To study history as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford the inescapable reality is that you will have to pass the History Aptitude Test, known as the HAT. You will need to pass this test with a sufficiently high score to pass onto the next stage of the application process.
If you are applying for any of the following history topics you will need to sit the HAT:
History, History (Ancient and Modern), History and Economics, History and English, History and Modern Languages, History and Politics.
What is the HAT?
The HAT is a written test, timed, which tests your aptitude for studying history at the very high standard Oxford requires. It is also testing your ability to think critically and think clearly under pressure. This will be a skill you will need as an Oxford history undergraduate. You will be working to tight deadlines whilst always maintaining a very high standard of work and critical analysis.
The clue is in the name – History Aptitude Test – they are testing your aptitude to study history at this level. They want to know exactly what you can do under time pressure with an unseen text.
This is what the University of Oxford website says about the HAT.
Candidates will be asked to offer thoughtful interpretations of the source without knowing anything about its context. The HAT is a test of skills, not substantive historical knowledge. It is designed so that candidates should find it equally challenging, regardless of what they have studied or what school examinations they are taking. The HAT tests the following skills and attributes:
HAT (History Admissions Test) | University of Oxford
- the ability to read carefully and critically;
- the adoption of an analytical approach;
- the ability to answer a question relevantly;
- ability to handle concepts and select evidence to support points;
- originality and independence;
- precision and clarity of writing.
What the HAT is not
The HAT is absolutely not a memory test nor a test of your historical knowledge. Indeed, you should not bring in content from your A level or IB and pad the answer out with facts about the general topic. This will not earn you any marks.
But the good news is that you do not need to have any knowledge of the topic on the paper to get a high mark. One of the skills is to write your answer without bringing in outside knowledge and that is a lot easier if you do not know anything about the topic in the first place. It is in many ways more challenging to write a HAT essay if you have significant knowledge of the topic and are trying not to include it. However, they do not tend to use texts that align with the content of A level or IB, so that makes your life easier. If you are a mature student, this can be more of a challenge as you may well have accumulated significant historical knowledge outside the A level or IB syllabus.
What is the format of the HAT?
The format of the HAT is really very simple
- One unseen text to analyse
- One hour to do it
- Essay form answer
You are given the historical text at the beginning of the test: analyse, quick plan, then write.
The text is a primary source, not a historian’s interpretation.
How to prepare for the HAT
As mentioned above there is nothing to revise for the HAT. You will simply work with the text in front of you on the day. Therefore, you cannot prepare in the usual way as you would for a GCSE, A level or IB exam.
But that does not mean you should do no preparation. On the contrary you should prepare to the best of your ability by practising with past HAT papers. To start with you should try to analyse the source and write your interpretation of the source without timing yourself. Once you feel confident you have achieved a good essay, then try another paper under timed conditions. There really is not as much time as it seems at first for you to produce a comprehensive answer so practising the timing is important preparation.
Can you resit the test?
The short answer is no, not in the same year. It is not possible to re-sit the HAT if you feel you have done badly. However, if you feel you did badly because of illness on the day, or other extenuating circumstances, you can ask the centre where you took the test to put in a special consideration request for you. If you had a disaster on the day and did not receive an invitation to proceed with your application, it is either a case of trying again next year or accepting an offer from another university.
Expert Tips to pass the HAT
Try to keep calm in the exam – remember it is supposed to be hard. It is designed to stretch you.
Prepare – practice past papers or other unseen extracts, some under timed conditions.
Take your time to read the source carefully
Plan – definitely plan your answer! Never dive straight in without knowing what you will be saying
Structure your essay around themes from the text
