1. Eat Frequent Small Meals
   Avoid eating a big meal before a study session. Too much food will send your body into a ‘rest’ mode. On the other hand, don’t starve yourself either. Frequent small meals are best.
2. Study When You’re Sharpest
   Study according to your body-clock. Are you sharpest in the morning or at the evening? Schedule your most difficult materials when you are mentally at your best, and schedule the easier ones when you are mentally less efficient.
3. Drink Water Often
   Drink plenty of water during a study session, especially when you feel sluggish. Caffeine may help you to stay awake, but it can increase your anxiety – use it in moderation.
4. Don’t Get Too Comfortable in Your Chair
   Choose a chair that supports your back. It should be comfortable, but not too comfortable. Just like an athlete during a performance, your body should be relaxed, so that all your energy goes to where it matters – your brain.
5. Clear Your Desk of Everything You Don’t Need
   Have everything you need on the desk. Put away what you do not need for the study session. Seeing reminders of other assessments or domestic bills may increase your anxiety and distract you.
6. Take Breaks Every Hour
   It is important to take a break before you feel tired and lose your concentration completely. Regular breaks at least once an hour helps to sustain your concentration. If the work is not going too well and you have difficulties in concentrating, you may need a long break and go back to it later.
7. Stretch During Your Breaks
   Know and respect your concentration span which will vary from hour to hour and from day to day. When you sit for long periods, gravity draws the blood to the lower part of your body. When you take a break, take a few deep breaths and get more oxygen to your brain: try walking around and doing some light stretching for a few minutes. It will help to release tension in your body, and help your circulation.
8. Study at the Same Time, Same Place
   Study at the same time and at the same place, devoted to study only. This helps you to associate the time and place with studying and concentrating. You will find that you get into a habit of studying as soon as you sit down.

As you prepare for your exams it is important to have a structured study plan. For every paper that you are taking you should develop a time table clearly allocating time to studying the study text, doing practice questions from different sources including revision kit, checking the questions and analysing the mistakes. You must also take time out for relaxation.

As you prepare for your exams, there are number of resources available to assist you in your exam preparation. These include resources that are available on the ACCA website. These include syllabus, study guides, examinable documents, examiners interviews, examiners approach articles in different issues of Student Accountant, examiners comments in Student Accountant ,articles in Student Accountant, pilot paper and past exam papers. All these resources would facilitate effectual exam preparation. Other resources including study text and revision kits are also useful resources.

Critical to exam success is practice. The more you practice, the more confident you are in the exam hall. Practice makes you perfect. Practicing number crunching questions is essential but equally essential is practice of questions involving analysis of information, scenario based questions or theoretical questions. Practice writing memos and reports.
Critical review of examiners comments would benefit students. Examiners have clearly outlined poor handwriting, irrelevant answer and ineffective question planning as reasons for students not doing well in the exams.
So what kind of exam technique you should try to adopt in the exam hall.

You should aim try to Impress and thus excel that is where:

I stands for Instructions
M stands for Manage Time
P stands for Presentation
R stands for Relevance
E stands for Easy Marks
S stands for Survival
S stands for Success

INSTRUCTIONS
Arrive at the right place at the right time.
Read instructions carefully; how many questions are to be attempted; how long do you have?
Read the requirements for each question carefully; underline key words; look for the verb in the requirement – more on this under intellectual levels shortly.

MANAGE TIME
Allocate the correct time to each question and requirement. Attempt all parts of the question. Stick to the time allocation. Look at how many marks are available for each question.
All 3 hour papers now have an additional 15 mins Reading and Planning Time.

During this time, students may only write or make notes on the question paper.

To use this additional 15 minutes most effectively:

• carefully read and understand all question requirements, making an informed choice about which optional questions to attempt where applicable
• read through and highlight relevant information and financial data, noting why it is included
• take note of the marks awarded for each question and the allocation of marks between different requirements within a question
• start to plan your answers, particularly for discursive questions
• think about the order in which to attempt questions
• make preliminary calculations.

PRESENTATION
Plan your answer.
Format and layout is important. The answer should be properly structured with headings, sentences, paragraphs and bullets.

RELEVANCE
Students tend to spot question and not give a relevant answer. It is vitally important that the question asked is answered rather that what you know. If the question asks about outlining the effectiveness of internal controls of an organisation, students should not write what they know about internal controls but should use the information in the question to appropriately answer the question. Read the requirement at least twice Don’t just write down everything you know about a topic Don’t forget Professional Marks where available.

EASY MARKS
Go for easy marks first. Look at what marks are available for each question/part of question. Have a plan to attempt the paper. There are students who prefer numerical questions and then there are students who prefer discursive questions. Whatever your plan is, do complete the paper. All the questions should be attempted.

SURVIVAL
Don’t Panic !!!
Keep going …. Move on

SUCCESS
Revision – be prepared for the exams. Question practice and mock exams – don’t let the real exam be the first exam!

You must work hard and do your best in the exam with the confidence that you’ll get through.
Best of luck!

Flex Your Brain Muscle

The best way to keep your brain sharp is to exercise it. A dwindling memory and decreased concentration are generally caused by decreased blood flow to the brain and loss of brain cells.

Research shows that physical exercise may encourage the brain to work at optimum capacity by causing nerve cells to multiply, strengthening their interconnections and protecting them from damage.

Try these actions to sharpen your thinking cap:

• Incorporate mind-stimulating games into your daily life that keep your mind working and stimulated. Listen intently and memorize names, shopping lists, and daily activities. Puzzles and memory games are also helpful.
• Regular cardiovascular exercises, including brisk walking, slow jogging, biking, or swimming, improve circulation to the brain and can help improve memory 20 to 30 percent.
• The sleep factor: A good night’s sleep is crucial for mental energy because our body regenerates during sleep. When you feel tired, take a 15-minute power nap.