I was able to pass all my exams first time because there is a way in which I organise my studies and I would like to share this.
When I first started studying accounting, I was working full time and having to do shifts it was important to give myself enough time to study for my exams, have the discipline to keep on track and keep to a schedule.
Also, you need to feel a “sense of urgency” when doing qualifications which involve more than one exam (this is the case with most accounting qualifications) because you shouldn’t really have long periods between exams sittings.
My first advice would be to try and book exams in advance because it motivates you to keep to your study calendar.
This is the most comprehensive list with tips for a first-time pass:
- Understand the syllabus. Make sure you know how the study material is divided.
- Create a study calendar: it has to be from the day you start your studies until the exam date.
- Leave time for revision: the last 2 or 3 days should be for revision. Revision means do all the exercises all over again with an emphasis on all the aspects that you have been confused about.
- Mark the chapters that you will do each day: it is really important to keep to a schedule and know where you should be with your studies at any one time.
- Invest in revision kits: Kaplan and BPP are the best and most common. Try to do them both.
- If you can’t revise, then mark down all the questions you had issues with and do them again.
- Sometimes you may want to use an EXCEL document, and one sheet would represent one chapter. This is most useful if your studies involve calculations.
- Mind maps are useful if you have a lot of theory or you need to remember lots of rules so you can focus on those important words.
- Writing down important information is good, but you need to keep reminding yourself that it has to be memorised.
- Use walls or any surface you have in front of your desk to display your material, important things to remember or things to visualise (especially your calendar). This is only possible if you have your designated study space, which would be ideal to have.
- Use your phone to store documents with important notes for your studies so you can revise on the go (usually our phones are with us all the time).
- Read the important notes before you go to bed so you can think of them up until you fall asleep (it’s important to check what you have memorised).
- Read from different sources: sometimes it helps to read from different sources things you might not understand from your notes. When it comes to accounting, there are multiple websites with useful information and one explanation might stick in your head better than others might.
Good luck with your exams and I hope this list helps!
This blog was written by UWS Student Catalina Harpalete and is shared with permission.
