Free Practice Questions for Password Skills Plus

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Key Facts: Password Skills Plus Exam

Password Skills Plus assesses four skills (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking) and takes three hours and five minutes online.

The test is delivered by English Language Testing Ltd and academically managed by CRELLA at the University of Bedfordshire.

Password Reading lasts 75 minutes and has five tasks of increasing difficulty assessing academic English.

Password Listening lasts 60 minutes and has five sections, with most recordings being short lectures or lecture extracts.

Reading Section 3 always contains exactly eight multiple-choice comprehension questions on a single academic text.

Scores are reported on the Password scale and mapped to CEFR levels A2 to C1, with each university setting its own requirement.

The test is taken at home under live online proctoring by Examity, with each test drawn randomly from a large secure question bank.

Password Skills Plus costs about £95 plus VAT when bought directly, and results are usually available within three to five working days.

Password Skills Plus is an online four-skill academic English test from English Language Testing Ltd and CRELLA, accepted by UK universities; its Reading and Listening modules use multiple-choice, gap-fill, ordering and true/false-style tasks scored on the Password scale and CEFR A2 to C1.

Sample Password Skills Plus Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to review concepts for the Password Skills Plus exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 120+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1In a text-cohesion task, the first sentence is 'Maria decided to bake a cake for her sister's birthday.' Which sentence should logically come next?

A.Everyone agreed it had been the best party of the year.

B.She first checked the cupboard to see which ingredients she already had.

C.The candles were finally blown out to loud applause.

D.The leftover slices were wrapped and stored in the fridge.

Explanation: Sentence ordering follows a logical event sequence. After deciding to bake, the natural next step is gathering or checking ingredients. The other sentences describe events that happen much later, at or after the party.

2When ordering sentences into a coherent text, which type of word is the strongest clue that a sentence describes a later stage in a sequence?

A.Common nouns such as 'building' and 'student'

B.Descriptive adjectives such as 'large' and 'colourful'

C.Sequencing words such as 'afterwards', 'then' and 'finally'

D.Prepositions of place such as 'under' and 'beside'

Explanation: Text-cohesion tasks reward attention to discourse markers. Sequencing words like 'afterwards', 'then' and 'finally' directly signal the position of a sentence in a chronological chain. Nouns, adjectives and place prepositions describe content but rarely fix an event's order.

3A short text begins: 'The committee received over two hundred applications.' Which sentence best continues the text?

A.The new building was opened by the mayor last spring.

B.Rainfall in the region had been unusually heavy that year.

C.Most cats prefer to sleep during the warmest part of the day.

D.After an initial review, they shortlisted twenty of the strongest candidates.

Explanation: Cohesion depends on topic continuity and logical progression. Receiving applications leads naturally to reviewing and shortlisting them. The other options introduce unrelated topics and break the chain of reference.

4Consider these sentences: (P) 'This delay frustrated the passengers.' (Q) 'The train was cancelled because of a signal fault.' To form a coherent text, which order is correct?

A.Q then P

B.P then Q

C.Either order works equally well

D.Neither sentence can follow the other

Explanation: The pronoun-like reference 'This delay' in P points back to the cancellation described in Q, so Q must come first to introduce the cause. Cohesion relies on a cause being stated before its consequence is referred to.

5In a sentence-ordering task, a sentence begins with 'However, this view was soon challenged.' What does this opening tell you about its position?

A.It must be the very first sentence of the text.

B.It must follow a sentence that presented the view now being challenged.

C.It must be the concluding sentence of the text.

D.It can be placed anywhere without affecting meaning.

Explanation: The contrast marker 'However' and the demonstrative 'this view' both refer back to an idea stated earlier. The sentence therefore must come after the sentence that introduced that view, so the contrast has something to oppose.

6A text about a bus journey contains the sentence 'She showed her ticket to the driver.' Which sentence should come immediately before it?

A.She found her seat and settled down for the trip.

B.The bus pulled into the final stop on schedule.

C.She bought a ticket from the machine at the station.

D.She collected her luggage from the compartment below.

Explanation: Real-world logic guides the order: you must buy a ticket before you can show it to the driver. Finding a seat, arriving and collecting luggage all happen after boarding, so they cannot precede showing the ticket.

7Which sentence is most likely to be the final sentence when ordering a narrative text?

A.One morning, the team gathered to discuss a new idea.

B.They began by dividing the tasks among themselves.

C.At first, nobody was sure the plan would work.

D.In the end, the project was judged a complete success.

Explanation: Closing sentences typically summarise or evaluate the outcome of events. 'In the end... a complete success' signals a conclusion. The other sentences use openers like 'One morning', 'began' and 'At first', which mark the start of a sequence.

8A text contains: 'They had to abandon the experiment as a result.' Which preceding sentence makes this cohesive?

A.A sudden power failure shut down all the laboratory equipment.

B.The researchers celebrated their long-awaited breakthrough.

C.Funding for the next phase was generously increased.

D.The findings were published in a leading scientific journal.

Explanation: 'As a result' signals a consequence, so the preceding sentence must provide a cause for abandoning the experiment. A power failure shutting down equipment is a clear cause. Celebration, increased funding and publication are positive events that would not force abandonment.

9Gap-fill: 'Stress is a natural part of our lives, and you need to experience a certain ____ of it in order to live healthily.' Which word best fits?

A.levels

B.level

C.leveller

D.levelling

Explanation: The phrase 'a certain ____ of it' needs a singular countable noun, and 'level' fits both grammar and meaning ('a certain level of stress'). The article 'a' rules out the plural, and the other forms are not nouns that suit this slot.

