What is the SQE?
Who is the SQE for?
Costs and fees
Case studies
Dates and locations
Assessment information
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SQE2 is the second part of the SQE assessment and tests both practical legal skills and functioning legal knowledge. You will take 16 assessments in SQE2: 12 written assessments and four oral assessments. There is not a pass mark for each individual station in SQE2, but an overall pass mark for the assessment, which is set at the standard of a competent newly qualified solicitor.
You should note that professional conduct and ethics are core parts of SQE2 and that questions on ethics will be pervasive throughout the SQE2 assessment. Ethical issues will not be flagged. You will need to identify any ethical and professional conduct issues and exercise judgement to resolve them honestly and with integrity.
We provide a range of sample questions to help you prepare for SQE2. The sample questions will also help education providers plan SQE2 training. These questions will help you understand the content and format of the SQE2 assessment, as well as giving an idea of its level and breadth. They give an indication of the type of tasks that could be set but do not represent every task that might be covered in the SQE2 assessments. They are not an indication that all SQE2 assessments will follow a precise style in either format or content. Future questions may vary in both format and content.
Each of the sample questions includes a sample candidate answer and a discussion of the answer, with guidance on the key legal points and a short analysis of the performance of the sample candidate by reference to the criteria for the assessment. The sample answers for the oral assessments (advocacy and interviewing) include a short video recording of a sample candidate performance. The sample answers are designed to give you some insight into the style of assessment you will see on the day.
We also provide a set of Performance Indicators for each assessment. The purpose of the Performance Indicators, which are also used by the assessors and markers, is to give you some examples of the types of behaviour that demonstrate competence or that suggest that a candidate is not competent in relation to each of the SQE2 law and skills assessment criteria. You can access the full set of Performance Indicators below in both English and Welsh:
The links below go to a summary of each question and answer, along with a PDF of the complete question, additional papers, sample candidate answer and discussion of the answer. Please note, the samples are available in both English and Welsh for the written assessments. The sample recordings for the oral assessments are recorded in English only. However, the answer and discussion of the answer for the Criminal Litigation sample advocacy assessment is available in both English and Welsh. The answer and discussion of the answer for the Dispute Resolution sample advocacy assessment, and the Client Interviewing and /attendance note/legal analysis sample assessments, will be published in Welsh in the near future.
You can review and attempt the sample questions for the written assessments using the on-line Pearson VUE test platform. This includes the search function for the sources for legal research.
Please note that the copy and paste function for the SQE2 written assessments is slightly different to the functionality in the PearsonVue test platform example in the link below. For a full explanation of how the copy and paste function works in the assessments, please see the SQE2 written assessments copy and paste functionality which explains with the use of screenshots and text how you can copy and paste from the question and PDF documents.
There is no spell check or highlighting function for the SQE2 written assessment. The assessment criteria for the SQE2 written assessments refer to clear, precise, concise and acceptable language rather than correct spelling. Guidance on this is provided in the SQE2 assessment specification. Minor spelling mistakes are not penalised and the focus is on the assessment criteria mentioned and how spelling mistakes impact that. Performance in each of the assessment criteria is assessed by trained assessors making professional judgments related to the required standard for the assessment.
Please note, however, that if you are viewing the SQE2 sample question on your own computer or device, your own browser may add tools such as predictive text or a spell check. The assessments are undertaken on the Pearson VUE assessment platform which is a closed platform and does not permit browsers or access to the internet. This means that it is unlikely to have the same functions as those allowed by your own browser.
Formatting (e.g. paragraph spacing, bullet points, font etc) in written exams will not be taken into consideration by markers.
If your work is being overwritten as you type and you do not want this to happen, please press the “Insert” key on your keyboard. If this does not resolve the overwriting, please seek assistance from the invigilator.
Learn more: SQE2 exam functionality on Pearson VUE
Dysgu mwy: Ymarferoldeb arholiad SQE2 ar Pearson VUE
Learn more: SQE2 written assessments copy and paste functionality
Create your personal SQE account and book your assessments.
Find out what happens after passing the SQE and admission to the roll of solicitors.