The BBC recently published an article on the five top tips needed for taking care of yourself and getting the most out of your exam preparation. Here we consider their advice and see how it relates to getting ready for your CIPS exams later this month.
Target your revision
While revision notes and flashcards can be helpful, it pays to focus on understanding the underlying concepts more than just core theory. This helps you be ready for a range of exam questions that might be phrased differently from what you were expecting.
Think about adopting a “RED AMBER GREEN” coding on your CIPS material, depending on your own personal confidence and comfort levels. Focus on the syllabus and your class-notes (not the study guides) as these will be far more focused and relevant for your exams.
Find a supportive friend or partner who you can repeat and explain back the core concepts behind the CIPS syllabus. This forces the mind to process, sort and understand the learning content.
Be careful with A.I.
It’s an increasing feature of learning and revision, but there are limitations to the powers of artificial intelligence.
AI can help collate “general” information about topic areas, but it has limitations on specific syllabus learning content and could easily lead you astray.
Most of all, please remember that AI does not have any access to CIPS past papers (…they are not put online and so cannot be accessed by AI models or algorithms) and so it cannot help you predict potential questions or relevant answers.
AI can produce lots of help generic background reading, but please be careful. Some researchers have suggested it creates unnecessary stress for learners and they should perhaps just put it aside and trust the teaching they have received instead.
Make and keep a timetable
Keep your timetable realistic and visible at all times. For most CIPS learners, the countdown to exams lasts 3-4 weeks and is dominated by work and home commitments alongside the exam pressure. You therefore need to be realistic about what you can achieve.
For example, it is better to plan and achieve three focused 1-hour revision sessions during the evenings of a week (after work) rather than kid yourself that you’ll achieve 10-15 hours during the same week, alongside your work and home commitments.
Limited time to prepare is a reality for most CIPS learners, so this means you need to prioritise. Keep your priorities focused on the CIPS syllabus and the Red-Amber-Green rating you gave yourself in 1 above.
Take of yourself
One of the top tips for good exam performance is about taking care of yourself in the build up to (and during) exam week. We strongly suggest you brush up on the Cordie Healthy Study Habits eLearning. This reminds us all about the importance of good diet, hydration, sleep and exercise.
Getting closer to exam day, the advice shifts to trusting your revision and making sure you avoid late night cramming. Getting a good night’s sleep for the three nights before your CIPS exam is key to performing well. Also having a good breakfast on the day of the exam!
Plan for after the exam
Lastly, remember that as soon as the CIPS exam is over, there is nothing more you can do! Try to avoid comparing questions and answers with friends, or looking online for potential answers - you don’t need the stress.
So the advice is now just relax!!!
If you have another CIPS exam in the same series, you just need a little downtime before picking yourself up and resetting for the next one. Importantly, this includes hydration and fuelling to get through the second exam.
Otherwise, for most CIPS learners, this is now just “eat, sleep, repeat” as you move into the next cycle for the next exam.
So enjoy the cycle, enjoy the ride and soon it will become so much easier and more manageable!
You can find out more from the BBC article here. You may also want to read our other exam preparation tips throughout this study blog.
Meanwhile, all of us here at Cordie wish you the very best of luck with your forthcoming exams!