Copolymers of 2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate-2-vinyl pyridine (H/V) of different composition were synthesized by free radical bulk polymerization using azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator under nitrogen atmosphere. The copolymer compositions were calculated from H-1 NMR spectra. The reactivity ratios for H/V copolymers obtained from a linear Kelen-Tudos method (KT) and nonlinear error-in-variables method (EVM) are r(H) = 0.50 +/- 0.10, r(V) = 1.04 +/- 0.08 and r(H) = 0.55, r(V) = 1.06 respectively. The complete spectral assignment of methine, methylene, methyl, carbonyl, and aromatic carbon regions in term of compositional and configurational sequences of H/V copolymers were done with the help of C-13{H-1} NMR, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer (DEPT), two-dimensional heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) along with total correlated spectroscopy (TOCSY). (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.