Life in the UK test website

Post by **John** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 2:11 pm

If I do say so myself ... how prophetic! :-

As I posted in this topic :-

Quite right, it should be straightforward ... but I'll make a prediction .... it will not be that long before someone reports to this Board that they have been along for their test confidently expecting to pass ..... and they got failed .... and they will be complaining about that!

It did not take long, did it!

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 1:05 am

Well its the early hours of the morning and I have just finished revising the chapters 2,3 and 4! My test is tomorrow at about 12. It brought back memories from my college days when I had to memorise all those inorganic Chemistry formulas! At least its multiple choice.

But, hell no I am not taking any chances. Only because £34 is significant to warrant a proper 2 hours memorisation exercise

And my God there is SO much to memorise. I specially liked the section on ethnic minority population breakdown. 9% lives in England; of this population, 45% lives in and around London; of this 29% are residents of London. Only 2% in Wales and Scotland! I have already forgotten half of the stats. They should seriously not ask questions on detailed stats. I would rather they included a few other chapters in the questions and skipped these detailed low level stats like how many women with children under the age of 16 are working and how many don't give a...whatever. But its their test and I will need to take it if I want the Citizenship..which I do.

I will surely remember all questions that will be asked and will post them here.

Sy.

aix · Post by **aix** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 6:37 am

Sy,

First of all, best of luck (which I am sure you won't need, after such a thorough preparation).

of this 29% are residents of London

On the off-chance that you see this message before taking the test, I'd like to point out that the above figure is the other way around: 29% of Londoners represent ethnic minorities.

At least that's my interpretation of what the book says.

aix

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:51 am

Thanks aix. I will read the stats again before going in today.

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:07 pm

I passed the test quite easily and finished in 11 mins.

There were quite a few stat related questions and it really grilled my memory!! And if I had not memorised the lot of them, it would have been VERY VERY easy to get six wrong. VERY easy. I was nervously scribbling down the questions I was doubtfull about and in the end I had about 8 jotted down! Some were "mickey mouse"/common sense questions and others were again, only a test of memory, nothing else.

My advice is that don't just read the chapters again and again, make sure all the stats are committed to memory. Thats the only way to be sure. Really, expect anything from any paragraph and any sentence. They literally have done that. So spend a good 2-3 hours memorising (before the test I recommend so that its fresh) and you will definitely pass it.

I am glad I took it very seriously since it could have been very easily a waste of time and £34 pounds. I disliked the stats VERY much and about 8-9 questions were from them. Those percentages and figures! and even dates!

After sitting the test, it almost feels like the inclusion of stats at this detailed level has been deliberatly done to make the test difficult. There is nothing else in it otherwise. Just general knowledge on UK Govt. etc.

Good luck the to all who have to sit this test. Go for it ASAP since they will probably change it in some way very soon. I think they will only make it more difficult and find new ways to "test Britishness".

Sy.

UK_yankees · Post by **UK_yankees** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 11:27 am

Congrats on passing your test.

Can you tell me quickly the following quation I have answered is correct or not.

1 what is the percentage of single parets in the uk
25% single parents in other words alone parents. 10% are stepped family and 65% are couple.

2 which countries(england, ireland,wales, scotland) local govt. has the most authority
England

3 if the queen disagrees with a law what does she do?
She would discuss in private.

4. from which countries did immigration take place in the 70's
Uganda was 28,000 of indian origin and 22,000 of South east.

5. has immigration to britain taken place oly in the last few years(yes this question is connected to the first one, but was also included)
I am not sure????

6. is writing letters to your mp in the parliament the only way to contact your mp
or telephone as well...what esle..??

How many peers?
Peers, non life peers and herditary..

aix · Post by **aix** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:16 pm

2 which countries(england, ireland,wales, scotland) local govt. has the most authority
England

I'd say Scotland. As far as I am aware England does not have a governing body separate from the govt of the UK.

5. has immigration to britain taken place oly in the last few years(yes this question is connected to the first one, but was also included)
I am not sure????

Surely not. The book gives examples going as far back as 17th century.

6. is writing letters to your mp in the parliament the only way to contact your mp
or telephone as well...what esle..??

www.faxyourmp.com

How many peers?
Peers, non life peers and herditary..

No idea, is this even covered in the book?

aix · Post by **aix** » Thu Nov 03, 2005 9:25 pm

How many peers?
Peers, non life peers and herditary..
No idea, is this even covered in the book?

If you are really curious, detailed stats are available at http://www.parliament.uk/directories/ho ... sition.cfm

aix · Post by **aix** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:13 pm

Disclaimer: Some of what follows may sound negative. It is not intended as criticism of anyone involved; it is merely a statement of fact and should be taken as such.

Today we took our Life in the UK test. Two overriding impressions: (1) we were overprepared on a grand scale; (2) there is a lot of waiting around involved in taking the test.

(1) The difficultly of questions was a lot lower than I was expecting as a result of reading this forum. I knew answers to all questions but one with 100% certainty; the remaining one took an educated guess. The other half says she knew answers to each and every one of the questions. The types of questions (i.e. true or false vs multiple choice) made answering very easy.

This comes as a slight disappointment as we clearly could've saved a couple of hours of our lives doing something more productive than memorising what some may perceive as largely useless numbers.

Even though a large percentage of the questions could have been answered just based on general knowledge, I would like to echo the advice already given to those preparing for the test. If you want to pass the test, get the book and read chapters 2-4. There is a lot of obscure stats in there, which most are unlikely to know off the top of their heads.

