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Message: <blockquote data-quote="average_jo123" data-source="post: 213082" data-attributes="member: 15838"><h3>Preliminary thoughts about SQE2</h3>*Edit: added a few more preliminary thoughts on 23 June 2025. Will probably make a separate post at some point about my experience with specific stations in SQE2 and SQE2 mocks. I sat SQE2 in Apr/May 2025 and my results don't come out till August 2025 so it's all up in the air still how I've done. But thought I'd share some preliminary thoughts here in case it is helpful to anyone. Same disclaimer as above - take whatever I say here with a grain of salt. For all I know I might end up failing lol and if that's the case you should probably disregard everything I say about SQE2 here because something I did / didn't do clearly didn't work. Also, I can only speak from my experience as someone who sat SQE2 having passed SQE1. I reckon your revision technique and experience will be quite different if you are on the LPC route, so I'm afraid I can't shed much light on that. Might be helpful if anyone reading this has passed SQE2 having been exempt from SQE1 share their experience too.If you are due to sit SQE1, you can pretty much ignore this post. Just focus on SQE1 first and you can worry about SQE2 much later on. But I thought I would just share some of my preliminary thoughts for those who are due to sit SQE2 soon, as there is a lot of fear-mongering content online about SQE1 but not much is said at all about SQE2. The biggest reason might just be because everyone is so burnt out after SQE1 they cba to chat about SQE2 - you kind of just get over yourself and get on with it.<h4>Is SQE2 harder than SQE1?</h4>Different people will have different takes on this. Overall I would just say both exams are very difficult, just in different ways. The amount of FLK that you need to retain for SQE2 is pretty much exactly the same (except legal services, sols accounts and public law) so memorising the sheer amount content definitely wasn't any easier when it came to SQE2 - but I think to most people it probably will have felt easier because most of the stuff you wouldn't be learning it for the first time, but just a matter of recalling the information and refreshing your memory on it.The most gruelling part about SQE1 for me was the sheer unpredictability and uncertainty that eats you up after the exam. As I described in posts above, because of the sheer number of questions that you need to answer, you cannot remember any of it and it is impossible to gauge how well or how badly you've done. For SQE2 on the other hand, for me, was just the frustration I felt when it came to revising the whole spec of FLK but knowing full well that what actually comes up in the questions on exam day will be a speck in the ocean. In terms of the level of 'niche-ness' and specificity that SQE2 questions require, I wouldn't say it was any less than SQE1. I see a lot of people on Reddit trying to predict what will come up and asking if niche point X Y or Z might come up. Don't waste your time and energy getting bogged down by trying to predict what might come up — if it's in the spec, there is every possibility that it will come up (no matter how niche it is) - this was the case for SQE1 and is still the same case for SQE2. There were some questions I got in SQE2 that were relatively niche i.e. literally two paragraphs in the whole of ULaw's textbook on the subject and I would say the sentiment is sort of similar to SQE1 such that even if you read the textbooks cover to cover but if you cannot recall exactly what those two paragraphs said you are kind of stuffed for the whole question. Another girl on this forum also posted here (which I agree with, now I've sat SQE2) that you may very well get a whole question on tax and if you don't know the basics you are definitely stuffed for the law points at least. I think the same advice applies for SQE2 as it did for SQE1 — there is no way you can memorise the whole textbook cover to cover - all you can do is try to cover as much base as possible so that even if you stuff up one question, you can count on other questions to help push your average up. The difference between SQE1 and SQE2 which makes it daunting is the fact that for SQE1 you can stuff up 50 questions out of 180 and still end up fine whereas the stakes of stuffing up just one or two stations out of 16 in SQE2 will have a much bigger impact on your overall score.Though stakes are much higher in each station in SQE2, the silver lining in SQE2 which you don't get in SQE1 is that in theory you will have your skills marks to carry you through even if you fall on the law. At least that is what it is in theory - as I haven't received my results yet I can't tell you if the skills vs law marks make sense or if they are a bit random.<h4>When should I sit SQE2?</h4>If you are a sponsored candidate on a full-time SQE prep course, chances are you go straight back into SQE2 prep right after SQE1 exams. The course will be structured in a way which assumes that you have passed SQE1 and pushes you to go straight into SQE2 prep. If you are self-funding, then you will have a bit more flexibility to choose whether you want to put SQE2 off a little bit or at least wait until after you've found out you have passed SQE1 before throwing yourself into SQE2 prep. There is no definitive answer to how soon you should go into SQE2 prep - really depends on your personal circumstances and how burnt out you are after SQE1. I could tell all of my classmates (including myself) was completely flat after SQE1 and nobody really was on their A-game in terms of SQE2 prep during the 5-7 week wait for results - but things do pick up a bit more after everybody found out that they had passed. I will say though, that it was helpful that all the FLK was just in my brain not that long ago so it wasn't too incredibly hard to recall it when it came to SQE2. I don't think your chances of passing SQE2 necessarily dwindles the longer you wait, but I would say definitely try to get some form of active recall in somehow - though this is easier said than done. But if you are seriously so burnt out from SQE1 that going straight into SQE2 would do more harm than good, then you might actually be increasing your chances of passing SQE2 by giving yourself a longer break. I personally found it helpful to get it out of the way straight away not just because I want the FLK to be fresher in my head but mainly because at this point you really do just get so incredibly sick of the content and the constant stress you are under that it's better not to prolong it too much.