NHS literacy tests assess your ability to read, understand and respond to written information — vital for accurate notes, handovers and patient safety. Below are 12 practice items spanning comprehension, spelling and grammar.
Practice Questions & Answers
Q1. Choose the correctly spelled word: a) recieve b) receive c) recive
A1. b) receive.
Q2. Which is the correct sentence? a) The patient have arrived. b) The patient has arrived.
A2. b) The patient has arrived.
Q3. Pick the correct synonym for "frequent": a) rare b) often c) sudden
A3. b) often.
Q4. Choose the correct word: "The medication had no … on the patient." a) affect b) effect
A4. b) effect (a noun here).
Q5. Which word is misspelled? "medecine, history, examine"
A5. "medecine" — should be "medicine".
Q6. Which is plural? a) datum b) data c) dattas
A6. b) data.
Q7. Identify the verb: "The nurse documented the observations."
A7. documented.
Q8. Choose the correct: a) less patients b) fewer patients
A8. b) fewer patients (countable nouns use "fewer").
Q9. Which sentence is grammatically correct? a) Me and Sarah completed it. b) Sarah and I completed it.
A9. b) Sarah and I completed it.
Q10. Choose the antonym of "acute": a) chronic b) intense c) urgent
A10. a) chronic.
Q11. Pick the correct apostrophe use: a) the patients records b) the patient's records
A11. b) the patient's records.
Q12. Choose the correctly punctuated: a) Stop! He's allergic. b) Stop, he's allergic.
A12. a) Stop! He's allergic.
Tips to Pass
- Read NHS-style guidance daily for vocabulary exposure.
- Master common NHS abbreviations and Latin medical roots.
- Practise comprehension under time pressure.
- Use spell-check at home but don't rely on it.
- Always proofread written tasks before submission.
Take the full mock test
👉Try the full NHS numeracy mock here
Explore more in NHS & Healthcare Tests or browseall NHS literacy tests.
Related reading: NHS Numeracy Test Tips.
Quick study plan
If you only have a fortnight to prepare, split your time into three blocks. Spend the first few days reading any official handbook or syllabus straight through — don't try to memorise yet, the goal is familiarity. Move on to topic-by-topic revision, focusing on the areas you found least intuitive on the first read. In the final week, switch to timed mock tests under exam conditions; mark every paper ruthlessly and read every explanation, including for questions you got right by guessing. Most candidates improve by 8–12 marks between their first and third mock simply by closing knowledge gaps this way.
Common myths to ignore
Three myths trip up more candidates than any single topic. The first is that "if I sit enough mocks, I'll spot the real questions on test day" — modern UK exam banks contain hundreds of items and the question you see on the day will probably be brand new to you. The second is that you can cram the night before; most assessments reward calm focus more than recent recall, and tired candidates make basic mistakes. The third is that the pass mark is the only thing that matters: aiming for a comfortable buffer of 5–10 marks above the threshold is the single best insurance against an unlucky paper.
What to do on test day
Plan to arrive 15–20 minutes early with valid photo ID — usually a UK driving licence or passport — and any booking confirmation you've been emailed. Eat something light beforehand, drink water but not so much that you'll need a comfort break mid-paper, and silence your phone before you walk through the door. Read every question twice, flag anything you're unsure of, and never leave a blank — there's no negative marking on the assessments most readers of this site sit, so a considered guess is always better than no answer at all.
NHS literacy tests assess your ability to read, understand and respond to written information — vital for accurate notes, handovers and patient safety. Below are 12 practice items spanning comprehension, spelling and grammar.
Practice Questions & Answers
Q1. Choose the correctly spelled word: a) recieve b) receive c) recive
A1. b) receive.
Q2. Which is the correct sentence? a) The patient have arrived. b) The patient has arrived.
A2. b) The patient has arrived.
Q3. Pick the correct synonym for "frequent": a) rare b) often c) sudden
A3. b) often.
Q4. Choose the correct word: "The medication had no … on the patient." a) affect b) effect
A4. b) effect (a noun here).
Q5. Which word is misspelled? "medecine, history, examine"
A5. "medecine" — should be "medicine".
Q6. Which is plural? a) datum b) data c) dattas
A6. b) data.
Q7. Identify the verb: "The nurse documented the observations."
A7. documented.
Q8. Choose the correct: a) less patients b) fewer patients
A8. b) fewer patients (countable nouns use "fewer").
Q9. Which sentence is grammatically correct? a) Me and Sarah completed it. b) Sarah and I completed it.
A9. b) Sarah and I completed it.
Q10. Choose the antonym of "acute": a) chronic b) intense c) urgent
A10. a) chronic.
Q11. Pick the correct apostrophe use: a) the patients records b) the patient's records
A11. b) the patient's records.
Q12. Choose the correctly punctuated: a) Stop! He's allergic. b) Stop, he's allergic.
A12. a) Stop! He's allergic.
Tips to Pass
- Read NHS-style guidance daily for vocabulary exposure.
- Master common NHS abbreviations and Latin medical roots.
- Practise comprehension under time pressure.
- Use spell-check at home but don't rely on it.
- Always proofread written tasks before submission.
Take the full mock test
👉Try the full NHS numeracy mock here
Explore more in NHS & Healthcare Tests or browseall NHS literacy tests.
Related reading: NHS Numeracy Test Tips.
