Tips for Passing CA Examination

by member of caclubindia
The path to becoming a Chartered Accountant is not easy. The road is very difficult and involves a lot of hard work. I remember the time when I was aspiring to be a Chartered Accountant. Looking at the volume of studies, I often wondered whether I would ever be able to complete it all in time! Well from my experience, I think that if you focus on your study with single-minded devotion, then nothing can stop you from succeeding. Each one must learn from past mistakes. For those who could not get through previous exam, don't lose hope. Instead, take an honest look at yourself. You must accept that there has to something wrong in your approach towards the exam. Identify your shortcomings and overcome them. There is no one common reason for failure. All I can do is provide some basic hints that might help you secure good marks. There is no shortcut to success. And there is no substitute to hard work. But hard work must be in the right direction in order to yield the fruits of success. The study material and suggested answers published by the Institute are of high quality and should be read thoroughly. But, it is very important to take note of subsequent amendments, if any. For example, the relevant section could have changed; or the Accounting Standard in question could have been revised. The CA exams require high quality answers. Unnecessarily lengthy answers will be a definite minus point. Combine length with actual content for best results. Here are a few tips that will help you achieve your aim:
· Learn to strike a balance between work and play. Study very seriously but allot sometime for any leisure activity that makes you feel relaxed.
· Aim for a rank. That way you will at least get through with good marks.
· Remember hard work always yields good results.
· Start your preparations from Day One.
· Plan out your study methodology well in advance and stick to your plans. Keep enough time for unexpected time delays.
· Read the study materials in entirety. Don't leave out any portion.
· Concentrate on the subjects that you find difficult.
· Make notes that will help you to quickly cover the vast syllabus on the day before the exam.
· Make writing a habit. And write legibly.
· Get enough practice in practical subjects.
· Don't learn the study material word-by-word. Instead try to understand what you read. This will help you in answering any type of question that is asked in the exam.
· Don't expect a specific format of the question paper. A professional exam of such calibre. Just keep in mind the marks allotted to each subject - because that's what will not change.
· Presentation is what matters most. Present your answers in a neat and systematic manner. Remember, the easier it is for the examiner to read your answers, the more marks you get.
· Read a lot of related material like newspapers, periodicals, magazines, etc so that your knowledge is updated. This will help you get better marks in the exam.

Exam Tips

by member of CA Club India
I recently got my marks back from University. My grade point average was a 4.2 out of a possible 4.5, resting between an A and a perfect A+. In itself, this isn’t an incredible achievement. But I managed to do this while spending only a fraction of the time studying than many of the people I knew.
Is it just natural talent? Perhaps. I’ve always had a knack for understanding concepts and learning new ideas. But I also believe the way I learned the information played a role. Instead of cramming last minute or memorizing details, I try to organize information in a way that makes it easier to recall.
This strategy of organization I label holistic learning. Holistic learning is simply the process of organizing information into webs, that interconnect ideas. Instead of forcing ideas into your skull, you focus on the relationships between information. Linking ideas together to see the whole, instead of just the parts.
Building an Understanding
Learning is a process similar to building a house. You aren’t fed the complete picture. Limitations on communication prevent the instantaneous transmission of knowledge. Instead you listen to lectures, read textbooks and take painstaking notes to try and comprehend a subject.
You are fed building supplies, bricks, mortar and glass. It is up to you to assemble the building. Unfortunately, most learning strategies fall into two basic types:

Memorization - Instead of building anything you simply stare at each brick for several minutes trying to record its position.

Formulas - This is the equivalent to being blind, fumbling around a new house. You can’t see the building itself but you learn to come up with simple rules to avoid walking into walls.

There is nothing particularly wrong with either of these strategies, assuming they aren’t your entire strategy. The human brain isn’t a computer so it can’t memorize infinite sums of knowledge without some form of structure. And formulas no longer work if the questions they are designed to solve change scope.
Learning Holistically

The alternative strategy is to focus on actually using the information you have to build something. This involves linking concepts together and compressing information so it fits in the bigger picture. Here are some ideas to get started:

Metaphor - Metaphors can allow you to quickly organize information by comparing a complex idea to a simple one. When you find relationships between information, come up with analogies to increase your understanding. Compare neurons with waves on a string. Make metaphors comparing parts of a brain with sections of your computer.

Use All Your Senses - Abstract ideas are difficult to memorize because they are far removed from our senses. Shift them closer by coming up with vivid pictures, feelings and images that relate information together. When I learned how to do a determinant of a matrix, I remembered the pattern by visualizing my hands moving through the numbers, one adding and one subtracting.

Teach It - Find someone who doesn’t understand the topic and teach it to them. This exercise forces you to organize. Spending five minutes explaining a concept can save you an hour of combined studying for the same effect.

Leave No Islands - When you read through a textbook, every piece of information should connect with something else you have learned. Fast learners do this automatically, but if you leave islands of information, you won’t be able to reach them during a test.

Test Your Mobility - A good way to know you haven’t linked enough is that you can’t move between concepts. Open up a word document and start explaining the subject you are working with. If you can’t jump between sections, referencing one idea to help explain another, you won’t be able to think through the connections during a test.

Find Patterns - Look for patterns in information. Information becomes easier to organize if you can identify broader patterns that are similar across different topics. The way a neuron fires has similarities to “if” statements in programming languages.

Build a Large Foundation - Reading lots and having a general understanding of many topics gives you a lot more flexibility in finding patterns and metaphors in new topics. The more you already know, the easier it is to learn.

Don’t Force - I don’t spend much time studying before exams. Forcing information during the last few days is incredibly inefficient. Instead try to slowly interlink ideas as they come to you so studying becomes a quick recap rather than a first attempt at learning.

Build Models - Models are simple concepts that aren’t true by themselves, but are useful for describing abstract ideas. Crystallizing one particular mental image or experience can create a model you can reference when trying to understand. When I was trying to tackle the concept of subspaces, I visualized a blue background with a red plane going through it. This isn’t an entirely accurate representation of what a subspace is, but it created a workable image for future ideas.

Learning is in Your Head - Having beautiful notes and a perfectly highlighted textbook doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the information in it. Your only goal is to understand the information so it will stick with you for assignments, tests and life. Don’t be afraid to get messy when scrawling out ideas on paper and connecting them in your head. Use notes and books as a medium for learning rather than an end result.