Skip to content
SQEPracticeGet Started

SQE2 legal drafting: a checklist for every clause

SQE2 legal drafting is a 45-minute task to draft a legal document or part of one, sometimes from a precedent. It is marked on two skills criteria (language and structure) and three law criteria: legally correct, legally comprehensive and ethics.

Updated 1 October 2026 · Checked against the sources listed below

Sample script: board minutes and resolution

Legal drafting · Business Law and Practice · 45 minutes

Sample, tap anything

SkillsC3 / 5

LawC3 / 5

Station 60%

460 words

Skills and law count equally. No single station has a pass mark: the exam result is the average of all 16.

MINUTES - ITEM 3 3. Investment by Ms Okafor The Chair told the board that Ms Amara Okafor wishes to invest £120,000 in the Company by subscribing for 200 new ordinary shares at £600 each. She has already paid the money into the Company's bank account on 29 September 2026. Hartley & Co valued the Company at £600,000 on 12 August 2026 which is £600 per share. The money will be used to buy a new kiln costing £95,000 and the rest is working capital. The directors noted that under article 5.1 the directors cannot allot shares unless the members pass an ordinary resolution1. The members therefore need to approve the allotment. The directors also noted that the existing shareholders have pre-emption rights under section 561 of the Companies Act 2006 which are not excluded by the articles, so the members need to pass a special resolution to disapply them under section 5702. IT WAS RESOLVED: 1. That the directors recommend written resolutions of the members to authorise the allotment and disapply the pre-emption rights. 2. That the written resolutions be sent to all of the members. 3. That once the resolutions have been passed the Company allots 200 ordinary shares of £1 each to Ms Okafor at £600 each, fully paid. 4. That the register of members be updated and a share certificate issued to Ms Okafor.3 WRITTEN RESOLUTIONS OF THE MEMBERS Circulation date: 5 October 2026 The directors of the Company propose the following resolutions as written resolutions under the Companies Act 2006.4 ORDINARY RESOLUTION That the directors are authorised under section 551 of the Companies Act 2006 to allot up to 200 ordinary shares of £1 each in the Company to Amara Okafor at £600 per share. This authority will expire on 31 December 2026.5 SPECIAL RESOLUTION That section 561 of the Companies Act 2006 does not apply to the allotment of those shares to Amara Okafor.6 NOTES Members agree by signing and returning the signature table.7 If the resolutions are not passed within 28 days of the circulation date (2 November 2026) they lapse.8 NOTE TO PARTNER The articles stop the directors allotting shares without the members' approval so I have drafted an ordinary resolution for this. We also need a special resolution to get round the pre-emption rights. Hannah and Dev have 80% so they could pass it between them but I have still sent it to Gillian9 so that all the members get it. Please note the 28 day lapse date is 2 November. Ms Okafor has asked us to advise her but we act for the Company so there is a conflict and we should tell her to get her own advice10. We should also file the return of allotment at Companies House.

Tap a highlight to read its comment.

Work on next

Business Law and Practice: written resolution mechanics (s291 statement, lapse under the articles, s283 labelling)

  1. 1.Check the articles for a written resolution lapse period: article 22.1 gives 18 October 2026, not 2 November
  2. 2.Use s571 with the directors' recommendation and written statement where the client wants no wider power
  3. 3.Label the resolutions in the introduction, use the defined terms and add full notes for members and filing deadlines
  • You spotted 3½ of 5 key issues.
    • Partly: Pre-emption: s561 applies to a cash allotment of Ordinary Shares and article 5.2 keeps it; disapply it by special resolution for this allotment (s571, or s570 or s569), with the directors' recommendation and written statement of reasons, price and justification sent to every member with the resolution
    • Partly: The written resolutions: labelled ordinary and special; 75% of 1,000 votes; circulated by the directors to all three members although Hannah and Dev hold 80%; with how to agree and the lapse date (18 October 2026 under article 22.1)
    • Partly: The board's minute: record the facts and the s571 statement, recommend and circulate the resolutions, allot subject to and with effect from them passing, and direct the register, certificate and filings
  • You answered everything you were asked.
  • Applies article 5.1 and the pre-emption right to the facts, but misses article 22.1 and does not tie the disapplication to the s551 authority.
  • Sends to Gillian despite the 80% and declines to advise Ms Okafor, but uses the 28-day default lapse period and gives the partner no next steps on filings beyond the return of allotment.

Grades by criterion

Skills

Application of law

Tap a grade to see only its highlights. Tap a criterion to read the reason for its grade.

Law points

2 of 12 covered. Tap a point to read it in full.

  • Covered
  • Partly
  • Covered
  • Partly
  • Missed
  • Partly
  • Partly
  • Wrong
  • Partly
  • Missed
  • Partly
  • Partly

A sample script written for this demonstration and marked against the SRA's assessment criteria.

