What can I do to prepare for the Oxford HAT?

The source based HAT is used as part of the Oxford admissions to observe whether candidates have the appropriate skills to succeed as an Oxford History undergraduate. These skills can be divided into the following three categories:1) Historical insight and perceptiveness2) Use of evidence3) Structure and styleThe first thing to do in order to prepare for the test is to look through the past papers to really get a feel for how the exam works.Next, you will want to focus on developing these three skill sets. A good starting point would be to find an academic article on a topic you are familiar with. Once you have read it try and summarise the authors argument in a few sentences. Continuously practising this will improve perceptiveness. Secondly, highlight all evidence used by the author and consider how the author has used the evidence to advance their argument.Finally, ask yourself what is the basic structure of the article and what makes it flow so well? Being able to recognise this will improve your own writing when you approach the HAT. Following these steps will develop the skills necessary to achieve high marks in the HAT.