How is the HAT test structured?

The structure of the HAT Test has changed for the academic year 2015/16 to incorporate an additional question for students wishing to study History and Economics Joint Honours. If you aren't studying this course, then there is no need to worry! The structure is simple: Question 1 is based around an extract from a History textbook or book, and that question is divided into two sections, both asking you to summarise argument and synthesise information clearly. The first part, 1(a) asks you to summarise the first paragraph into a single sentence, and the second, 1 (b) asks you to summarise the whole extract (normally around a page in length) into fifteen lines, a line being roughly 10 words. The second question asks the candidate to link the key themes of the first extract to an area they have studied in an essay between 1.5 and 3 sides. Finally, the third question asks the candidate to analyse a primary source. It could be an eyewitness account, a legal document, an interview, a list of items- anything! For my HAT Test, I got a court document from 16th Century Germany. They tend to be from obscure periods so that no-one has studied them in school and thus no one has an advantage. The question will ask you to simply say what the source tells you about that period. Best of luck!!