A five-step routine for reading single-best-answer questions

Under time pressure, your reading habits decide how many marks you pick up. A routine takes some of the decision-making out of each question.

The five steps

1. Read the final sentence first. Is it asking about liability, a remedy, a procedural step, a professional conduct obligation or the correct statement of law? You now know what you are hunting for.
2. Read the scenario with that purpose. Underline in your head the facts that matter: who the parties are, what each knew, when things happened and what was actually agreed or done.
3. Predict before you look. Form a view of what the best answer should say, in a few words, before reading the options. This protects you from being talked into a well-written wrong option.
4. Test each option against the facts. Ask of every option: is it a correct statement of the law, and does it answer this question on these facts? Options often fail on the second test.
5. Commit, flag or move on. If you are down to two, choose the one you can justify in a sentence, flag it if the format allows and keep your pace.

Common traps

• True but irrelevant. A correct rule that does not resolve the scenario in front of you.
• Right rule, wrong party. The remedy exists, but it belongs to someone else.
• Over-reading. Adding facts that are not in the scenario.
• Absolute words. "Always" and "never" are warning signs, though not proof, in areas full of exceptions.
• Switching without a reason. Change an answer only if you can name the fact or rule you missed the first time.

Training the routine

Start in untimed study mode and apply all five steps, reading every explanation including the options you rejected. Once your accuracy on a topic is steady, add time pressure. After each set, ask which step you skipped when you made a mistake. Over a few weeks the routine becomes automatic.

Our free sample questions are a good place to try this out. Remember that practice results are only practice results.

General educational information only. It is not legal advice, it does not predict any exam result, and UK SQE Course is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Check the SRA website for current exam information.