Dear Students,
Your response for my posts which I started a few days ago was gladdening to the heart.
Please continue reading my articles and postings which I would publish online in this forum and also maybe a blog later...
Today apart from answering one excise law query,I intend to take up this past exam questions posting.
Past exams are the ones which indicate trends of how ICAI can surprise students(or alternatively in rare ocassions make them happy too).
The student comes to a state of self-preparedness when he or she attempts a minimum of 10 past attempts in each subject and then sits for the exam.
This has an additional benefit inasmuchas the same or similar question being repeated in the exam from past questions.This happens on almost all ocassions in many subjects if not all.
A study of a compilation of past questions(preferably with solved answers, so you dont rack your brains too much or run around for answers!) in a chapter-wise manner(using the popular books like Suchita Prakashan's Scanner or the like) and then concentrating on mark-grabbing areas more,would relieve the headache for the harried and time-burdened student.
The student also, sometimes takes guesses as to what might come in the exam and this is to be strictly avoided.CA exams dont work by guesswork.You would be double-guessed by the paper-setter,who knows all these tricks of students.
I also do not subscribe greatly to the idea of some professors giving "Sure-shot" questions which might come in the exam.As professors they must set an ideal and professional example/precedent for students to emulate and must not behave with the whims of the winds in such matters.
Maybe a few areas can be highlighted for importance,but except the almighty and the people finally involved in the paper-setting process,no one can possibly say what questions might come in the exam.
CA being a professional and tough exam,does not work by such gimmicks.
Yet, out of frustration,human nature of seeking short-cuts,exasperation,paucity of time,peer-pressure,etc students commit the mistake of secondguessing what might come in the exams and use the Scanner for exactly this purpose.
Scanner(or books of the ilk / milieu) must be used for:
- General Guidance of areas of high importance
- For prioritization of preparation into convenient buckets
- For familiarizing with the pattern and standard of questions asked at the exam-level
- For confidence by taking up a past question paper and answering it under exam conditions.
These are the intended benefits to study the compiler/Scanner.
Some students are also of the opinion that some exams can be cleared by just reading the compiler.This is a highly fallacious thinking process and a process given to Luck.You depend heavily on luck here.If you are lucky, with such an approach you might get a passing grade,but 8/10 cases you invariably fail.So, this it is not worth taking a chance here.
Compiler is just what it means:"A compilation of past exam questions with or without answers"(normally with answers)
One must have conceptual understanding of principles involved and must use the study materials and reference books for understanding the concepts and then take up as a last but sure-shot mandatory assay of perfecting one's study regimen a work-out of problems from compiler.
When this approach is maintained even the study of compiler becomes easy because already many questions would have been covered while perusing the main text.
This would crystallize your preparation well and give it a shape and confidence in your mind.
And in CA real and deep confidence matters a lot,especially during those 3 hours when you sweat it out in the exam-hall
My Best wishes,dear students!
Mythreya
CAclubindia
