Practice and exam technique

How these questions are built, and where the marks are lost.

HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: how to use them properlyPractice questions are worth exactly what your review of them is worth. Paper 1 gives you 60 questions in 90 minutes and you need 42 right. Work in se…
Free HKSI Paper 1 practice testThe free mock is 60 questions in 90 minutes, the same shape as the real paper, scored against the same 70% pass mark. You take it before making an acc…
How an HKSI Paper 1 question is built, from the insideA Paper 1 question is a stem anchored to one second-level syllabus heading, one defensible key, and three distractors taken from the neighbours of tha…
The ten wrong-answer patterns in HKSI Paper 1Wrong options in Paper 1 are not random. Across our 131-question bank they fall into ten recurring patterns: wrong body, neighbouring Part, invented r…
Elimination technique for HKSI Paper 1, step by stepRead the stem, decide what the answer should be before you look at the options, then cut. Absolutes, over-corrections and wrong-body options go first.…
Time management in HKSI Paper 1: the 1.5-minute rulePaper 1 is 60 questions in 90 minutes, so 1.5 minutes each. Use checkpoints rather than a stopwatch: question 20 by 30 minutes, question 40 by 60 minu…
HKSI Paper 1 mock exams: how many, when, and how to sit themSit at least three full mocks: 60 questions, 90 minutes, no pauses, no notes. The first tells you where you stand, the middle ones build pace, and the…
Twelve mistakes candidates make on HKSI Paper 1 questionsThe recurring mistakes are technique ones, not knowledge ones: scoring instead of reviewing, counting lucky guesses as knowledge, reading the options …
Negatively worded questions in HKSI Paper 1: the NOT and EXCEPT trapsA negatively worded stem asks which option is false, and it inverts your elimination habit: the three you would normally cut are now the wrong answers…
Scenario questions in HKSI Paper 1: how to strip them downA scenario question hides one rule inside a paragraph of facts. Strip it: identify the actor, find the trigger event, ignore the decoration, then read…
HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: Topic 1, regulatory overviewTopic 1 is who does what in Hong Kong finance, and we estimate it at about 2 of 60 questions. Almost every wrong option is another body doing the wron…
HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: Topic 3, the OrdinanceTopic 3 is the largest block on the paper and we estimate it at about 8 of 60 questions. Nearly every wrong option is a neighbouring Part of the Ordin…
HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: Topic 4, licensing and the rulesTopic 4 is licensing, registration and the subsidiary rules on capital, client assets and records. We estimate about 14 of 60 questions. It rewards pr…
HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: Topic 5, business conductTopic 5 is the Code of Conduct and the specialist codes, and we estimate about 11 of 60 questions. It is where partial-compliance distractors live: op…
HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: Topic 6, operations and controlsTopic 6 covers internal controls, anti-money laundering, privacy and electronic trading, and we estimate about 10 of 60 questions. Its distractors rew…
HKSI Paper 1 practice questions: Topic 9, market misconductTopic 9 is the six statutory market misconduct conducts, their consequences, unsolicited calls and improper trading practices. We estimate about 3 of …
When should you start doing HKSI Paper 1 mocks?Start full mocks once you have read all nine topics at least once, however badly. Before that you are measuring absence, not readiness. Topic sets fro…
How to review a wrong answer so it stays fixedSort your answers into four piles: right and confident, right but guessed, wrong, and unanswered. Review the last three. Write one line per item namin…
Guessing on HKSI Paper 1: when, how, and why never to leave a blankThere is no negative marking on Paper 1, so every blank is a guaranteed zero and every guess is a free chance. Blind, you are right one time in four. …
Flagging questions in HKSI Paper 1, and coming back to themAnswer every question as you reach it, flag the ones you are unsure of, and revisit only those. The flag is a memory aid, not a placeholder for a blan…
Choosing an HKSI Paper 1 question bank: what to check before you payCheck nine things: syllabus version, whether questions are original, whether explanations cite a source, whether every wrong option has a stated reaso…