(2) The whole process took 1 hour 45 minutes from when we walked through the door (5 minutes in advance of our appointment) till walking out with certificates. This may not sound like much. However, it took me just over 3 and a half minutes to answer the 24 questions. The remaining 1 hour 40 minutes was pure overhead (basically, just waiting around for things to happen).

The actual waiting time probably varies from one test centre to the next.

My advice -- bring a book (or revise for the exam while you are waiting, if that's your thing).

P.S. The staff were very helpful throughout. I hope most of the waiting around could be attributed to teething problems.

Post by **John** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:30 pm

we were overprepared on a grand scale

Congratulations on you and your "other half" passing! However is it really possible to overprepare? Great you passed so easily but then all that knowledge you now have could well be useful in the future.

I certainly don't think anyone just about to take the test should cut back on their studies, based simply upon your experience. That is, far better to be overprepared rather than underprepared.

All that waiting around? Was that time you were waiting to be handed the pass certificates?

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:26 pm

Well done on passing it.

"over prepared on a grand scale"

That statement reminds me of my college days when I prepared a LOT and the exam was dead easy!

There is a high probablility that you can pass by making "educated guesses" (which is what I thought as well). But I recommend spending time on commiting some things to memory rather than regretting it later. Spending about 2 hours doing it is well worth it people. Eventhough the questions are "mickey mouse" for some of us.

I spoke to one of the test organisers there and told her about how many stats there were. About 8-9. She said on the contrary, the last batch expected more stats in the test! So the questions are chosen randomly for all candidates so I think all of us will have a slightly different opinion on how much preparation should be done.

My other half still needs to sit the test and I will make sure we are "over prepared" to be 100% sure. Anyway, thats my two pence worth on it

Sy.

sywahu · Post by **sywahu** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 3:27 pm

and oh yes, my total time from walking in and out was 35 mins!

UK_yankees · Post by **UK_yankees** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:02 pm

Congratulations to all those who passed their TEST. Respect to you all guyz.

Since you;ve passed the test,can you please tell me if I am doing alright with below questions and answer.

What shall I expect in Chapter 4 and 2.

1 what is the percentage of single parets in the uk
25% single parents in other words alone parents. 10% are stepped family and 65% are couple.

2 which countries(england, ireland,wales, scotland) local govt. has the most authority
England

3 if the queen disagrees with a law what does she do?
She would discuss in private.

4. from which countries did immigration take place in the 70's
Uganda was 28,000 of indian origin and 22,000 of South east.

5. has immigration to britain taken place oly in the last few years(yes this question is connected to the first one, but was also included)
I am not sure????

6. is writing letters to your mp in the parliament the only way to contact your mp
or telephone as well...what esle..??

How many peers?
Peers, non life peers and herditary..

Appreciate your kind help!!!

Post by **John** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 8:40 pm

How many peers?
Peers, non life peers and hereditary..

The answer to that is available by clicking here.

Indeed, anything you want to know about the UK Parliament should be answered on the UK Parliament website.

UK_yankees · Post by **UK_yankees** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:01 pm

I have booked my test as well 12 of this month. All the best to you who have booke dtheir test and to me.

Let see what happens..

Yankee

UK_yankees · Post by **UK_yankees** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:31 pm

today was the test day. I HAVE PASSED MY TEST. It wasn't easy. Coz 24 question were from Chapter 4 and 3. Very tricky questions.

Relieved. Phewwwwwwwwww

UK_yankees · Post by **UK_yankees** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:35 pm

Whatz next.!! I can only apply for nationality after 21 December 2005. Is it ok that I have taken test earlier..

Post by **John** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 6:48 pm

Is it ok that I have taken test earlier.

That is quite OK ... no problem ... just keep the pass certificate in a safe place.

Congratulations on passing the test.

snoopy · Post by **snoopy** » Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:56 am

some questions from my exam yesterday:

which rights did women get after the war in 1918: vote at 30 and election to parliament

most children get pocket money: once a week

how many parliaments in the coutires of uk: two (uk and scotland) OR one (scotland; coutries! only)

rogerroger · Post by **rogerroger** » Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:26 pm

you guys think that the questions will be repeated?

we can compile a list of possible questions answered like a question bank

yodiyokun · Post by **yodiyokun** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:32 am

thats cheating

buntosanya · Post by **buntosanya** » Tue Dec 06, 2005 2:25 pm

Yodi

Not necessarily, I am sorry to disagree. For academic exam purposes, we have things like past questions make available for students for review.

I guess the same can go for Life in the UK Test, since it is not automatic that questions that are reviewed will surely coming out when individuals sit for the test.

buntosanya · Post by **buntosanya** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 9:38 pm

Sorry i just saw this. I meant 'made available'

boylove · Post by **boylove** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:07 pm

Is there a pdf download of the life in the UK booklet available? I have the hard copy but wanted to carry soft copy around since I am travelling most days before the test. thanks for the answer!

Post by **John** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:19 pm

Is there a pdf download of the life in the UK booklet available?

Not legally, no. In the past PDFs of chapters 2, 3 and 4 have been advertised for sale on eBay. However eBay have now got wise to that and know that the text is copyright and accordingly delete such lots as soon as they realise they have been posted.

Of course if you have your own scanner then you can probably create your own PDF ... but for personal use only.

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