<h4>What I did for SQE2 prep whilst waiting for SQE1 results:</h4>I did try my best to do some work but I definitely was not at the top of my game. Probably only did any real focused / productive work for max 1 or 2 hours a day at my lowest points. It was a mixture of burnout from SQE1 and also just a lot of negativity in my head along the lines of "what's the point of doing all this if I haven't even passed SQE1?". The logical thing to do would be to block it out and accept that even if I have failed SQE1, any work I do in this period would not be in vain, as it would be the same content I would need to go for an SQE1 resit. But in reality this was really hard to do. So don't beat yourself up too badly if you are not as productive as you want to be in this period. But just try to get some consistency and work in whenever you can.Did you still use MCQs to revise for SQE2?No. A big part of SQE2 is getting to grips with writing in prose niche pieces of law, so I didn't think attempting more MCQs was going to help. At some points though, when I had very low energy levels I would go back to topics I was unfamiliar with or have forgotten about and attempt MCQs on those topics. I remember I did this for most of the tax topics, just to re-jog my memory on the steps I need to take to calculate tax and the main exemptions and reliefs I needed to know. But definitely don't stop here. This was really just a small part of revision I picked up only when I really cba to do anything else but just wanted to get some revision done somehow and make sure I was learning something / anything at all.How did you revise your FLK for SQE2 prep while waiting for SQE1 results?I didn't go back much on my flashcards if I'm honest. As you would see from my posts above I felt my flashcards were a bit whack and I didn't feel they were top quality, and to my understanding at the time I figured with SQE2 I had to practise writing my answers in prose rather than knowing how to recall random niche points of law. Another reason I kind of ditched my flashcards was because I found that if you asked me really niche questions like within how many days from the claim form being served must the particulars of claim follow, I would be able to tell you the answer but I would be stumped when asked about big picture questions like e.g. in writing or interviewing if client asked me to outline the process of taking out a grant of probate, or if the client asked me to outline the basic process of buying / selling a freehold property (including whose solicitor is responsible for drafting which documents etc). And I thought this was because I had been stuck on my flashcards remembering these bite-sized pieces of facts for so long I lacked any big picture clarity because I never spent the time to do long-form notes (which is why I recommended above to incorporate some form of long-form note-taking in your SQE1 revision and why it might be helpful coming into SQE2). So what I did instead was go back on my tagged flashcards and go back to my ULaw textbook to make more long-form table notes. I really regret doing this though, because it wasted so much of my time and I barely covered any grounds in terms of he FLK required. If you already have a comprehensive set of long-form notes from your SQE1 revision, this would be an invaluable resource when it comes to SQE2 (so just recycle the same), as you can just use it to re-jog your memory on the big picture FLK that you need for certain types of questions. If you ever do feel sluggish while waiting for results, just use this time to maybe fill in your notes where you might not have had the time to do so before SQE1 - this is something valuable you can do whilst your energy levels are low. But if you are like me and didn't have any long-form notes to hand, maybe be cautious of how much time you are spending trying to do it from scratch. I was delusional for thinking my method would work for the 2 months I had to prep for SQE2. See below for what I would have done differently re revision for FLK.<h4>What I would have done differently:</h4>Revising FLK for SQE2As mentioned above, I wish I hadn't wasted time trying to make long-form notes from scratch. I also underestimated how my flashcards actually still came in handy for SQE2. Like I said above, the level of FLK you are tested on in SQE2 (in my experience at least) is no less niche than what you would have seen in SQE1 (just remember, if it's in the spec, it may very well come up in a question). So my flashcards with niche points of law weren't completely redundant and I wish I had just spent more time refining them and adapting them for SQE2 rather than fumbling about with long-form notes. Basically making long form notes for me was a mistake because I feel I just wasn't thinking straight lol. I knew from SQE1 that active recall and spaced repetition from flashcards worked best for me, so idk why all of a sudden I decided that making long-form notes and passive reading would help — bad decision. I should have stuck to my gut and just do what I know works for me - and you should objectively assess your own learning style and do the same. As someone who had more flashcards than long-form notes, if I could re-do my SQE2 prep, I would have just continued revising my old flashcards which haven't quite sunk into my memory and maybe just adapt a few decks specifically for SQE2 purposes. I was worried that knowing the content wasn't enough and I would need to learn how to write the content out in prose, that's why I resorted to writing out long-form notes rather than work on my flashcards, but I think my mistake was (to an extent) overestimating the importance of being able to write the content out in prose — (1) being able to to write the content out in full sentences in your notes doesn't mean you can simply lift the same black letter law to e.g. a client letter in legal writing and expect to score highly (you score marks by applying the law correctly and being client-focused in your delivery, not