10Gap-fill: 'Good quality soils ____ when organic materials are transformed into plant nutrients.' Which word best completes the sentence?

A.develops

B.developing

C.develop

D.development

Explanation: The plural subject 'soils' requires the base plural verb form 'develop' in the present simple. The third-person singular 'develops', the participle 'developing' and the noun 'development' do not agree with the subject or fit the clause grammatically.

About the Password Skills Plus Exam

Password Skills Plus is an online, four-skill academic English language test designed and academically managed by CRELLA, a world-leading research group at the University of Bedfordshire, and delivered by English Language Testing Ltd. It assesses Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking and is accepted by many UK universities for undergraduate and postgraduate admission. The test takes about three hours and five minutes and is taken at home under live online proctoring by Examity, with each test built from randomly selected items drawn from a large secure question bank. The receptive Reading and Listening modules are the multiple-choice-testable parts: Reading uses five tasks (sentence ordering, gap-fill, an eight-question comprehension MCQ set, matching headings and summary ordering) while Listening uses five sections of short-recording multiple-choice items, a correct/incorrect/not-mentioned points task, a longer lecture with five questions and a two-speaker matching task. Scores are reported on the Password scale and mapped to CEFR levels A2 to C1, with each university setting the level it requires.

Exam sponsor: English Language Testing Ltd (ELT), academically designed and managed by CRELLA at the University of Bedfordshire.. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.

Assessment

Question count not published by the exam provider

Time Limit

Three hours and five minutes total: Reading 75 minutes, Writing 30 minutes, Listening 60 minutes, Speaking 20 minutes.

Passing Score

Reported on the Password scale (Pre-Password to Password 7.0 and above) and the CEFR (A2 to C1); each university sets its own required score, often Password 5.5 (B2) for entry.

Exam / Certification Fees

Approximately £95 plus VAT where applicable when bought directly from English Language Testing Ltd; some universities offer it for around £80.

Exam sponsor website

Fees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.

Official sources

English Language Testing Ltd (ELT), academically designed and managed by CRELLA at the University of Bedfordshire.: official exam information

Our practice resources: topics covered

We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.

18%

Reading: Comprehension (MCQ)

Eight multiple-choice questions on an academic text testing main idea, detail, inference, writer attitude and vocabulary in context.

20%

Reading: Gap-fill and Cohesion

Choosing words to fill gaps using grammar and lexis, and ordering sentences into a coherent text using cohesive markers.

12%

Reading: Headings and Summary

Matching paragraph headings and ordering summary statements by identifying each paragraph's central idea.

26%

Listening: Short Recordings (MCQ)

Single multiple-choice questions on numerous short recordings such as messages, announcements and lecture clips, testing detail and gist.

12%

Listening: Points (Correct/Incorrect/Not Mentioned)

Judging whether stated points about a longer talk are correct, incorrect or not mentioned in the recording.

12%

Listening: Lecture and Speakers

Five multiple-choice questions on a longer lecture and a two-speaker task matching points to the correct speaker.

Preparing for the Password Skills Plus Exam

What You Need to Know

Passing score: Reported on the Password scale (Pre-Password to Password 7.0 and above) and the CEFR (A2 to C1); each university sets its own required score, often Password 5.5 (B2) for entry.
Assessment: Question count not published by the exam provider
Time limit: Three hours and five minutes total: Reading 75 minutes, Writing 30 minutes, Listening 60 minutes, Speaking 20 minutes.
Exam / certification fees: Approximately £95 plus VAT where applicable when bought directly from English Language Testing Ltd; some universities offer it for around £80. Official sources

Using Our Practice Resources

Work through all 120 available questions
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Password Skills Plus: Suggested Study Strategy

1Practise the Reading sentence-ordering task by spotting cohesive clues such as sequencing words, pronoun reference and logical event order.

2Build academic vocabulary and grammar for the gap-fill task, paying attention to collocations, word forms and prepositions.

3For the eight-question reading comprehension, skim the text for gist first, then read the questions and reread carefully for detail and inference.

4In Listening, remember each recording plays twice and questions appear on the second playback, so use the first hearing to grasp the overall meaning.

5For the correct/incorrect/not-mentioned points task, mark a point 'not mentioned' only when the recording gives no evidence for or against it.

6Take a full official practice test to get used to the online format, navigation and the fact that recordings cannot be paused or replayed on demand.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Password Skills Plus test?

Password Skills Plus is an online academic English language test assessing Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. It is delivered by English Language Testing Ltd, academically managed by CRELLA at the University of Bedfordshire, and accepted by many UK universities for admission.

How long is the Password Skills Plus test and how is it structured?

The test takes three hours and five minutes: Reading 75 minutes, Writing 30 minutes, Listening 60 minutes and Speaking 20 minutes. Reading has five tasks and Listening has five sections, both increasing in difficulty as the module progresses.

How is Password Skills Plus scored?

Scores are reported on the Password scale, from Pre-Password up to Password 7.0 and above, and mapped to the CEFR from A2 to C1. Each module receives a score and there is an overall score; percentage scores are also available.

What score do I need to pass Password Skills Plus?

There is no single pass mark. Each university sets the Password score and CEFR level it requires; many ask for around Password 5.5 (CEFR B2) for undergraduate and postgraduate entry, though requirements vary by course.

Where and how is the Password Skills Plus test taken?

It is taken online at home on a standard computer with an internet connection. The session is invigilated live by Examity, a professional online proctoring service, with video recording and AI flagging to maintain security.

How much does Password Skills Plus cost and when do I get results?

Bought directly from English Language Testing Ltd, the test costs about £95 plus VAT where applicable; some universities offer it for around £80. Results are typically available within three to five working days.