How to Triumph Over the CII’s Multi-Response Question
Multi-response questions can feel intimidating because they ask you to hold several possible answers in mind at once – and one small misread can make the whole question feel uncertain. The good news is that they are not designed to catch you out any more than a standard multiple-choice question. With a calm elimination process, a clear understanding of the format, and a bit of confidence once the wrong answers have been ruled out, they become much more manageable. This article is particularly relevant to the CII R01, R02, R03 and R04 exams.
This article is correct as at 19 May 2026.
In last week’s article we looked at the multiple-choice question stems in the CII level 4 papers. This week we take a look at how to tackle the dreaded multi-response questions. If you are studying toward the CII’s Diploma it’s important to get to grips with these questions which feature in the R01, R02, R03 and R04 exams.
These questions are tricky! Each question will have up to five answer options (although you’ll be pleased to hear four is most common) and at least two of the answers will be correct, unlike the standard multiple-choice questions where it’s simply a case of choosing one correct answer from four options.
Example from R02
There are 28 multiple response questions in R02. They can often feel harder than the standard format questions, but in reality, there is no difference. It is simply a case of eliminating so there are fewer options.
Here is a worked example of a CII R02 multi-response question:
Alex, aged 30, is contributing for the first time to a Lifetime ISA (LISA) in tax year 2025/26. She should be aware that:
- she can contribute up to £9,000 per tax year.
- the government bonus is 20% of her contribution.
- the government bonus is payable until Alex reaches age 50.
- there may be a penalty upon full encashment of the LISA.
Disregarding the incorrect options
The amount she can contribute is £4,000 so we can disregard option A.
Option B starts off as a promising correct answer as there is of course a government bonus, but the amount is 25% rather than 20% so we can disregard this option too.
Be brave!
The brave candidate who remembers that at least two of the multiple response answers are correct could then just mark C and D and quickly move to the next question.
Reading through the remaining options
For those who want to read through the remaining options just to make sure they are correct: C states that ‘the Government bonus is payable until Alex reaches age 50’ and we know this is correct. Finally, option D says there may be a penalty upon full encashment of the LISA, and we know this is true as well; a withdrawal charge is made if withdrawals are for any reason other than buying a first home, aged over 60, or terminally ill.
This makes the answer to this question C and D.
Worth remembering…
We have already mentioned that we know at least two answers are correct in the multi-response questions. In the example above, a brave candidate could have saved themselves quite a bit of time if they remembered, when they had eliminated options A and B, that options C and D would then have to be the correct answer.
It is also worth remembering, especially if you are unsure of all the answers, that most of the time only 2 of the options given are correct. For example, the latest R02 exam guide shows that out of 28 multi-response questions, 24 have 2 correct answers, and only 4 questions have 3 correct answers – the other R0 exams follow a similar pattern.
A multi-response worked example for R01, 3 and 4 is also available in our free How to Pass Guides which you can access below.
