Repeated failure

Well, The Guru is just back from a trip to Malaysia and Singapore, where he enjoyed meeting new friends.

Some students were asking why, despite having done lots of work, they were repeatedly failing the same CIMA exam(s) and their marks were going down, rather than up. Does CIMA penalise students who have failed?

The answer is 'no'. CIMA doesn't discriminate - if you get 50 or more marks, you will pass. The problem is that, by 'doing lots of work', you are making things worse. The more time you spend reading (and remembering) the textbook, the more likely you are to try to squeeze too much textbook knowledge into your answers, rather than just answering the questions.

Take a look at the exam techniques video - there's a section in it about this very problem.

If you're in this position, go back to basics. Look at the exam, and the skills needed to pass it (more than just knowledge). Stick to answering the questions, and the knowledge will appear on its own. Don't try to force knowledge into your answers, as this won't help.