Bookmarking questions on TAO: what the button does and how to use the overview

On the test screen there is a round button with a bookmark symbol at the bottom right, and many candidates wonder whether they must press it for an answer to count. They do not. It flags a question you want to come back to, and that is all. This guide explains what it does, how it shows in the question overview and how to make use of it when the clock is tight.

What the bookmark button does

According to EPSO’s instructions, you can flag any question for later review: one click flags it, a second click removes the flag. Answered and unanswered questions can both be flagged. Flagged questions are gathered in the Overview, in a section of their own with a count, and from that list you can jump to each one, review it and change the answer as long as you have not submitted the test.

On EPSO’s public sample test, which runs on the same platform, the button sits above the arrow to the next question, in the bottom right corner. When you flag a question, its circle in the navigation bar shows the bookmark symbol in place of the number, on whichever fill applies: empty if unanswered, dark if answered.

Answering is enough: a bookmark does not answer

• A question counts once you choose an option. There is no confirm button and no need to flag it. On the public sample, the circle turns to answered when you leave the question.
• A flagged question with no answer is still unanswered. The flag is a reminder for you alone.
• Wrong answers cost nothing, according to the notice of competition. So before you flag a doubtful question, pick your best option now: if you run out of time to come back, it at least has an answer.
• Careful when you go back: on the public sample, clicking the option that is already chosen clears the answer.

How to read the overview

The overview opens from the navigation bar at the bottom and shows every question in the current test. EPSO’s instructions describe the states like this:

On the public sample, the overview also has tabs for the bookmarked questions only and the incomplete ones only, each with its count. Click any circle to go straight to that question. When you submit a test, the platform always asks you to confirm and warns you if any questions are unanswered; once submitted, you cannot go back into it.

A way to use it with the clock running

Each test in Part 1 has its own clock: 20 verbal questions in 35 minutes (1 minute 45 seconds each), 10 numerical in 20 minutes (2 minutes) and 10 abstract in 10 minutes (1 minute). This is a method of our own, which you can adapt:

1. First pass: answer every question. If one runs past its time, choose the option you think most likely, flag it and move on.
2. Flag only what you really want to review. If you flag half the test, the list no longer helps you choose.
3. Set a moment to review. For instance, with 5 minutes left in verbal, 4 in numerical and 2 in abstract, open the overview and go to the flagged questions. The platform’s clock gives no warning as it nears zero, so check it at those fixed moments.
4. Before you submit, check in the overview that no question is incomplete. A flag does not count as an answer.

Where to practise it

You can try the bookmark button and the overview in the demo on our home page, with one question from each test, on a computer. Our free test (the button is at the top and the bottom of this guide) is a full Part 1 on the same screen, with the three real clocks, bookmarks, the overview and a worked answer for every question. EPSO also lets you try the platform in anonymous public sessions, and our guide to the TAO platform covers the other tools.