Learning curve

When you begin to study for an ACCA qualification, the exams can seem a long way off - but remember, the way you behave today will influence your chances of success tomorrow. Don’t get so involved in the journey that you forget where you are going. ‘Students who are well organised have an advantage over those who are not,’ says Andy Wright FCCA, a tutor and the ACCA course director with the London School of Business and Finance; any time you spend preparing for classes, arranging your work, and structuring your time, will pay dividends in the future.

If you want to do well, you have to take personal responsibility for your future, and be proactive rather than reactive in your approach to your studies. Your tutors can do a lot to help you, but you can also do a lot to help yourself. Turning up to all your classes on time is important, but if you simply arrive with no idea of what you’ll be covering, you will immediately put yourself at a disadvantage. Find out about the course you are studying: you need to know how long it is, how many classes there are, and get yourself a copy of the study schedule. ‘If you know what’s coming up, you can anticipate what you are going to be learning,’ says Wright, and as such you can do some invaluable preparation before class.

For example, any assigned reading can be completed in advance, and if you don’t have time to read everything in detail, at least skim over it. This will help you to understand more of what the tutor covers in class, and will improve your retention when you later re-read the material. Think about the subject matter immediately before class - your journey there may be the perfect time for this. If you can arrive five or 10 minutes early and read any relevant notes, getting yourself into the appropriate frame of mind, even better.

Practical magic

Being prepared in a practical sense is also important. Make sure you have the necessary notebooks, pens, pencils, calculator, and so on, and use them intelligently. ‘Some students just stuff all their course notes into a simple wallet folder,’ observes Wright, but if you do this, you will waste valuable time later on trying to get everything sorted out. Start as you mean to go on. ‘Keeping your coursework well organised is vital,’ he adds. Putting your notes in ring binders, and using file separators to divide them into sections, will make subjects much easier to revisit later in your studies and will simplify revision in the run up to the exams.

Although accounting is about much more than mathematics, numbers are important, so it’s a good idea to make sure you are a whiz with your scientific calculator. ‘It can be your best friend,’ asserts Wright, ‘so you need to know how to use it without even thinking about it.’ If you spend five or 10 minutes a day practising the various functions it offers, you will be able to work more efficiently in the exam. ‘By then, you should be on autopilot,’ he adds.

The more you do to prepare in advance, the better your chances of exam success. For example, try to follow-up on any questions that occur to you before, during, or after a class or study session, while they are still fresh in your mind. ‘I encourage students to keep a personal reflection sheet,’ says Wright, ‘and suggest that they send any unanswered questions or queries to their tutor via e-mail, or bring it up at their next meeting.’ Some colleges make all students’ questions, and the answers, freely available to all, because the same type of questions are often asked. So if you have access to this sort of resource, use it - and any other study aid available.

ACCA makes all of its past papers available online, along with sample answers, and these can be useful during your course as well as when it’s time to revise. If you attempt relevant questions after you have covered a subject in your studies - but don’t get the ‘right’ answer - go back to your tutor to discuss it further, and this could benefit other students as well as yourself. ‘Students shouldn’t be put off if they don’t get exactly the same answer,’ advises Wright, because there are often acceptable alternatives.

Trying questions well in advance also gives you the opportunity to put right any misunderstandings. ‘Because examiners are trying to phrase questions as succinctly as possible, students can sometimes find them difficult to understand,’ he says, ‘particularly if a student’s grasp of the subject is not as strong as they believe, or if English is not their first language.’

Less is more

If you are one of the many ACCA students who have purchased a study manual, you should consider cutting it up and inserting the relevant sections into your own files. Once you’ve done this, the manual becomes much more useful: the information is automatically in the right place come revision time, and it can easily be temporarily removed if you want to take a few pages with you in your bag or your pocket, so that you can read through them when you have time to spare.

‘You may also find that the manual seems a lot less daunting after it has been cut down to size,’ says Wright, as any subject is easier to digest in bite-sized chunks. Even if you believe that destroying books is wrong, try making an exception with your study manuals. You bought them to help you pass your exams, so make best use of them. ‘They are too heavy to carry around, so if you don’t cut them up, you will get much less use from them,’ he says.

As well as restructuring your study manuals, you also need to structure your time. Fail to plan and you may as well plan to fail; and you should begin before you even set foot in a classroom. The right mental attitude is vital. ‘Students don’t always realise the level of commitment their ACCA course will require,’ says Wright. ‘It’s important to get your act together and create space in your life for your studies,’ he says, adding: ‘If you want to give yourself the best possible chance of success, you can’t just squeeze your studies in between everything else. Social events have to take second place.’

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

Use your weaknesses

Identify the things that keep you from your studies (such as the Internet, the TV, or the telephone); ration them, and use them to reward your efforts.

Maximise your study time

We are at our best at different times of day. Find out when you have the most energy and use this time to study.

Find a special place

A calm, quiet study area with no interruptions is vital to serious study. Turn off the TV, turn down the music, and switch the phone to silent.

Start small

If you find it difficult to concentrate, try studying in short bursts of 20 or 30 minutes, then build up to 45 minutes or an hour.

Don’t waste time

Time spent on public transport, waiting for an appointment, or standing in a queue can all be put to good use, so always have revision notes or cards to hand.

Keep fit

Light, regular physical exercise makes you more able to cope with the stresses and strains of life - and study.

Get enough sleep

Your mind is more alert after a good night’s sleep, and regular sleeping patterns improve concentration in the longer term.

Lesley Meall is a writer on business and technology issues