This post will provide you with tips on how to approach your #SQE1 assessments.
Time management is key to this assessment, as is realism.
You need to be realistic and accept that there will be questions you come across that you will be unable to answer. In fact, you must be prepared for a series of questions you may not be able to answer. The tip here is not to allow doubt to set in and throw you off path. Perspective is needed here and a touch of realism. There is no chance that you will be able to answer every question correctly, not even AI can do that, so set yourself up for it from the off. There will of course be many questions you do know and they will outweigh those you do not know. Once doubt sets in, you are done! Do not allow months of hard work to go to waste. Keep going, remember this exam is also testing how you cope under this type of stress.
There is no negative marking in the SQE1 exams, so if you come across a question you know you don’t know, then don’t waste time on it, simply guess and move on, as you are then more likely to come across questions you do know and not run out of time at the end.
Where you come across a question that you know but need more than the allocated time per question to answer, again, don’t waste time trying to work it out, guess. In some cases you can narrow down your possible answers to two, so guess and then flag the question before moving on.
Only flag questions you need more time to look at, and only go back at the end to review those flagged questions.
Always trust your gut instinct, it is normally correct!
Once you have gone back over your flagged questions, submit your paper so you are not tempted to alter any you have already answered.
From a timing perspective, aim to answer ten questions every fifteen minutes. This will give you sufficient time to go back and review any flagged questions.
Your timing and stress management is just as important as your knowledge, work on it and you will improve.
The SRA website has a series of sample questions and provide you with an interface of the screen type you will see on the day, so please do use the link below and try before you sit the assessments.