Have you ever learned to play a game and realised that you aren’t too sure of the rules? You try a move and are told that it’s not allowed or a foul. From there on in it’s hard to win as you’re not sure what you should be doing or what the best tactics to employ are. Below are our top 5 exam techniques to hone ahead of your next ACCA exam.
ACCA Exam technique: Win the game
1) Read ACCA examiners’ reports 🔎
Firstly, you need to understand the paper that you are sitting. What’s in the syllabus, what the structure of the assessment looks like and what the examiner likes and doesn’t like.
The Skills papers at ACCA are a mix of objective test questions and written test questions. Strategic Professional papers are all written test questions with spreadsheet and word processing functionality.
The best way to get an in-depth idea of what the examiner will look for is by reading ACCA examiners’ reports. These reports are fantastic study resources offered by ACCA. Simply visit ACCA’s study resources, and navigate to the exam you’ll be sitting. Here you will find the relevant examiners’ reports. You can use them alongside the sample exams to learn about the ACCA exam marking process. Additionally, pick up on common student mistakes and how to avoid them.
2) Learn how your ACCA exam will be marked – then practice! ✅
Professional exam success is about technique. Practicing the thing that you are going to have to do on the day is the best preparation for your exam.
When you are reading through ACCA exam papers, think about breaking down each requirement into headings that you can use in your answer. Structure is key. Organise your points around these headings and ensure you have raised enough points for the marks available. You are unlikely to get 15 marks if you have only written 2 sentences.
Practicing past papers and reviewing marking schemes are all good ways to improve your skills. Additional Mock Exams are included with FI Revision courses and Online Mocks. These are great ways to boost your ACCA Exam preparation and include personalised feedback. Find out how you can turbo charge your exam prep with an ACCA mock exam.
3) Use structure to support your answers ✍️
On the day of your ACCA exam, remember your game plan. Use structure to support your response and write like a professional. It’s worth remembering the person who will be marking your script and making it marker-friendly for them.
4) Use models and really read the question 📖
Keep your paragraphs short and concise (2 -3 sentences) and ensure that you are developing the points that you raise. Models such as what? why? so what? are useful pointers. Keep looking back to the requirement to stay on track remembering to focus on the verb used by the examiner in the question: ‘List’, for example, is a very different requirement to ‘evaluate’.
5) ACCA Exam time-management ⌛
As you reach 5 minutes to go, ask yourself whether you have attempted each part of the requirements. Make sure that you know when the exam is going to end so that you complete your final sentence. Nothing screams poor time management like a half-finished sentence!
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Preparing for an exam now? Avoid these common 10 exam mistakes.
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