessions are free.
Practise an Oxford-style English Language and Literature interview
An AI tutor asks an unseen discussion question out loud, pushes once with a follow-up, then moves on — the same shape as the real thing, minus the science problems on paper.
Practise an Oxford-style English Language and Literature interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscriptionHow this interview works
- 1No admissions test. Submit one analytical English literature essay, up to 2,000 words, marked by a teacher and not rewritten after marking, with a cover sheet completed by you and your teacher, by 10 November 2026. A timed essay, commentary or coursework excerpt all qualify.
- 2Shortlisting: about 67% of applicants are interviewed. Invitations arrive from mid-November to early December.
- 3Interviews are online in December, usually two tutors. You may be asked to discuss an unseen piece of prose or verse given to you before or in the interview.
- 4Tutors explore your enthusiasm for literature, your response to new ideas and information, and your capacity for independent thought. Oxford says it is 'not looking for any particular reading, or particular answers'.
- 5Expect to be asked about a work from your personal statement and pushed from what it's about towards how it's written: narrator, structure, vocabulary, assumptions about its reader. Be honest on your statement.
- 6Decisions on 12 January 2027 via UCAS.
Interview questions
Three questions below are Oxford's own published sample questions, marked (published by Oxford). The rest are Merra practice questions written to Oxford's stated criteria; they are not Oxford's. Merra cannot hand you an unseen passage; it asks you to work from a text you know.
“JK Rowling has published a book for adults after Harry Potter. In what ways do you think writing for children is different to writing for adults?”
“Tell me about a literary work you mentioned in your personal statement. Follow-up from the tutor: how does the author choose to begin and end it, and why?”
“Why do you think an English student might be interested in the fact that Coronation Street has been running for 50 years?”
“Take a poem you know well. What would change if it were written in the third person instead of the first?”
“If I said the author's life is irrelevant to reading their work, how would you argue with me?”
“Is there a book everyone praises that you think is overrated? Make the case without being rude about it.”
“What's the oldest thing you've read for pleasure, and what surprised you about it?”
“Pick a first sentence you remember. What is it doing to the reader?”
Pricing
FAQs
How many applicants does Oxford interview for English?
About 67%, with about 22% successful and an intake of 208 (three-year average 2023-25).
What written work does Oxford English need?
One analytical essay in English literature, up to 2,000 words, marked by a teacher and not rewritten, with a cover sheet, by 10 November.
Will I get an unseen text in the Oxford English interview?
Oxford says shortlisted applicants may be asked to discuss an unseen piece of prose or verse given before or in the interview.
Does Oxford want me to have read particular books?
No. Its course page says tutors are not looking for any particular reading or particular answers, but for evidence of wide, engaged and thoughtful reading and how you engage with literature.
Is there an admissions test for Oxford English?
No. Selection is on your application, written work and interview.
Official information
For the official course page and admissions details.
More Oxbridge interview guides
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS. Merra’s feedback is advisory only — it is not a guarantee of any offer or admission outcome.
The Oxbridge interview is spoken. Practise it that way.
Your first mock takes about 15 minutes: an unseen question, a follow-up, and feedback on how you reasoned. Free, no card.
Practise an Oxford-style English Language and Literature interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscription