TARA preparation guide
The TARA Writing Task
The Writing Task is one of the three compulsory TARA modules: 40 minutes, one task chosen from three prompts, a 750-word limit, and no score at the end of it. UAT-UK does not mark it. A copy of what you write is sent to each university you applied to, and it is read there. That single fact should change how you prepare, because there is no mark scheme for your answer to be measured against. No band descriptors have ever been published, no TARA past paper exists, and the official guidance is brief but unusually specific. This page sets out what is fixed about the task, what the official recommendations actually say, and how to spend the 40 minutes.
01
What the Writing Task is, exactly
The Writing Task is one of the three TARA modules and it is compulsory for every candidate. Each module is separately timed at 40 minutes, giving 120 minutes in total. Two things follow. The Writing Task has a full 40 minutes of its own, and a module's unused minutes do not carry into the next one, so those 40 minutes are all the time it will ever have.
Within those 40 minutes you are shown three prompts and you answer one of them. Each prompt is built around a short statement. Your response has a 750-word limit.
The test is computer-based, so you type your response rather than write it by hand. You are given an erasable booklet for working, and that is where your plan belongs. Calculators and dictionaries may not be used, which matters more in this module than in the multiple-choice ones: spelling and word choice are entirely on you, so write around anything you are unsure of.
The more important point is what is not being tested. The TARA Question Guide is explicit that detailed subject knowledge is not expected or required. You are not asked to cite research, quote statistics or name theorists. A candidate applying for Human Sciences and a candidate applying for Philosophy and Linguistics are being asked to do the same thing: take a statement apart, argue honestly against it, and then say what they actually think and why.
That also means preparation is not reading. It is rehearsal, done to time, in the shape the task already fixes for you.
02
The three questions every prompt asks
Every prompt asks the same three things, in the same fixed order. The TARA Question Guide sets them out as:
- Explain what you think is meant by the statement.
- Give a reasoned argument against the statement.
- To what extent do you agree with the statement?
That structure does most of the planning work for you. You are not choosing a shape for the essay. The shape is given, and the job is to fill three sections well.
Part one is interpretation, not restatement. The real work is opening up the vague or abstract words in the statement: what they cover, where their edges are, and how a different reading would change things. Part two asks you to argue against the statement whether or not you believe the counter-case, which is deliberate: it tests whether you can make a position you do not hold sound properly reasoned. Part three asks to what extent, which invites a qualified judgement with conditions attached rather than a slogan.
The official general recommendations map straight onto this structure. Address all three parts clearly and fully. Make your points precisely and avoid repeating yourself. Group similar points together rather than splitting them across the answer.
One way to lose the answer is to let part one run to half the word count: part two is then squeezed into a single paragraph and part three becomes a summary of what came before. The official guidance warns against exactly that last move: your view should be expressed in its own right, not assembled out of recap.
03
UAT-UK does not mark it. Universities read it.
UAT-UK states on its TARA page: "The Writing Task is not scored by UAT-UK." Instead, a copy of your response is sent to the universities where you applied. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving each return a score from 1 to 9 reported to one decimal place. The Writing Task returns nothing.
Two consequences follow. First, there is no mark scheme, no band descriptor and no published standard to reverse-engineer, so any material claiming to give you one is not official. Second, your response goes to the universities you applied to and is read there, rather than being marked against a rubric. Writing clearly, and making your reasoning hold up, is a far better aim than guessing at a scoring system that does not exist.
How it is used varies by course. Ten Oxford courses use the TARA, and Oxford accepts the October sitting only. Oxford course pages state: "All Oxford applicants must take all three modules (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task)." Only two of those courses add that the Writing Task will not be used by Oxford in admissions selection for that course: LN12 Economics and Management and LV11 History and Economics. We checked five of the others individually: PPE, Psychology and Linguistics, Experimental Psychology, Human Sciences and History and Politics carry no such line.
Six UCL courses use the TARA: G400, G402, G430, H300, H301 and H700.
The practical rule is the same either way. The module is compulsory, so you sit it regardless, and unless a course page says otherwise you should write as though it will be read at the university.
04
A 40-minute budget
The official guidance gives one hard number for timing: plan for 5 to 10 minutes before you start writing, group your ideas around the three parts, and then use that plan to express your points persuasively and concisely.
Built out across the full 40 minutes, a budget that works looks like this.
- 0 to 2 minutes: choose. Read all three prompts before committing. Pick the one you can genuinely argue against, not the one you agree with most, because part two requires a counter-argument.
- 2 to 9 minutes: plan on the erasable booklet. Three columns, one per question. Column one lists the words in the statement that need defining. Column two collects counter-arguments from different angles. Column three states your view and names which earlier points support it.
- 9 to 34 minutes: write. The order is already decided, so these 25 minutes are for turning the plan into sentences, not for rethinking the argument halfway through.
- 34 to 40 minutes: read back. Check three things only: that all three parts are answered, that nothing is repeated wholesale, and that the final part is not just a recap.
On length, 750 is a ceiling rather than a target, and no minimum length is published. Something like 150 / 300 / 300 across the three parts is a sensible working split, with interpretation shortest. Six hundred well-chosen words that answer all three parts properly are worth more than 750 that run out of time in part three.
One reminder: a module's unused minutes do not carry into the next one, so nothing can extend these 40 minutes.
