How to start your exam preparation
Well friends, “How to start
Exam preparation is indeed a very vital question” which float over or threatens
every student after getting enrolled for a professional course. As per my personal
observation most of our precious time wasted to figure out how to start our Exam
preparation. Believe me
exam time is not the most stressful part of your professional journey, if you plan
your study well in advance and study on a regular basis.
I have received lot of Personal
messages (PMs), Profile scrap and E-mails from caclubindia users asking how to start
Exam preparation in the most fruitful manner. So with the help of this write up
an attempt has been made to share a few suggestions regarding how to start your
Exam preparation. Sincerely hope that this write up would help you to deal with
high degree of pressure to perform well in professional examination.
SELF
STUDY Vs. COACHING
Vs.
As per my understanding your
very first step should be to decide whether to go for coaching or self study. Consider
this question very vital for a good start of your preparation. You don’t have to
wait until exam time approaches. Make up your mind from the very beginning otherwise
this question may be converted into a big dilemma later on. Regarding advantage
and disadvantage of self study or coaching, I would suggest you to go through my
article “Self
study Vs. Coaching classes-A Whole new dimension with analysis” available
at the link mentioned below:
SELF
STUDY VS. COACHING CLASSES ANALYSIS
ROLE
OF SCANNER
Buy a latest Scanner from
the market and analyse it properly. According to me full understanding of Scanner
regarding how to use it, is very essential as it gives you a bird’s eye view of
every subject of your professional course. These days solved scanners also available
in the market. Based on my previous experience I’d suggest you to buy Shuchita Publication
Scanner. For more details click the link below:
SELECTION
OF REFERENCE BOOKS
As I have already stressed
in my previous articles that selection of appropriate reference books is really
important. One of the essential and
indispensible suggestions to start your exam preparation is to collect good reference
books well in advance. Here we cannot deny the importance of study material provided
by the respective institute. For correct course content and notes preparation one
must also refer study material along with reference books.
Along with selection of reference
books in advance it is also advisable to collect exam oriented notes from the very
beginning and stick to them. Kindly check the link below to download some useful
exam oriented notes:
EXAM ORIENTED
NOTES AT ONE PLACE
DESIGN
A STUDY SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE
It is really essential to
develop a study schedule before starting exam preparation to help you study effectively
without any stress. The same is also very essential to avoid the situation as depicted
in the picture above. Prepare a list of Exam oriented important chapters with the
help of scanner and design your study schedule accordingly. The earlier you perform
this exercise, the more time you will have to design your study schedule and prepare
for the examination. Remember a few things while preparing your study schedule.
Figure out the length of course content you need to prepare along with the time
required to cover the same.
TIME
MANAGEMENT – A
Time management is that wonderful
skill which we have to learn and develop sooner or later during our professional
journey. Time management is a technique with different dimensions and it can be
defined through various means. Being a student after getting enrolled for a professional
exam you’ll get ample time to your credit. Proper and prolific utilization of this
time is really essential to clear your exam in first attempt. So in this way and
to prepare an effective study schedule time management is very important. You have
to grant most favorable time allocation to each and every subject. Also make appropriate
provision for revision of course. So focus on time management and keep asking you
– Is this the best use of my time. This is to share with you all that am still using
this Q and A technique.
FOLLOW
EXAM SUGGESTIONS
As we all know there are always
some methods or tricks to perform well during exam times. Keeping in view your ultimate
goal there is no harm if you acquainted yourself with these tips or tricks well
in advance and tried them during your initial stage of study as later on sudden
adoption of these methods may reduce their effectiveness and create unnecessary
perplexity. One of these tricks is to prepare a list of frequently asked questions
from scanner and design your ATLAS accordingly.
To view the details of “My ATLAS Method”
click at the link given below and download my file titled “real time tips to
deal with theory paper”. Sincerely hope that this method can bring a huge difference
to your professional success.
ALL MY EXAM TIPS AT ONE PLACE
UNDERSTAND
EXAMINATION PATTERN PROPERLY
One important question you
need to answer is – what is the current exam pattern? In other words understanding
of prevailing examination pattern in a proper manner is also very important for
a good start to your exam preparation. If you have good understanding of Examination
pattern then you can easily plan for exam paper according to your strength. For
example in Audit or Law papers attempt flat questions first like short note etc.
instead of practical problems as practical problems are a bit time consuming.
TIME
ALLOCATION
Another question which comes
into mind regarding how to start exam preparation is how much time is needed in
the beginning to study. As per my personal opinion in the beginning it is not necessary
at all to invest 10-12 hours a day for your study. A 5-8 hour productive study would
be enough. Remember, it is the quality and not the quantity of study that is required.
However it would be better for you to decide your study sessions as per your own
aptitude/capability.
QUESTION
YOURSELF or SELF ANALYSIS
Self analysis is also necessary
to figure out that everything is going as per your plan. A well defined study plan
is not a guarantee of success unless executed in toto. So you may test your preparation
by attempting some previous exam paper under ultimate exam condition or environment.
Later on check the result of your effort and make necessary correction/modification
to your study plan. These kind of regular tests also helps you to understand your
strengths and weaknesses. If you are weak in any area, you can remove that weakness
easily by detailed study.
KEEP
YOURSELF UPDATED
After each and every exam
(presuming that your exam is due after 1-2 attempts) discuss the exam papers with
your friends and prepare minute of your conversation with your friend and also note
down your friend’s opinion/suggestion. This discussion will be very helpful to decide
the correct exam preparation approach and keeps you updated with latest trends and
exam pattern. I personally used this method throughout my professional study very
successfully.
Disclaimer:
The content and every thought used
in this article is based on my personal observation and understanding. This Article
is completely my work and not
copied from anywhere.
Hope this Article would be off some help during your professional journey.
Awaiting your kind
responses on the above mentioned points. Please share your views along with your
valuable comments/suggestions/guidance.
Wish you
all the Best
Best Regards
Ankur Garg
CAclubindia
