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ACCA Technician Bulletin: Exams - The Easy Way

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ACCA Technician Bulletin January 1998

ACCA Technician Bulletin


The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

Exams the easy way


by Hywel Williams Exams, like mountains, can be attempted in two different ways the easy way or .... Now, if you (like a lot of mountaineers) prefer more of a challenge, prefer doing things the hard way then read no further in this article. Or if youre perfect, and you dont need any help, I quite understand. See you in the retakes! Otherwise, prepare to make things easier for yourself. Read on to be enlightened. The key to exam technique is knowing how examiners think. So, how do they think? Or more importantly, how do they mark? Now, you have to stop thinking as a student and start thinking as an examiner. Dont follow your first instinct, follow the rules below. We can divide up the rules into four headings with the acronym PASS:

Pass the time properly


Everybody says that you should use the time properly, use good exam technique but nobody ever says how. Well, here is HOW, and it all stems from the marking system used. Spend your time doing what the marking system rewards, dont waste your time on non-mark gaining activities. This takes DISCIPLINE. You have to be strict with yourself. Concentrate on the EASY marks. Yes, there are easy marks! 1 Make sure you at least attempt all the questions in the exam and every part of every question. Its easier to get marks at the beginning of a question (and part) than at the end, so if you ignore the start of say Question 2 because you are finishing Question 3 then you are chasing difficult marks and ignoring easy ones. 2 Make sure you answer the written parts. Its generally quicker to jot a few points down rather than do a large number of calculations. 3 On written questions, if youre running out of time, then list the points. The key to this is the method of marking: examiners go through your pages of writing looking for the predetermined points that they can give marks for.

January 1998

THIS ISSUE
Exams the easy way 1 Index of Articles Noticeboard 3 4

Pass the time properly. Answer in the correct manner. Sure to read the question. Sensible about the method.
Or if you prefer: TRAM

Examiners approach to the level B exams 6

Time
Internet: http://www.acca.co.uk

Read Answer Method

ACCA Technician Bulletin January 1998

4 Dont answer the questions in the order set down, but pick the easiest for you. 5 Dont spend more than the time allocated to a question or part of a question (see points 1 to 4).

there will be marks for a report/ letter.

Sensible about the method


This is again based on the idea of spending time on mark gaining activities. If there are no marks for something or very few for the activity then dont do it!! Ive known students fail their exam just because they did not follow the advice in 14 or 15 below! 14 If preparing calculations e.g., budgets/balance sheets then dont go looking for a balancing error unless its obvious. You will just lose 1 or 2 marks at the outside for the non balancing and will waste 20 minutes or so (or 11 marks worth of time) trying to find it! 15 If you notice an error part way through or at the end of an answer, dont go back and alter your answer, just put a brief note to the examiner stating what the error is. 16 Strike a balance between setting out enough of your workings, to enable the examiner to give you method marks even if you get it wrong, without giving all the intricate details of your calculations. 17 Plan your answer. Just a couple of minutes to jot down a few headings. The clearer the structure the easier the examiner will find the points he/she is looking for. There are often also marks for expression, argument and structure which you can otherwise miss out on. 18 Make sure you write the obvious down. Often students miss out on these, the easiest to get, marks. Many of the points you need are already written in the answer or are obvious ones so you think, Well the examiner should already know that.

19 Finally, a friend sat four of his professional exams and, convinced that he had failed all four, didnt turn up for the fifth one. He was wrong. He had actually passed all four but of course failed overall. NEVER give up. Its never too late to revise, though early is preferable! Youve only got to get 50% or so to pass. You only need 2.5 out of every 5 marks. Thats not too difficult, is it? Well, all the best. Remember, if you find this useful let me know. Hywel Williams BA, ACA, is the Grant Thornton Research Fellow in the School of Accounting and Maths, University of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Wales CF37 1DL.
This is a condensed version of an article which first appeared in the ACCA Students Newsletter, April 1995.

Answer in the correct manner


6 Dont write in a long winded way, be succinct. Make your point briefly. Practice this. Write an answer to a question and then try and reduce what you have written to at least half size. 7 Dont go on and on about one point or aspect of an answer. If its only one point then there will be only one mark for it, but an example may double your mark. 8 Learn the buzz words and use them. In a marking scheme a lecturer will have them and will be looking for a term such as Opportunity Cost or Sunk Cost to allocate a mark against it.

Sure to read the question


9 Watch the words a and the. Which one is used? This can change the entire question. Do you have to write about the British economy or about an economy in general? 10 Relate the answer to the question! If its about a farm, refer to a farm and farming throughout, dont just write generally. 11 Dont write all you know about ... as an answer. You will get nothing. 12 Read through the background information given to you to enable you to relate your answer to the question. There are clues given in the question that the examiner will expect you to pick up, indeed even answers that you can use (see 18 ). 13 If asked for a report/letter then

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