The HAST is the same across all schools that use it as part of their admission process. It consists of four sections:
- Mathematical and scientific reasoning - A set of multiple-choice questions that assess your mathematical/scientific ability. As such, questions in this section will require you to interpret and analyse mathematical and scientific information.
- Abstract reasoning - A set of multiple-choice questions that assess your ability to solve problems from information in the form of abstract diagrams. Examples include pattern questions.
- Reading comprehension - A set of multiple-choice questions that assess your ability to understand and interpret ideas in different reading contexts. Examples of texts included in this section include poetry, maps and diagrams.
- Written expression - This is the only section that is not multiple-choice. It is essentially a writing task that assesses your ability to express your thoughts and feelings in written English. There are different types of writing that you may be asked to adopt and different audiences to whom you may be asked to direct your writing.
You can study for the HAST in two main ways. First, you should revise the content that you learned in year 10 across English, Mathematics and Science. This will support your preparations by ensuring that you have the right level of knowledge required for the HAST. Second, you should complete practice material covering all four sections. This is important because it will familiarise you with the structure of the HAST as well as the nature of the questions. Subsequently, you can identify areas of improvement and gradually address them.
I hope this helps!
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