Show me, tell me: all 21 questions, and how to teach them

How the two questions work

The 'tell me' question is asked at the start of the test, before the engine is running, and the candidate explains how they would do something. They do not have to do it. The 'show me' question comes later, while they are driving, and they operate a control while keeping the car safe. That second part is the real test: the question is easy, and doing it without wandering out of lane is the bit that gets marked.

The 14 'tell me' questions

Word for word as DVSA publishes them, because a pupil revising should see the sentence the examiner will actually say.

1. 1Tell me how you'd check that the brakes are working before starting a journey.
2. 2Tell me where you'd find the information for the recommended tyre pressures for this car and how tyre pressures should be checked.
3. 3Tell me how you make sure your head restraint is correctly adjusted so it provides the best protection in the event of a crash.
4. 4Tell me how you'd check the tyres to ensure that they have sufficient tread depth and that their general condition is safe to use on the road.
5. 5Tell me how you'd check that the headlights and tail lights are working.
6. 6Tell me how you'd know if there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system.
7. 7Tell me how you'd check the direction indicators are working.
8. 8Tell me how you'd check the brake lights are working on this car.
9. 9Tell me how you'd check the power-assisted steering is working before starting a journey.
10. 10Tell me how you'd switch on the rear fog light(s) and explain when you'd use it/them.
11. 11Tell me how you switch your headlight from dipped to main beam and explain how you'd know the main beam is on.
12. 12Open the bonnet and tell me how you'd check that the engine has sufficient oil.
13. 13Open the bonnet and tell me how you'd check that the engine has sufficient engine coolant.
14. 14Open the bonnet and tell me how you'd check that you have a safe level of hydraulic brake fluid.

The 7 'show me' questions

1. 1When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you wash and clean the rear windscreen?
2. 2When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you wash and clean the front windscreen?
3. 3When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd switch on your dipped headlights?
4. 4When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd set the rear demister?
5. 5When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd operate the horn?
6. 6When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd demist the front windscreen?
7. 7When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd open and close the side window?

The ones pupils get wrong

Not evenly distributed. Four cause most of the trouble, and all four for the same reason: they need the pupil to have opened the bonnet or read a manual at least once, which most have not.

How to teach it without wasting lesson time

1. 1

   Do the bonnet once, properly, on the test car

   Ten minutes, engine off, at the start of a lesson. Oil, coolant, brake fluid, screenwash, and where the dipstick markings are. Every 'open the bonnet' question is then a memory of something they have actually touched rather than a paragraph they read.

2. 2

   Ask one 'tell me' at the start of every lesson

   Not a revision session, just one question while they are getting settled. Fourteen questions over a course means every one comes up several times without a single lesson being spent on it.

3. 3

   Ask 'show me' questions while moving, deliberately badly timed

   The point is not whether they can find the rear demister. It is whether they can find it without drifting, slowing suddenly or looking down for three seconds. Ask on a straight road first, then somewhere less convenient.

4. 4

   Teach the two-part answers as two parts

   Tyre pressures and tread depth both have a where and a how. Pupils who lose the mark almost always answered half the question confidently and stopped.