Understanding the Nature of SQE MCQs
Multiple choice questions in the SQE 1 exam aren’t your average test questions. Each one is carefully crafted to simulate real-world legal scenarios. They require you to apply your knowledge—not just recall facts. Each question contains five options, but only one is the best response. The other four may appear plausible, but there’s only one that stands up to careful legal scrutiny.
Candidates often underestimate how demanding these questions can be. They’re not trick questions, but they are nuanced. The challenge lies not only in what you know, but in how efficiently you can apply it in the moment.
Why Strategy Matters as Much as Knowledge
Studying for the SQE 1 naturally involves absorbing a vast amount of legal content. But even with thorough preparation, many candidates stumble at the exam stage due to a lack of test-taking strategy.
This is where providers like QLTS School stand out. They place a heavy emphasis not only on covering the syllabus, but also on teaching students how to approach questions with clarity, logic, and structure. After all, knowing the law is only half the battle—the rest is knowing how to show it.
Having a reliable, repeatable approach to each question will help reduce exam-day anxiety and improve your performance. Let’s walk through a strategy you can start applying to every SQE MCQ you encounter.
Step One: Read the Question Stem First
Start by reading the main part of the question—the stem—before looking at the multiple choice options. This helps you stay focused on what the question is actually asking.
Sometimes, the options are written in a way that can distract or mislead you if you haven’t fully understood the scenario. Read carefully. Identify who the parties are, what the issue is, and where the legal decision-making lies.
Resist the temptation to glance at the answers first. That habit can prime your thinking in the wrong direction.
Step Two: Identify the Legal Issue
Once you’ve read the stem, your next move is to isolate the legal issue. What area of law is being tested here? Is this about breach of contract, negligence, land registration, or professional conduct?
In many cases, questions test more than one topic. For example, a scenario about a conveyancing transaction might also touch on solicitors’ accounts or client care duties.
Identifying the core issue quickly allows you to mentally narrow down your knowledge base before even seeing the answer choices. It also keeps you from being distracted by superficially plausible but legally irrelevant options.
Step Three: Predict the Answer Before Looking at Options
Once you know the area being tested, try to predict the correct answer before reviewing the five options. This is a powerful technique because it activates your legal reasoning without being swayed by clever distractors.
Ask yourself:
- What would I advise a client in this scenario?
- What principle applies here?
- What would be the most appropriate or legally compliant action?
This method trains your brain to process the question like a solicitor would—logically, practically, and with a focus on outcomes.
Step Four: Use the Process of Elimination
Now that you’ve read the options, begin crossing off clearly incorrect answers. Even if you’re unsure of the correct one, eliminating two or three obviously wrong choices gives you a much higher chance of selecting the right one from what remains.
Be cautious with answers that contain extreme language or overly broad statements—they’re often incorrect. Pay attention to wording such as “must,” “always,” or “never” unless you’re certain it’s supported by law.
Don’t be afraid to trust your instincts here—especially if you’ve trained through regular question practice. The process of elimination often reveals the right answer by clearing away the noise.
Step Five: Watch for Ethical Triggers
The SQE 1 doesn’t contain a separate ethics paper because ethical considerations are embedded into almost every subject. This means many questions will include facts that test your understanding of professional obligations.
Always scan the question for red flags:
- Confidentiality breaches
- Conflicts of interest
- Issues of informed consent
- Questions about duties to the court or third parties
If you spot an ethical angle, reassess your answer with that in mind. What seems legally right might not be professionally appropriate. That nuance is often the difference between two close answer choices.
Step Six: Manage Your Time Without Stress
With 180 questions to answer in each FLK assessment and just over 150 minutes to do it, you’ll have around 50 seconds per question. That includes reading, analysis, and selection.
The best way to avoid running out of time is to practise your pacing. Develop a feel for the clock through regular mock tests. Get used to how long 50 seconds feels.
If a question is too difficult, don’t let it drain your time. Mark it, move on, and come back later. Sometimes, seeing it with fresh eyes can make all the difference.
Avoid perfectionism. It’s more important to complete the entire paper with reasonable confidence than to agonise over a single question.
Step Seven: Review Techniques That Work
Review isn’t just about checking for mistakes—it’s about improving how you approach questions in future attempts. After each practice session:
- Analyse why you got a question wrong. Was it a knowledge gap or a misread?
- Check whether you identified the correct legal issue.
- Reflect on whether your instinct was right but you talked yourself out of it.
Keep a notebook or spreadsheet with recurring mistakes. Patterns will emerge—maybe you’re weak on land law, or often misinterpret time limits in criminal procedure. Use this data to target your revision more effectively.
The best candidates aren’t the ones who get everything right the first time. They’re the ones who learn from what they got wrong.
Learning to Trust Your Legal Judgement
At some point in your preparation, you’ll begin to notice something shift. You’ll stop second-guessing every answer. You’ll start spotting issues without effort. You’ll get faster—not because you’ve memorised more, but because you’re thinking like a solicitor.
That’s when you’ll know your strategy is working.
The SQE 1 exam isn’t just a hurdle—it’s a test of your ability to think under pressure, make sound decisions, and carry legal reasoning into the real world. The multiple-choice questions may be the format, but the skill you’re building is far more lasting.
Approach each question as a small client challenge. With the right tools, practice, and mindset, you won’t just survive the exam—you’ll handle it like the professional you’re training to become.
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