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| Key information for the CIMA OCS exam! from the examiner |
One of the worst things you can do during an exam is to read through the pre-seen because you did not completely cover it in your revision. With only three hours in the exam, you don't want to waste time reading the pre-seen, when you could be answering the questions! The best way to prepare yourself and not fall into this trap is to get to know the pre-seen so well, that you don't ever have to look at it in the exam itself.
The examiners agree that knowing the pre-seen is of paramount importance. Every examiner's report will refer to how well students managed to engage with the pre-seen (or not). If you don't believe me, a quote from the May 2016 examiner's report gives us an idea of what the examiner is expecting - May 2016 OCS examiner's report: "preparation on the pre-seen material is vital. Ensure that you are very familiar with the business, especially the financial information, before the exam as this will help you with applying your knowledge and will save you time."
The pre-seen document holds lots of information. Here's how to break it all down..
1. Key Information: One thing you could try is to keep a study journal or online document. Using these, you can write down all of the key information. Why not try using different colours for different key theories? Make your revision as colourful as it can be! Once your notes have been written down, don't forget to come back and re-read them. It may even help to re-write a few theories that you need to keep in your mind.
2. Link Notes and Theories: Once you have written this down, you can write additional notes and theories that you think are linked with this information. Bringing information together will help a great deal in the exam, when you will use your industry knowledge and background information. Starting off now with this revision approach will definitely make you feel a lot more comfortable with the pre-seen when you go into the exam!
3. Flashcards: Another tip is to make write down notes onto flashcards and test yourself. This can be a really helpful way of studying as it is interactive and can be done with friends. Revision doesn't always have to be done alone! Flashcards are also useful because they can make revising less predictable. When you are reading through the pre-seen, it can be tempting to revise the same key theories that feature in one particular example. However, flashcards test all the different theories in a different order each time. Before you know it, you'll have the pre-seen covered!
As with the quote above, applying your knowledge is a common topic discussed in the examiner's reports. There is no use in memorising a block of theory and then memorising the pre-seen document. This may help to a degree but to get the good marks, and the marks that will earn you that pass, you will need to put the theory knowledge learned into practice.
For more tips and videos visit here - http://www.exploreaccountancy.com/p/operational-case-study-exam-ocs_5.html
