Studying Techniques

Biggest revision mistakes – Using lined paper

Lined paper encourages you to write in a linear fashion from left to right, starting at the beginning of the line and not moving onto the next until you have filled the one before. It doesn’t encourage you to use symbols, shape, colour, space, bullet points, numbers, pictures etc – [...]

Studying Techniques

Biggest Mistakes when revising for Chartered exams

Would it surprise you to know that there is only one difference between people who pass exams, such as Chartered exams, easily and people who struggle? And don’t you go thinking that it’s all about intelligence! It’s not. It’s all about having an effective revision strategy. People who pass Chartered [...]

Studying Techniques

Get the picture?

There are as many ways of making revision notes as there are people making revision notes! The trick, as I’ve said, is to find the best way for you to do it. However I want you to bear in mind that the more we use our visual system in our [...]

Studying Techniques

Don’t do this when studying for Financial Services Exams

A while ago, someone told me that he had his next exam the following Tuesday and that he hadn’t started revising yet, and asked if I could help. There were in actual fact a couple of things I was able to suggest which did indeed help the situation, but we [...]

Studying Techniques

What Equipment do you Need for Financial Services Exams?

Please don’t use a gorgeous, brand spanking new exercise book for your Financial Services revision notes, because you’ll be concentrating on making it look nice and neat instead of focusing on making the best sort of notes. Use blank A4 paper instead. It needs to be blank because lined paper [...]

Studying Techniques

Story Boarding for Financial Services Revision

Storyboards are great for Financial Services revision. They work well for everyone, but are more time-consuming than some other methods of revision. Some people will find that it’s worth their while going to the extra trouble, because it works for them. That’s to say, after making so much effort up [...]

Studying Techniques

Pay attention if you want Chartered exam success!

Anything that goes into your brain is likely to disappear again unless you pay attention to it in such a way that your brain gets the idea that it’s important to remember it. Now, of course it’s important for you to pass your Chartered  exams, but in the grand scheme [...]

Studying Techniques

What to study for the Advanced Diploma exam

Knowing what to study and how to study for your Advanced Diploma exam when faced with a gargantuan course manual full of dry text, is a common problem among IFAs. And who could be surprised? Most of us have never been taught how to revise and most people don’t know [...]

Studying Techniques

How to revise the RO3 Tax exam

RO3 Tax and Study Skills one day session A snip at £50 + VAT 23rd January 2012 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM Seven Investment Management, 125 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AR This event covers both the technical knowledge you need for the tax exam and also the study skills [...]

Emotional intelligence, Studying Techniques

How to organise yourself to get better grades

It's important to manage your study sessions carefully. Make sure you're well organised, that you have everything that you need. Record your progress so that you know where you are. It also feels good when you can see that you're winning.Divide everything that you've got to learn into small chunks. [...]