We are about a month away now from the exams and they are really drawing close. I get pre exam jitters right about now. The good thing is that they do not come close to the actual exam dates as I feel slightly better prepared to take them on but I am not in a great shape now. The only thing that makes it better is making a study schedule and more importantly, sticking to it. Funnily though, everything other than locking yourself up with books looks much more attractive at this time.
From the lecturers advice and friends and my personal experiences, a few things may help with the studying. One tip which works well with a lot of people is making you own summarised notes for the subjects. These are best made in a small notebook preferably a size which can be carried around easily. Not only can these help to reinforce concepts and keep them in mind but because of the size be referred to anytime when you are not usually studying. If you spend a reasonable amount of time commuting, like I do, these are very handy to refer to.
Using these notes are of great help just the day before the exam when there isn’t much time to revise everything you have done in detail. I do obsess about not being able to remember things I have already studied, while taking the actual exams. Going over the notes again before the exams helps me to retain and recall information.
At the professional level, or what was previously termed level 3, I have noticed a lot of subjects pick up on where you left off at the fundamental level (previously level 2) and they go forward with a different emphasis as far as questions are concerned. A lot of them require analysis of scenarios but assume the basic knowledge gained at the lower levels. Here, if information is retained from prior studying, then studying by exception is more time efficient i.e. going through the matter you do not know rather than the things you do remember.
So, for those taking their foundation and skills level papers, it really pays to do them well as this knowledge will help you in the professional level as well. A great part of how you perform depends on sound preparation. Now is the time, without further ado, let’s get to our books!
Recent Comments