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History Aptitude Test

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Reply 20

emsy88

pc would be so much easier

Reply 21

*River

^It's meant to be challenging :p:

Reply 22

Circa1892

Mine arrived at my Sixth Form today.

Was quite funny, as my Head of Sixth Form/Referee had to go home and told me to read through the notes on it with instructions for me in his office, so in I went, and in a big sealed envelope was the paper!!! I was SO tempted to open it and have a read through the paper, but then figured it probably wouldn't do any good anyway lol so I left all as it was. Quite nervous for Wednesday to be honest!

Reply 23

emsy88

lol I went to check everything was ok with the papers and to my absolute horror was told the whole exams section at my college up and quit over half time and nobody had the faintest clue what the hell I was on about or knew anything about papers (its only me sitting it)

So I frantically rang Oxford who promised to get some sent by tomorrow, but seriously I almost had a cardiac for a second. :frown:

I really hope they turn up

Reply 24

Lottie

My friends have to go in tomorrow during half term to sit it.

If you're doing the HAT, best of luck! I'm sure that you will all do fabulously!

Reply 25

Jordan7

Im not looking forward to it at all. Nonetheless it isn't knowledge based and I love questions where its your brain and not your memory that gets you the marks. I just want a god damn interview.

Reply 26

Circa1892

Went through last years paper with my History teacher today. Feeling fairly confident about it now, really looking forward to the knowledge based question! What are you guys all revising up on for that?

Reply 27

greensurf

Circa1892

really looking forward to the knowledge based question!

Are you just going over AS/A2 modules for that?

Reply 28

Circa1892

greensurf

Are you just going over AS/A2 modules for that?

Yeah.

I'm going to have a look over my notes on Chartism and the American Constitution I think. I'm probably generally a bit stronger on Lenin and the Russian Revolution, but from what I read of one of the reports on the test, people generally go with the Stalin/Hitler/Lenin approach on the question, so I'd quite like to do something different.

Reply 29

KerriT

I know you all can't help worrying about it but it isn't that bad at all and I went into the exam room last year, saw the paper and wanted to scream! It's definitely survivable and really interesting, if totally mental.

Reply 30

Circa1892

KerriT

It's definitely survivable and really interesting.

Yeah. My History teacher was saying that she thought I'd really enjoy it, and I think I will.

Ideally I'd've liked to have got an offer from somewhere else which would've taken the pressure off. But IF say I was to get an offer from Sheffield or Liverpool (whose courses I really like the look of) I wouldn't be despondent if I missed Oxford (although I do obv really like the Uni), so I'm looking on it as more of an opportunity to show what I can do, rather than a test with great pressure on it.

Reply 31

ConsieReturns

Every question ive ever done on it (inlcuding some mocks knocked up by my teacher) ive tried to adapt it to New Liberalism. Tehres only so many things old Lloyd Geroge can cover though. I'd say its worth just looking over some AS/A2 reivion notes for other topics covered so theres a few areas of History you can rely on if one doesnt really fit in to waht the concept is.

Reply 32

Jordan7

Yeh same. For the knowledge question im just gonna try my hardest to relate it to Bismarck, Liberal/nationalism, or industrialisation in 19th C Europe. Though im not going to read thru any of my notes or nething or try to remember facts because i rekkon trying to regurgitate facts in the exam will restrict the flow of my thought process and hence reduce the quality of essay. Today i had a fellow Oxford applicant around and we discussed each question of both papers and then consulted th mark scheme. Having a debating-ish session really helped as it drew at thoughts that i wouldnt have otherwise included in my answer. We concluded tht the key is planning, the more you think about the question the more ideas you get coming to you, the hard part is structuring ur answer in a way that is most effective.

Reply 33

ConsieReturns

Yeah. When i said look over i just meant to refresh what, say, Bismarck actually did, or what the general course was of Hitlers road to power.

I agree that planning is key, especially if you want to get everything you want to put down in the time limit, ive found trying to construct arguments in my head in regard to completely new concepts its really difficult if you dont just put down a few points and stick to em. Stricking to my plans has made me write more clearly and to time, but its probably also cut out some of the more complex points which would take longer to explain. I suppose you can only do so much in 40mintues on Qc though - trying to pull off a really profound and insightful argument is probably being unrealistic in the time limit.

Reply 34

Jordan7

One other thing, involving question 2, the source question, iv found that you have to make generalisations of what you have inferred from the text, so basically make inferrences from your inferrences. This is what is causing me to worry, you have to give more abstract answers than what you otherwise would have to do for A-level and to give the answers they want can be tricky to come about without reading too much into the source.

Reply 35

ConsieReturns

I think you can make any sort of speculaton as long as you based it from a part of the test. I think they specifically state they look for imagination in this part, and so if your proprosition seems at least semi-logical in refernence to the quote you developed it from, then i dont see why they couldnt give you credit.

Reply 36

Jordan7

True but its nice to give them exactly what they want, basically my thorts were to right it as if edexcel's marking it, in respect to the structure and not waffle.