Tips for every subtest
- Answer every question. There is no negative marking. A guess can only help, and a blank never can.
- Guess, flag, move on. When a question is taking too long, choose your best answer, flag it with Alt+F and go on. Come back from the review screen if time is left.
- Watch the clock by checkpoints. Know which question you should have reached at the halfway mark of each subtest. It is easier than counting seconds.
- Use the keyboard. Alt+N for Next and Alt+P for Previous are quicker than the mouse, and the saving adds up over 184 questions.
- Read the question before the detail. Knowing what you are looking for lets you skip most of a passage, table or chart.
- Leave each subtest behind. Once a subtest ends you cannot return to it. Do not carry a bad section into the next one.
More: Timing and time per question.
Verbal Reasoning tips
- Do not read the whole passage first. Read the question, pick out a name, number or unusual word in it, and find that in the passage.
- Answer from the passage only. What you know about the subject does not count. If the passage does not say it, it is not true for this question.
- Know what Can't Tell means. It is the answer when the passage neither confirms nor contradicts the statement, however likely the statement sounds.
- Watch the small words. All, most, some, never, always, may and must change what a sentence claims. Wrong answers are often right except for one of them.
- Budget two minutes a passage. Each passage has four questions. If one is still open at two minutes, guess it and start the next passage fresh.
More: The Verbal Reasoning guide.
Decision Making tips
- Draw it. Use the notebook for seating plans, orders and Venn diagrams. A quick sketch is faster and safer than holding it in your head.
- In syllogisms, some does not mean all. A conclusion follows only if it must be true in every case the statements allow, not if it is merely likely.
- Start a logic puzzle with the firmest clue. Place whatever is fixed first, then the clues that link to it. Leave the loosest clue until last.
- Take part marks on Yes/No questions. Five statements all correct earn two marks and four correct earn one, so answer all five even if you are unsure of one.
- In strongest-argument questions, stay on the topic. The best argument speaks directly to the question asked and rests on a reason, not on an opinion or an extreme case.
- For probability, write the fraction. Favourable outcomes over all outcomes. Most mistakes come from counting the wrong total.
More: The Decision Making guide.
Quantitative Reasoning tips
- Estimate before you calculate. The answer options are often far enough apart that rounding the numbers picks the right one.
- Learn the on-screen calculator. It is a basic four-function calculator and works through sums in the order you key them. Use the number pad, and practise on one that behaves the same way.
- Check the units and the headings. Thousands, per person, per week, percentage or percentage points: the trap is usually in the label, not the arithmetic.
- Know percentage change cold. Change divided by the original, times 100. It is the most common calculation in the subtest.
- Do the mental arithmetic you can. Halving, doubling, 10% and 5% are quicker in your head than on the calculator.
Situational Judgement tips
- Judge each response on its own. The question is whether this action is appropriate, not whether it is the best possible one or the only thing you would do.
- Patient safety comes first. A response that leaves a patient at risk is inappropriate however polite or loyal it is.
- Be honest and keep confidences. Covering up a mistake, bending the truth and sharing a patient's information are very inappropriate.
- Raise it with the person first. Speaking to the person concerned comes before reporting them, unless someone's safety is at stake.
- Stay within your role. A student who acts beyond what they are trained to do is acting inappropriately, even with good intentions.
- Keep moving. There are 69 questions in 26 minutes. Read the scenario carefully once, then answer each response quickly.
Preparation tips
- Little and often. An hour on most days beats one long session a week, because pace is a habit.
- Learn the method untimed, then add the clock. Speed built on a shaky method only makes the same mistakes faster.
- Review longer than you practise. For each mark lost, write one line on why: misread, too slow, wrong method or a guess. The pattern tells you what to work on.
- Practise on a screen like the real one. The layout, the calculator and the keys should take no thought on the day.
- Sit full mocks in one sitting. Two hours without a pause is a skill of its own, and it only comes from doing it.
More: How to prepare.
Test day tips
- Check your identification the night before. It must be original, current and match the name on your booking exactly.
- Arrive half an hour early. Late arrivals can be turned away and the fee is not refunded.
- Use the instruction screens as a breather. Each subtest starts with a timed instruction screen. You know what it says, so use the time to reset.
More: Test day.
Tips are not a substitute for practice
Reading a tip takes a minute; making it automatic takes a few hundred questions. Pick two or three from this page, use them in your next timed set, and add more once those have stuck. You can try free practice questions with worked explanations now.
Official sources
Dates, fees and entry rules change every year. Always confirm them on the official page before you act on them.