Ill-prepared like a lazy Eng Lit candidate? Yes (7)
I believe the answer is:
unready
'a lazy eng lit candidate? yes' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'ill-prepared' is the wordplay.
'ill' becomes 'un' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'prepared' becomes 'ready' (associated in meaning).
'un'+'ready'='UNREADY'
'like' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for unready that I've seen before include "Ethelread the ..." , "Like one English king" , "Disobedient in a scout" , "Ethelred, the ..., old English king" , "ill-advised in a king" .)