What ethics and current-affairs topics should you study for an MMI?

There is no reliable list of topics that will appear. A better use of time is a method you can apply to any issue. Ask what is being decided, who gains and who bears the cost, what the strongest case on each side is, and what fact would change your view. Learn a few public issues well enough to explain them plainly, and practise reasoning when facts are uncertain.

Why a predicted topic list won't help much

Acuity says each program sets up its video interviews differently, and some choose not to share format details ahead of time. See Acuity's preparation guidance, checked October 18, 2026. The sources checked for this guide don't publish this year's station content, so a list claiming to predict it is a guess. Studying one guessed topic in depth can also leave you less ready for the prompt you actually get.

The one-page issue brief

Use this for any public issue you want to understand. Keep it to six lines.

1. The decision being made, in one sentence
2. Who gains and who bears the cost
3. The strongest case for one side
4. The strongest case for the other side
5. One fact that would change your view, and where you'd check it
6. Your current position, in one sentence you could say aloud

Practice example. A town is deciding whether to move its weekly farmers' market from a small downtown square to a larger lot on the edge of town.

1. Whether to move the market or keep it downtown.
2. Vendors may gain space and parking. People who walk or take transit downtown may lose easy access.
3. For moving, more vendors could join and the square would no longer be congested.
4. For staying, downtown is easier to reach without a car, and nearby shops rely on market traffic.
5. How most current shoppers arrive. A town survey or vendor counts would show this.
6. "I'd keep it downtown unless a survey showed most shoppers drive, and if it moved I'd look at a shuttle."

The brief builds a habit you can use on a prompt you've never seen before.

Use ethical ideas as reasoning tools

You don't need an ethics course to reason well. Knowing what common ideas protect helps more than reciting their names. Respecting someone's choice protects their control over their own life. Keeping information private protects trust. Fair distribution protects people with less power to ask for things. Honesty protects a relationship when the truth is uncomfortable.

When you read a prompt, ask which of these is under pressure and what it would cost to protect it. That question usually leads you to a decision and a reason. This is a suggested way to practise, not a list of what raters look for.

How much current-affairs reading is enough?

Pick two or three public issues that interest you. For each, read one plain-language explainer and one primary source, such as a government announcement or a report from the organization involved. Then explain the issue aloud in about a minute. If you can't state a fact without guessing, leave it out of your answer.

What if a prompt names something you don't know?

Say so briefly, then reason from what the prompt tells you. For example, "I'm not familiar with the details of that policy, but if it works the way the prompt describes, the trade-off seems to be between speed and fairness." Don't fill the gap with a made-up statistic. Say what you're unsure of, then reason from the details the prompt gives you.

If time is short, the limited-time guide suggests how much of this to do.

Try the six-line brief on a public MMI practice question that involves a public decision, then answer it aloud.