This is the set of prompt I used to hand out to students preparing to take the Oxford "History Aptitude Test", which incorporates a question asking for engagement with an unseen primary source passage that is specifically designed so that none of the examinees are likely to be familiar with the source, the time or the place.

Not all the prompts will be relevant to any given passage, but collectively they cover most things and I found they helped give students reassurance that they weren't likely to miss anything important.

Ways of attacking the unseen text

Remember to look at the generalities and background before “zooming in” to the specifics. Weaker candidates will not consider these background – but often crucial – details in such depth as stronger ones will do.

HISTORIOGRAPHY

Who wrote the text? Why? For whom was it written? What is its purpose – what message is the writer attempting to convey?

ENVIRONMENT

Where is the society located? Is it rich or poor? What is the source of its wealth? Is it primitive or advanced – how do we know? How might it feed itself?

POLITICS

Are there any indications as to what sort of hierarchy exists between the rulers and the ruled? How is power displayed and used? What limitations are there to that power? Is it centralised?

ECONOMICS How wealthy is the society? How is wealth stored and displayed? Is there any evidence of trade or trade partners? How might these relationships work? Are resources abundant or scarce? How does the relative degree of abundance or scarcity impact on power and ownership?

SOCIETY AND CULTURE What sort of society is this? How does it express and enforce norms? Is the culture uniform? What about class? Race relations? How is knowledge transmitted? Is there a central belief system?

RELIGION Is there a religion? If so, what sort – monotheistic, polytheistic? How important is religion to the state – as a means of control and as a means of conformity? How are religious experience and religious virtue manifested?

GENDER What are the respective roles of men and women? How does one sex exert and display its power over the other? Can the weaker sex subvert the hierarchy in any way? How consistently?

MILITARY How does this society defend itself? Why does it fight – for territory, for honour, for resources? How are its leaders selected; how do they lead; what is expected of them?

POLITICAL THOUGHT What is the ideology of this society? Who created it? How is it applied in practice? Who imposes and regulates it – and how effectively? What are the penalties for dissenters?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS What sort of relations does this society have with its neighbours? Are these formalised and acknowledged, or chaotic? Are the aims of its diplomacy hidden? Who decides on them?