What's the difference between Password Skills and Skills Plus?

Skills covers Reading, Writing and Listening. Skills Plus adds a Speaking section and a Reading-into-Writing integrated task. Skills Plus also reports finer per-section scores used by postgraduate admissions.

Which version do UK universities want?

Most postgraduate programmes require Skills Plus because they need a four-skill snapshot. Pre-sessional courses and Foundation programmes typically accept Skills.

If my programme just says 'Password', which should I take?

Assume Skills Plus and confirm with admissions. Skills Plus is treated as a strict superset of Skills by most institutions, so it satisfies both kinds of requirements.

How much extra prep does Skills Plus need vs Skills?

About 10 additional hours from the same baseline. The extra time covers Speaking practice and the Reading-into-Writing synthesis task.

Password Skills vs Skills Plus: Which One Do You Need?

Password publishes two main versions of its English test: Skills and Skills Plus. They look similar at first glance, but the section count, scoring granularity, and accepted-by lists differ in ways that matter for postgraduate applications.

1. At a glance

	Password Skills	Password Skills Plus
Sections	Reading + Writing + Listening	Reading + Writing + Listening + Speaking
Length	~2 hr 30 min	~3 hr
Scoring	CEFR band + decimal	CEFR band + finer decimal
Reading-into-writing	No	Yes
Typical acceptance	UK pre-sessional, Foundation	UK postgraduate, plus pre-sessional

2. The Speaking question

Skills Plus is the only version with a speaking section. Most UK master's programmes ask for Skills Plus because admissions teams want a four-skill snapshot.

If your target programme only mentions "Password test" without specifying, assume Skills Plus and confirm with admissions.

3. Reading-into-writing (the hidden gap)

Skills Plus adds an integrated task: read a short text, then write a 200-word response. This tests synthesis, not just generation. If you've only prepped Skills-style writing, this task can blindside you.

Drill specifically:

Read a 300-word opinion piece
Take 30 seconds to identify the central claim
Write a 200-word response taking a stance with at least one reference to the source

Use our writing tool and select "Password Skills Plus — Writing."

4. Scoring granularity

Skills reports CEFR + a single decimal. Skills Plus reports CEFR + finer decimals for each section.

For applicants this matters because:

Postgraduate offers often state "Password Skills Plus 6.5 overall with no section below 5.5"
Skills cannot fulfill that requirement — the granular per-section breakdown doesn't exist

5. Choosing in practice

If your target programme:

Lists "Password" generically → ask admissions which version
Lists "Skills Plus" → take Skills Plus
Lists "Skills" → take Skills (rare for postgraduate)
Says "pre-sessional course required" → Skills is typically enough

When in doubt, take Skills Plus. Most institutions accept it as a strict superset.

6. Prep time difference

If you're aiming for the same CEFR band:

Skills: ~25 hours of focused prep from a stable starting point
Skills Plus: ~35 hours (the +10 hours covers speaking and reading-into-writing)

Use our study plan to schedule a realistic timeline.