05
The official recommendations, turned into a process
The official recommendations are short, and each one converts into something you actually do at the keyboard. They come to four habits.
Engage with the exact wording. The guidance asks you to engage closely with the statement, to take a broad and nuanced view of its general or abstract terms, and to avoid unfocused or overly general discussion of the topic area. A useful test: if a paragraph would survive unchanged under a different statement, it is not answering the question. The essay should start from the vaguest word in the statement, not from background about the subject.
Always try to see both sides. That phrase is the official one. Use targeted, concrete examples, but watch the two traps the guidance names: arguments that rest solely on examples, and examples that are overly general or contextless. An example is one link in a chain of reasoning, never the chain itself.
Make the counter-argument strong. This part rewards the extra effort, because the official advice asks for a range of points rather than one. Strengthen it by covering different angles of the same argument, while leaving out irrelevant background information. A counter-case you have taken seriously tells a reader far more about your judgement than a straw man built to be knocked over.
Express your view clearly and support it. The guidance asks for your view stated clearly and in enough depth, supported by reference to your earlier arguments, and explicitly not a summary of what you have already said. In practice, part three should name specific points from earlier, explain why you land where you do after weighing them, and say what would change your mind.
06
Practising when no past paper exists
UAT-UK has never released a TARA past paper. Not one. That is the honest starting point: no official past paper exists for the Writing Task, and none exists for the other two modules either.
The official material is exactly three things: the TARA Content Specification, the TARA Question Guide, and two practice tests on the Pearson VUE landing page, which UAT-UK says mirror the exact format and software used for its live tests. For the Writing Task, the Question Guide is the one that speaks to it directly. The three-part structure and every recommendation quoted on this page come from it, and it repays a second reading.
It is worth being clear about what does not help. UAT-UK hosts an archive of BMAT Section 1 papers (2003 to 2023) and TSA Section 1 papers (2008 to 2023), on the stated basis that the Critical Thinking and Problem Solving components share a common history with those tests. That archive serves the two multiple-choice modules. It gives you no Writing Task practice.
So rehearsal has to be built rather than downloaded, and three rules make it work. Write to a timer, the full 40 minutes, in one sitting. Type it, because the real test is typed and typing changes your pace. Plan on paper first, since that is what the erasable booklet is for.
Our own 18 Frontier Original TARA papers each contain one Writing Task and run to 120 minutes, and papers 1 and 2 can be attempted free. They are original parallel papers we write ourselves, not official past papers, because no official past papers exist. Treat them as a timer and a structure, never as a prediction.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is the TARA Writing Task marked?
Not by UAT-UK. UAT-UK does not score it. Instead a copy of your response is sent to the universities where you applied, and they read it themselves. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving each return a score from 1 to 9 to one decimal place; the Writing Task returns no score, grade or band. No marking scheme or band descriptors have ever been published, so anything claiming to be one is not official.
How long is the TARA Writing Task and how many words should I write?
40 minutes, separately timed, with one task chosen from three prompts and a 750-word limit. That ceiling is the published limit; no minimum length is given. A module's unused minutes do not carry into the next one, so the Writing Task is always exactly 40 minutes. A workable split is 2 minutes to choose, 7 to plan (the official advice is 5 to 10 minutes of planning), 25 to write and 6 to read back.
Do I have to do the Writing Task if I am applying for Economics and Management at Oxford?
Yes. Oxford course pages state: "All Oxford applicants must take all three modules (Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and the Writing Task)." All three modules are compulsory for every candidate. Only two Oxford courses add that the Writing Task will not be used in admissions selection for that course: LN12 Economics and Management and LV11 History and Economics. We checked five of the others (PPE, Psychology and Linguistics, Experimental Psychology, Human Sciences, History and Politics) and none carries this line.
Are there any TARA Writing Task past papers or example essays?
No. UAT-UK has never released a TARA past paper, so no official example answers exist either. The official material is exactly three things: the TARA Content Specification, the TARA Question Guide, and two practice tests on the Pearson VUE landing page, which UAT-UK says mirror the exact format and software used for its live tests. Our own 18 Frontier Original TARA papers each contain one Writing Task; they are original parallel papers we write ourselves, not official past papers.
What are the three parts of the TARA Writing Task question?
They are fixed and identical on every prompt: "Explain what you think is meant by the statement", then "Give a reasoned argument against the statement", then "To what extent do you agree with the statement?" All three must be addressed clearly and fully. The official guidance also asks you to express your own view in enough depth and to support it by reference to your earlier arguments, rather than simply summarising what you have already said.
Do I need subject knowledge or research to write the TARA essay?
No. The TARA Question Guide states that detailed subject knowledge is not expected or required, and no subject-specific knowledge is needed anywhere in the test. The official advice does ask for targeted, concrete examples, but it also warns against arguments that rest solely on examples and against examples that are overly general or contextless. An example supports reasoning; it cannot replace it.
SOURCES
Official sources
- TARA Question Guide (official PDF, source of the three-part structure and recommendations)
- TARA Content Specification (official PDF, module structure and timing)
- UAT-UK: About the TARA (format, scoring, and the Writing Task statement)
- UAT-UK: TARA preparation materials (the three official resources and the BMAT/TSA archive)
MORE GUIDES
Other TARA preparation guides
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Put it into practice
18 Frontier Original TARA papers in the official 40+40+40 format, every question with a worked solution. The first 2 papers are free.