How to answer law MCQs: a practical method with an example

To answer a law MCQ, identify what the question asks, work out the relevant legal rule and choose the option that best applies it to the facts. An answer can state a true proposition and still be wrong for the particular question.

For SQE1, the SRA's assessment specification uses a single-best-answer format with five options. University assessments can use different formats, so check your own instructions.

Use a repeatable method

1. Read the task. Are you being asked about liability, the best remedy, a procedural step or professional conduct? Notice words such as "most likely" and "best".
2. Read the facts carefully. Identify the parties, their legal roles, the sequence of events and any dates that affect the rule.
3. Form a provisional answer. Before relying on the options, decide what legal question you need to resolve. More than one topic may be relevant.
4. Compare every option. Ask what makes each one right or wrong on these facts. Do not select an answer just because its wording is familiar.
5. Choose, then move on. If the platform permits it, flag a difficult question for review within the available session.

Treat elimination as legal reasoning. For example: "That remedy requires a condition the facts do not establish" is more useful than "That option sounds too long".

Worked example: choose the right remedy

Teaching question: A consumer buys and takes delivery of a new kettle from a retailer, paying in full. Ten days later, a manufacturing defect present on delivery stops it working. The kettle fails the Consumer Rights Act 2015 satisfactory-quality requirement. The consumer has not asked for or agreed to a repair and wants a refund. Which statement best describes their position?

• A. Their only claim is against the manufacturer.
• B. They must accept a repair before they can reject the kettle.
• C. They can exercise the short-term right to reject and obtain a refund from the retailer.
• D. The retailer can insist on giving store credit instead of refunding the money.
• E. Their statutory rights begin only after the manufacturer's warranty expires.

The best answer is C. The question establishes the breach and places the consumer within the ordinary short-term rejection period. Section 19(3) identifies the available remedies; section 22 sets the time limit. The retailer cannot require a repair before this right is exercised on the stated facts.

A points to the wrong contractual counterparty. B confuses a possible repair route with a mandatory first step. D conflicts with the right to repayment of the money under section 20. E wrongly makes statutory protection depend on a warranty ending.

This is an original, deliberately short teaching example. It is not an official SQE question or a claim to reproduce the difficulty of the full assessment.

Should you change an answer?

Change it when you identify a good reason. You may have missed a decisive fact, recalled the correct exception or noticed that another option answers the actual task more precisely.

The rule "always trust your first answer" is not supported by the research. Kruger, Wirtz and Miller's study of the first-instinct fallacy describes evidence that answer changes more often improve than reduce scores. That does not mean every change helps, and the research is not specific to SQE candidates.

A useful review question is: "What new reason justifies changing this?" Distinguish a reasoned correction from switching repeatedly because the question feels uncomfortable.

Practise the timing you will actually face

Under standard SQE1 timing, each 90-question session lasts 2 hours 33 minutes: an average of 1 minute 42 seconds per question. Some questions will take longer and others less. Use that average to plan checkpoints, rather than abandoning every question when a stopwatch reaches 102 seconds. Follow any approved adjustment to your own timing. See the official SQE1 preparation guidance.

SQE1 has no negative marking. A wrong answer does not lose an additional mark, so leaving a question blank offers no scoring advantage. Check the marking rules separately for other exams.

Review the reason for each mistake

After a practice set, sort mistakes into four groups:

• Knowledge: you did not know the rule or exception.
• Reading: you overlooked a relevant fact or misunderstood the task.
• Application: you knew the rule but applied it to the wrong situation.
• Timing: you rushed, ran out of time or spent too long on one question.

Choose a response that fits the mistake. Relearning a whole chapter may not address a habit of overlooking the word "except". Equally, slowing down will not supply a rule you have not learned.

Try a fresh question later to see whether the improvement transfers. Remembering the letter of a previous answer is not the same as knowing why it is correct.

Practise this method with MCQ Master

Put the method into practice with MCQ Master. Choose questions by subject or sub-topic, practise SQE-style single-best-answer questions, and use the written explanations to understand your mistakes. Your saved progress helps you see what to work on next.

Join MCQ Master if you want dedicated question practice. If you also want digital revision guides and case books, join Law Answered+: MCQ Master is included in that membership, so you can read a rule, test it and revisit any gaps without buying both subscriptions.

Our PGDL revision guide shows how to fit practice and feedback into a weekly plan.