TARA practice by question type: what to drill

Practise by question type: learn each type from the official Question Guide, drill the ones you miss, then rehearse on the Pearson practice test. Old TSA and BMAT Section 1 papers are extra practice.

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Download the PDFBy Shrey, Cambridge studentUpdated 8 Oct 2026

Pick a module and question type

Module

Question type

Main Conclusion · 22 questions in 40 minutes, five options each

Separate the claim from its reasons.

Current practice: The TARA Question Guide example and the Pearson practice test
Legacy practice: TSA Section 1 Critical Thinking questions of the same type. Log the mark as legacy, never as a TARA score.

Learn main conclusion free

Try one: an Assumption question

Original, in the current TARA format. Answer before you open the solution.

Try it · TARA Critical Thinking · Assumption · Five options

The council plans to cut the fare on the town's two main bus routes from £2.00 to £1.20 in order to reduce traffic in the town centre. Last year, a neighbouring city cut its bus fares by a similar proportion, and the number of bus journeys there rose by a third. So the fare cut here will reduce the number of cars driven into the town centre.

Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of the argument?

What each source is for

Source	Status	Use it for
Content Specification	Current	The format and the basic maths assumed
Question Guide	Current	The seven Critical Thinking and three Problem Solving question types, with worked examples
Pearson practice test	Current	The real screen and clock
BMAT and TSA Section 1	Legacy	Extra practice, $1{,}528$ questions, logged as legacy

The current format: $22$ Critical Thinking questions in $40$ minutes, $22$ Problem Solving in $40$ , and one essay from three prompts in $40$ , up to $750$ words. Each question has five options.

October or January: which sitting is yours

Your applications	Sitting	Booking
Oxford, any TARA course except PPE with Foundation Year	October only: 12 to 16 October 2026	Closed on 28 September 2026
UCL, or Oxford PPE with Foundation Year	October 2026 or January 2027 (4 to 8 January)	January booking opens 26 October 2026 and closes 21 December 2026
A mix of both	October, because one application requires it	You sit once per cycle

Check each course page before you book. Universities set their own deadlines.

Label old papers as old

Worked example Log the result honestly

You get $16$ of $22$ on a TSA Section 1 set. What goes in your log?

TARA score: $6.5$ .
Legacy practice result: $16/22$ on that labelled set.
Official upper-tail result.
Predicted university decision.

Why this works: The second records what the set measured.

Why the tempting route fails: The others invent a conversion, a rank or an outcome.

Review your practice and pick the next drill Find every official TARA paper

More free guides

All TARA guides Score interpreter Free diagnostic