Mock Exams for CIOL Examinations

6 May
Written By Support LT

THE ONLY WAY TO TEST IF YOU ARE READY FOR THE REAL THING!

“The mock exam was very organised and a fantastic opportunity to help me have a taste of a real exam, in real conditions.”

Maria (EN > EL DipTrans Student)

WHAT ARE MOCK EXAMS?

A ‘mock’ means solving a test, or sitting a test exam, for practice, following all the rules of the actual examinations.

Mock exams allow you to mimic the real exam experience under timed conditions, with exam-standard questions. Therefore, those that have attempted mock exams go into the real exam with better technique and also an improved sense of how much time is available.

  • 1. Get an idea of what to expect on the big day
    Completing mock exams helps you to get to know what the actual exam will be like. It gives you an idea about various things like the paper pattern, what kind of questions can be asked, the difficulty level of the questions, and how much time it takes to complete the test.

  • 2. Analyse your preparation and performance
    Without taking the mocks, you will not know how good/bad your preparation is.

  • 3. Helps you try and test different strategies
    You can take the mocks and make strategies, plan your study schedule and make good your preparation for the actual exam.

  • 4. Helps you to know how to use time efficiently
    Completing mocks will give you an idea of how fast or slow you are. You might realise that you need more time for a particular section and less for another. Once you know this, you can plan how much time to spend on each section in such a way that you can complete the paper and even have ample time to think about a certain question.

  • 5. Know your mastery and areas where you fall short
    Once you have done a couple of mock exams, you will know which areas are your strengths and which are your weaknesses, or, which topics in a particular section are easier and which are more difficult. Once you get an idea of this, you will know which topics to focus more on. The Mock Exam marking/report will help you understand which topics and sections/skills require more attention and time - two essential parameters for exam planning.

  • 6. Reduces your pre-exam nervousness
    Mocks are like the actual exam. So when you carry out enough mock exams, you will know what it will feel like in the actual exam. When you know how it will feel on the big day, you will be more at ease.

  • 7. Helps you keep a track of your progress
    You can keep an eye on how your scores change over time, and with each mock exam. You can know how much your score/technique has improved, or if you have fallen short in certain areas. You learn your mistakes immediately and start rectifying and working on them.

The Mock Exam Process from linguisttraining.com:

  • You are provided with real CIOLQ past exam papers and instructions, for each of the units you have purchased Mock Exams for (where available from the CIOLQ).
  • Under conditions which are as close to exam conditions as possible, you will 'sit' the mock exam. An independent Invigilator will administer your Mock Exam.
  • We take great care to ensure that Mock Exams mirror the real life exams as much as possible. This includes them taking place during standard UK working hours, in complete silence, with timed bathroom breaks, etc.
  • You submit your audio or written submission, which is then marked by an experienced Language Partner following the CIOLQ criteria, helping you to assess if you are ready for the exam.

You may wish to buy these as part of your CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme. Contact us for more info.

Sitting a Mock Exam (or carrying out a Translation Practice ) also enables you to see if you need to study an exam preparation course or not, before you sit the real exam.

Choose a Mock Exam :

CertTrans Mock Exams >

DipTrans Mock Exams >

DPSI Law Mock Exams >

DPSI Health Mock Exams >

STUDENT FEEDBACK

CertTrans Exam Success
"I'm Danish so I don't really like to boast about my achievements... But this one feels worth celebrating! Because today I found out that I passed the exam in 'CIOL Qualifications Level 6 Certificate in Translation (CertTrans)' with the Chartered Institute of Linguists! And on top of that, I earned 2 x distinctions in the units Government and Public Service Translation Skills and General Translation Skills. Also sending a thankful thought to linguisttraining.com that offer excellent preparation courses for different translation and interpretation exams." Anne (EN > DA), CertTrans 2025 (Public LinkedIn post)

Mock Exams
"The mock exams and feedback were really invaluable and helped me understand what was required and how to approach things so I appreciate all the support." Rocio (EN > ES)

DPSI Law Mock Exam
“Very useful.” Rated 5 out of 5. Damian (EN > SQ), DPSI Law Mock Exam Student, 2022

DipTrans Mock Exam
“The mock exam was very organised and a fantastic opportunity to help me have a taste of a real exam, in real conditions.”
Maria (EN > EL), DipTrans Mock Exam Student 2024

Aleksandra, Mock Exam Student
“I have been practising sight translations, taking time into consideration (which I hadn’t really considered before), and I’m finding it easier with practice, so the Mock Exam certainly helped me discover what my weaknesses were and work on them. Your advice has been very useful.”