Professional Qualification Revision Tips
As many of you will be taking exams for professional qualifications in the coming weeks, here are some tips to help you make best use of the time available. Create […]
As many of you will be taking exams for professional qualifications in the coming weeks, here are some tips to help you make best use of the time available.
Create a revision timetable
Everyone has varying amounts of time to spend on their studies, but in the final weeks you should make as much time available as you can, and create a timetable of what you’ll do when – especially if you’re sitting more than one paper.
It can be easy to spend more time on the ‘more interesting’ or numbers papers than ‘written’ ones, so make sure your timetable includes a balance. You should also aim to cover all syllabus areas within each paper, without overlooking topics you think you know well already. Remember to focus on the theory and analysis as well as the computational aspects.
Keep it active
Simply copying or regurgitating notes won’t get you many marks in an exam, but it can be useful to keep things fresh in your mind and as a way to revise while commuting or over lunch. Draw up mind maps that will help you remember the key facts when it comes to the exam – but make sure you can actually remember what everything means in relation to exam questions.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – it’s more valuable to spend time on question practice and reading examiner’s reports from past papers. You don’t want to be one of those examples of a “common mistake” come exam day!
Exam conditions
You don’t have to sit whole papers at a time during your revision, but when practicing questions it’s good to do so in exam conditions, so be strict with your timing to get used to working at speed. You can always review where you spent too much or too little time later.
If possible, review your answer in comparison with the published answer and the mark scheme – understand how the marks were allocated and what you might have missed. Our tutors are always happy to help if you’re unsure of anything.
Make a list of things you got wrong or had forgotten and revise them again -you won’t make the same mistake twice! As you practise more questions you should get more comfortable with timings and how to present your answers, so by the time the exam comes around, you should be confident in your approach.
What’s next?
The best thing really is to practice, practice, practice! For more exam prep help try our blog post earlier this year on or Kaplan’s ‘Top tips to approaching study and revision’.
Remember that you can always contact your Reed Business School tutor for help with any questions or to calm your last minute nerves.
Good luck!