by regurgitating a paragraph from your textbook); and (2) I think I underestimated my own abilities with regards to knowing a piece of FLK in my head and being able to compose on the spot sentences of legal advice that is clear and concise — being able to do this comes with practice, yes, but you don't get that practice by writing out academic notes for revision; you practise by actively practising the skill in your own revision time or by doing mocks. In retrospect I do think my flashcards and flowcharts from SQE1 were enough and I didn't really need to add to it that much. For example, I remember I had quite a few flowcharts for criminal law and criminal practice. At the start of SQE2 prep I remember looking at them and thinking - oh crap I don't think I know how to explain any of this if you were to tell me to write about it in prose. But actually when it came to attempting mocks on those topics, because I already understood the relevant legal concepts from the flowcharts even though I had never written out any of it in prose, it wasn't hard at all to pick out the relevant bits in the flowchart, apply it to the scenario in the question and explain my advice in simple terms in full sentences. So before you make the mistake of thinking you need to have fully decked out long form notes for SQE2, just take a step back first and practise on a few topics whether you can actually explain them in writing if you were thrown a new fact pattern. If you can apply the law correctly and explain it accurately, then you shouldn't have to worry too much.If you already have decked out long-form notes from SQE1, by all means continue using them to refresh your memory and especially the fine print FLK, but as someone who didn't have much long-form notes during SQE1 prep, I just wish I didn't waste time doing it when it came to SQE2 prep. I would have just adapted my flashcards, drilled down on topics that I perhaps didn't pay as much attention to during SQE1 and also just practise active recall, application of FLK and focused on applying the FLK alongside the skills. I'm not saying dry FLK revision is no longer important — it is still extremely important for SQE2. But I'm just saying I made the mistake of going about dry FLK revision the wrong way and I wish my FLK revision had been a bit more tailored to what the SQE2 required.Full practice sitI only realised on Day One of my SQE2 written exams that I had not done a full practice sit before LOL. What I mean by this is actually practising sitting in front of my computer and attempting 4 written mocks back to back in the right order and within the time span that I would get in the actual exam. I did a full practice sit once for SQE1 but it didn't cross my mind to do it for SQE2 (partly because I didn't have enough mocks to play around with). I did a good number of separate mocks under timed conditions, but just wasn't used to actually sitting multiple stations back to back like I would be expected to do in the real exam. If I could do it again I probably would make sure that I saved up enough mocks and done at least one full practice sit for each day of the written exams, as I felt like I was testing out my stamina for the first time in the real exam (which isn't ideal).Legalese for dummiesTowards the end of my SQE2 prep I had put together a table of terminology for each subject accompanied by a layman explanation for it — this is stuff you would likely need for CMA, writing and interviewing. It was pretty easy to put it together and the more you see and the more you remember just fill it out as you go along - it's a relatively low effort / low energy-consuming task that I wish I would have started earlier (would have been a perfect task to get started on when I was sluggish and burnt out when I was waiting for SQE1 results). Basically the idea is for example if you are given a legal writing question asking you to explain the allocation process in the magistrates' court, you want to be able to instinctively know how to explain in without using any legal jargon e.g. if you are writing directly to a client who has been charged with theft, (as far as I have been taught by tutors at ULaw), you want to avoid writing anything like "You have been charged with theft, which is an either-way offence". The term 'either-way offence' would simply confuse your client further and add no value to them — you will lose skills marks for this. Instead, in your table of legalese for dummies, you want to already have in your head a basic structure of how you would convey the same message in very simple terms and in a way that is clear to the client what the effect of the law is on them + what they should take into account, rather then simply writing out the plain definition of a word — example redrafted: "The offence you have been charged with is theft. This means you may be tried in either the magistrates' court or the Crown Court". Same goes to stuff like:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">explaining the effect of a Part 36 offer to a client — what I had in my table of legalese for dummies is just all the different scenarios I could get and a brief sample of how I would explain the effect of the law on their case e.g. if acting for a payee client, "if you are asked to pay costs on the indemnity basis, any doubt that the judge has when determining the costs would be resolved in [the opposing party]'s favour. This means you may need to pay more compared to if costs were assessed on the standard basis".</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In property, for example, it is not helpful to say to the client "what you have here is an absolute covenant against alterations" — this is too much legal jargon. In my table of legalese for dummies I had written down how I would explain the concept of an absolute covenant in a lease to a tenant and the effect of this on them e.g. "Clause [•] of your lease means that you are not allowed to make any alterations to the premises. The landlord is under no obligation to grant consent for you to carry out these alterations. The landlord is also entitled to withhold their consent even if it is unreasonable for them to do so.".</li> </ul>MocksI will address the topic of SQE2 mocks in a separate post.*</blockquote>

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