Thursday 18 November 2010

Completing T4 in the time

CAUTION - THIS POST RELATES TO THE CIMA 2010 SYLLABUS, SO IS NO LONGER VALID


Anonymous said:

"Do you have any suggestion regarding the preparation of case study T4? Despite my having a timetable, I always find time insufficient for me to develop my ideas, resulting in cutting short to be able to finish on time. What do you suggest?"

Time management in the T4 exam is a nightmare - there are so many things to do. I have the following suggestions, which may help...
  1. Practise, practise, practise! The more case studies you do, the faster you can do them. I think you should attempt at least five case study mock exams, under simulated exam conditions, before attempting the real exam.
  2. Do not plan to do what cannot be done. You are the only person who knows how fast you think and write in an exam. It is better to complete a report that has slightly less content (fewer issues, fewer options) than might be considered 'ideal', than to fail to complete the report.
  3. Try writing less. Never write anything in your report that the recipients already know, or that is 'just commonsense'. Make sure that everything you write adds value. Think more - write less - get more marks!
I hope that helps.

1 comment:

  1. I completely agree with the advise. After many many years of teaching hundreds of students the TOPCIMA (and now CIMA T4 Case Study) exam, it is people's time management that to me is the thing which I would say was most important to success. Completing all sections of the report is THE most important element of success - even more so than great content believe it or not, so I would agree with 'Practise, Practise, Practise' until you have your time management mastered.

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