Try the free SQE2 diagnostic

SQE2 at a glance

for each legal drafting task
45 min
criteria: 2 skills and 3 law
5
grade for each criterion, A = 5 marks and F = 0
A to F
stations: 4 oral and 12 written
16
Sources for these figures

What the task is

The partner's email gives you instructions and, sometimes, a precedent or a draft prepared by someone else. You produce the document, or the parts of it you are asked for, in 45 minutes on screen. There is one drafting task in each written half-day, across all five practice areas. Examples are will clauses, particulars of claim, a defence, a witness statement, board minutes, a written resolution or clauses of a lease or contract.

Drafting is different from the other written skills. There is no reader to persuade and no advice to give. The marks come from what the document does: whether every clause has the legal effect intended and whether the document covers every instruction.

What examiners mark

HalfSRA criterion (exact wording)
Skills"Use clear, precise, concise and acceptable language"
Skills"Structure the document appropriately and logically"
Law"Draft a document which is legally correct"
Law"Draft a document which is legally comprehensive"
Law"Identify any ethical and professional conduct issues and exercise judgment to resolve them honestly and with integrity"

Drafting has only two skills criteria, so each one carries a larger share of the skills half than in other tasks. The SRA's legal drafting performance indicators name language that is consistently wordy, repetitive or confusing, or too informal for a legal document, as signs of a candidate who is not yet competent.

The drafting checklist

Before you draft (about 10 minutes)

  1. List every instruction in the partner's email and the documents, numbered. This list is your comprehensiveness check.
  2. Note every name, date, address, amount and reference exactly as it appears in the file.
  3. Read the precedent, if there is one, and mark the parts you will keep, change and delete.
  4. Look for the instruction you should not follow: a client wish that is unlawful, or instructions from someone who is not the client.

While you draft (about 30 minutes)

  1. Use the form the court or the document requires: heading, parties, recitals or numbered paragraphs.
  2. Define each party and key term once, then use the definition every time.
  3. Give each clause or paragraph one job.
  4. Write "must" for an obligation and "may" for a discretion. Avoid "shall" where its meaning is unclear.
  5. State who does what, by when, and what happens if they do not.
  6. Plead facts, not evidence or argument, in a statement of case.
  7. Delete precedent wording that does not fit the instructions. A clause left in by mistake can make the document wrong.

Before you stop (about 5 minutes)

  1. Tick every instruction off your list.
  2. Check names, dates, amounts and cross-references against the file.
  3. Check that the execution or verification is right: signatures and witnesses for a will or deed, the correct statement of truth for a statement of case or witness statement.
  4. Add a short note to the partner on anything you could not draft as instructed, and why.

A short annotated example

This is our own excerpt from particulars of claim, not an SRA sample. A bakery bought an oven from a manufacturer, and it failed within days.

  • [1] Earns credit (structure). The parties and their business come first, which shows the sale was in the course of a business, a condition of section 14(2).
  • [2] Earns credit (legally correct). Defined terms are introduced once, and the implied term is pleaded with its statutory source. Between two businesses the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies, not the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
  • [3] Earns credit (language). The breach is a short statement of fact with a date.
  • [4] Loses credit (legally correct; language). This is evidence, not a fact. It belongs in a witness statement or expert report. The paragraph should state the fact: "the thermostat was defective at delivery".

Common mistakes

  • Missing an instruction. The comprehensiveness criterion is lost one omission at a time, which is why the numbered list matters.
  • Copying a precedent clause that does not apply.
  • Inconsistent defined terms, such as "the Property" in one clause and "the House" in the next.
  • Writing advice into the document. The document should do things; advice goes in a short note, if at all.
  • A wrong or missing execution clause or statement of truth.
  • Following an improper instruction without comment, for example drafting a will on a beneficiary's instructions rather than the testator's.

The marked will clauses at the top of this page show these points applied. The SQE2 sample questions index links to the SRA's own drafting sample. The marking criteria page shows how the five grades become a station score, and the SQE2 hub and plans and prices cover the full course.

Questions candidates ask

45 minutes for each legal drafting task. There is one in each of the three written half-days, so three in the exam.

A computer-based task to draft a legal document or parts of one for a client. You may draft from a precedent, amend a document someone else has drafted, or draft without either. Examples include clauses of a will, particulars of claim, board minutes or a witness statement.

Only what fits the instructions. Keep the layout and the wording that does the job, change what must be changed and delete clauses that do not apply. A precedent clause left in by mistake can make the document legally wrong.

Two skills criteria: clear, precise, concise and acceptable language; and a document structured appropriately and logically. Three law criteria: a document that is legally correct, one that is legally comprehensive, and identifying and resolving any ethical and professional conduct issues.

Sometimes. The SRA says the task may involve drafting from a precedent or amending a document, but it may also involve drafting without either. Practise all three.

Where something cannot be drafted as instructed, yes, briefly. A short note explaining a conduct issue or a point that needs the client's instructions shows judgement. It does not replace drafting the document.

Sources

SQE Practice is independent of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Rules, dates and fees can change: the SRA is the authority, and this page is checked against it.

See how your written work is graded

The free SQE2 diagnostic takes about 20 minutes: a short marked writing task plus quick questions across the written skills. The marking is automated and grades each criterion with comments on your own lines.

Try the free SQE2 diagnostic

a marked writing task and 8 quick questions · about 20 minutes · free, no card details

Try the free SQE2 diagnostic20 min