How to Prepare for ELAT?

What is ELAT?

The ELAT which is the abbreviated form of the English Literature Admissions Test is a specialized admission test for English literature and language in undergraduate courses. This particular test centers on the subjects such as the English language, Modern Languages, literature, and combined English for entering the gates of the reputed Oxford University. These tests are predominantly the initial stage to the entrance into the prestigious university of oxford. The ELAT exams are normally held in the mid of November and results are available through ELAT’s official website.

Format of ELAT:

The ELAT exam papers consist of passages or poems from prose’s or dramas which can be fictional or non –fictional, where the candidates are asked to carry out some works:

• You will be asked to contrast and compare the six passages of prose in your own way to make it look interesting, by paying a greater focus on some of the important criteria like structure, style, and language.
• When writing your own comparisons try to pick out some important readings or illustrations from the passages through close and vivid reading.

Steps for the preparation of ELAT:

For any competitive exam some of the common steps that you need to keep in mind before preparing for that exam are:

Time management: Making a proper utilization of time is very much essential in these competitive exams. So always try to make the best possible use of time, it’s not necessary to always sit with books for study but give a quality time when you devote for study. In the final weeks of preparation try to set a time to complete the sample test papers within 90 minutes so that you may not fall out in the final hour of the exam.

Identify the weaker points: Identify the weaker points within you which you need to polish, get good books on them, practice as much as you can until you become an expert in that. As ELAT is an exam on English language and literature, a stronghold in structure and style is a must.

Having a creative mind to analyze and criticize a topic: In ELAT you will give passages or prose to compare and contrast, having a good vision on how to creatively execute the critical appreciation and review of any prose. It's best to have good practice through some short prose.

The preparations of ELAT can be done only through vigorous reading of drama and prose by famous authors and writers. In ELAT the students are expected to be the best related to various writing skills, reading skills, grammar, and language accuracy.

For this, follow some useful tips:

• Choose unfamiliar topics and try to make assessments of them. You must have the ability to articulate the writing in different patterns and styles and bring out a mass idea from a particular passage. The best thing about this exam is that no scholastic performance will be taken into consideration; it’s your real talent that will help you.
• Reading irrelevant and vague contents: As you will not know what sort of passages or prose you will be given as assessment so always take the challenge to read as much as you can.

Follow these steps and tips given above and you will surely come out with flying colors.