It is not impossible to swot
up everything till the last minute, but cramming everything in this time is
certainly not advisable and shouldn't be made a habit. After all, it takes drop
by drop to fill the pitcher. Thus the tips will work only if you have done your
syllabus and now we are taking about the revision. To offer some more support,
here are few ways you can master the last minute study.
Organize your
time:
The best way to organize
your time is to plan it in an hourly format. You might be thinking that this
will be a waste of time, but be reminded, that failure to plan is planning to
fail. Organizing your time will contribute greatly to studying at the last
minute because if you are constantly in a panic-ridden situation it will cause
you to further procrastinate things. You may also give yourself a deadline for
revising individual topics but you need to focus on whether your revision is an
effective revision or not.
Understanding
the importance of study materials and practice manuals:
The books provided by the
institutes are often ignored by the students because they remain engrossed in
the notes provided to them by their teachers, but this should not be the case.
Exams especially of subjects like Costing, Financial Management, Taxation and
Accountancy (both group 1 and group 2) are mostly on the lines parallel to that
of Practice Manual. You will often find questions which are similar in nature
of your Practice Manual in exam. So definitely complete your study material and
Practice Manuals.
Never
underestimate any topic:
Do not skip any chapter or
topic untouched or unrevised. Cover as much as possible because one cannot
expect the possibility of topics from which question can be asked in CA exams.
Always remember that questions can be asked from anywhere in the syllabus.
Must go over the
RTP:
The RTP of the institute
plays the fundamental role in helping you understand the likely topics that are
going to be asked in exams, also it is the best material to practice the
questions on particular topics. You can also try other test series.
Focus on your
weak spots:
Because you are studying at
the last minute, you will not have time to go through all of your class
materials or your study notes. Instead you should go for the topics you
struggle with or have trouble recalling. In this way you can do multiple
revisions of the topics in less time.
Prepare a
last-minute review notes:
You should prepare some
last-minute review notes that focus on the key concepts and terms that you
struggle with. You may write these notes on a piece of paper and review them
once at night before bed and once in the morning before exams.
Assess yourself
regularly:
Everyone wants to pass but
only some of them actually make it. Everyone does preparation in their own way
still some of them only crack the exam. What do these some students do to pass?
The answer is giving test series. Do not get so busy learning that you forget
to assess your performance on a regular basis. Before appearing for exams, you
should have attempted at least 5-8 mock tests or test series with properly
timing yourself for it.
Investment in
marks:
Every single chapter have
topics which demands less time but gives high return in terms of marks are
blessing in disguise. DO NOT SKIP SUCH TOPICS.
For example 'Management and
Administration' chapter of Intermediate Law is an easy chapter plus also
demands less time but are frequently asked in exams. Similarly 'Reconciliation'
of CMA is the simplest chapter of the whole syllabus though frequent questions
are asked on every next attempt from this chapter.
Review
summaries, rather than full notes:
It is a good idea to read
over summaries such as mind maps, or one-page bullet point summaries of each
topic. If you have not prepared those then doing this can be a good way to
review the topic and check your understanding. This method is more effective
for practical papers as well as theory papers too and you can do multiple
revisions by making your own hand-written notes. After all a 700 pages can be
easily summarized into a 150 pages book and then reading a 150 pages book is
lot more easier than reading a 700 pages book.
Must review amendments:
The institute releases
certain amendments which are applicable in your exams roughly a month before
the exams, many students do not consider them important and tend to skip out on
them or take them very lightly, but this is not how CA exams work. Amendments
are important from the point of view of exam and thus must be done sincerely.
Scan through
scanner and follow-up with your starred questions:
Scanner is the most
important book from exams prospective. In a nutshell, scanner is a compilation
of past 10 year examination questions. Solving a scanner in last few days will
definitely boost your confidence. Now coming to the marked questions, remember
those questions that were hard to get and even more difficult to solve? Yes
exactly those. I hope you have marked some questions while studying and solving
or had written V.V.I in some questions which you found were bit difficult
than the rest. Go through those questions again.
Do not cry over
split milk:
Do not discuss the paper
that has gone. Instead of chitchatting at the exam center after exams, go home
and fight for those extra 2 marks which you might miss in the next paper. Also
discussing the paper makes a negative impact on your next paper.
Don't panic:
Yes, it's easier said than
done, but it's important to calm down and study on because it is not the time
to freak out.
Simply, take deep, slow
breaths and focus on the necessary task. It you're studying but still feeling
stressed, give yourself a short break before coming back to it.
Your brain needs to relax
especially when you have to load up on information in a short amount of time.
Sleep or not to
sleep:
Sleep pattern changes from
person to person. You'd definitely be giving up a lot of sleep but trust me
it'll all be worth. Just make sure you don't fall sick. Else a little
sleeplessness is fine.
Try audio or
video aids:
You may also lean on audio
or video aids to help you study at the last minute, especially if you tend to
learn better from video and audio cues. Using audio or video aids may also help
you recall information more quickly and more effectively than reading
information from a page.
Finally, think
positive:
You have done your revision,
and it will be fine. It is, after all, only an exam, and not the end of world.
A positive attitude is likely to help you more than anything else tomorrow.
Perhaps the most important tip, whether this is ending or the beginning of your
revision is DON'T PANIC!
It definitely won't help and
is likely to seriously hinder your abilities to concentrate. Stay calm and all
will be better. After all, it's just an exam.
Good luck and
believe in your own!
(Sandip Goyal)
Wouldn't it be a good idea to create a course?
