SQE1 Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the SQE1 exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 SQE1 Exam Format at a Glance
📚 SQE1 Topics to Study (38)
✍️ Sample SQE1 Questions & Answers
1. In contract law, what does 'consideration' mean?
Consideration is something of value (money, goods, services, or a promise) provided by each contracting party in exchange for the other's promise. It must be sufficient (legally recognised) but need not be adequate (equal in value).
2. Under the SRA Standards and Regulations 2019, what are the two Codes of Conduct that solicitors must comply with?
The SRA Standards and Regulations 2019 include two separate Codes of Conduct: the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs (for individuals) and the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms. Both apply cumulatively to solicitors working in authorised firms.
3. In civil litigation, what is the purpose of a 'Part 36 offer' under the Civil Procedure Rules?
A Part 36 offer (CPR Part 36) is a formal settlement offer with specific costs consequences. If a claimant fails to beat a defendant's Part 36 offer at trial, they usually pay the defendant's costs from the date of expiry of the offer. If a claimant's Part 36 offer is not beaten, the defendant faces enhanced consequences.
4. What is 'diminished responsibility' as a partial defence to murder under the Homicide Act 1957 (as amended by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009)?
Diminished responsibility (s.2 Homicide Act 1957, as amended) reduces murder to voluntary manslaughter. It requires: an abnormality of mental functioning; arising from a recognised medical condition; which substantially impaired the defendant's ability to understand their conduct, form a rational judgment, or exercise self-control; and which provides an explanation for the killing.
5. What is the purpose of a 'completion statement' in a conveyancing transaction?
A completion statement sets out all the financial adjustments required on completion (purchase price, deposit paid, apportionments of outgoings, SDLT, Land Registry fees) and shows the net amount the buyer's solicitor must transfer to the seller's solicitor on completion day.
6. In English law, the defence of self-defence requires that the force used was:
Self-defence under section 76 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 requires that the defendant genuinely believed force was necessary and that the force used was reasonable in the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be, even if that belief was mistaken.