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Hello I am a new ACCA student, only joined ACCA today, and have booked my first exam for December 2015, thats F4. I have selected the paper based exam, and I am now little worried if I did the right thing? Is the computer based exam easier then paper? Do you have to write alot for the paper based? And how does it look at the computer based exam???
Are the revision kits available for both paper and computer based exams or just CBE?
Also could you please advise me what is the best way to study for the exam? I have done similar unit at university but I assume it was not sufficient for the exception. I am new to ACCA and don’t reallt know where to start! 😛
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!! Many thanks in advance 😉
Hi, one at a time!
Neither is easier that the other! If one were easier, the other wouldn’t exist because everyone would opt for the easier one.
For 70% of the paper based exam you will be completing answers by filling in “bubbles” from a choice of 2 (1 mark questions) or 4 (2 mark questions)
The equivalent in the computer based exam is that these bubbles are selected by you and clicked
The remaining 30% is where you will need to write in th epaper based exam. 5 questions, 6 marks each, subdivided typically into 3 sub-questions of 2 marks each. 1 mark in a 2 hour exam has a time allocation of 1 minute 12 seconds. How much can you write in 1 minute 12 seconds? That’s how much writing is involved
In the computer based exam, there is no writing. The questions are basically the same as for the paper based exam but a choice of responses is given and it’s up to you to click on the most appropriate responses
How is cbe marked? It’s marked by computer. The paper based exam is marked 70% by computer and the remaining 30% is marked manually
Revision kits? The only one that I have seen is entirely for cbe and I imagine that those that I haven’t seen are also only cbe
I assume that, living in the UK, you have opted for the English variant. There is an almost full suite of video lectures for the English variant on this site together with related course notes (all completely free). The notes we’re written and the lectures were recorded during the time when the exam consisted of 10 essay questions of 10 marks each so you will need to bear in mind that the exam format has changed. However, all the lectures are still valid yet need small mental adjustments
In the “old days” it was helpful for students to remember case names. That is now no longer necessary. The stories behind the case names are still good value because they illustrate various points of law that you do need to remember
Best way to study? Read the course notes over and over again. Don’t try to learn – just read, 3 or 4 times, and then watch the lectures (twice if you can face it)
Get hold of a revision kit and start practicing answers – DON’T WRITE YOUR ANSWERS IN THE REVISION KIT! – write them on a separate piece of paper. That way you can do the same questions multiple times until you really know the answers
You can check to see if your university course was sufficient for an exemption by checking on the ACCA website
And tell all your university friends about Opentuition!
Hello Mike! Thank you for your response.
Would revision kit for CBE be the same as the paper exam?
Would you recommend doing CBE instead of the paper? Do you reckon I would be able to change from paper to CBE?It just seems like they are doing it all for new version of CBE and left out the paper exams completely… ;(
I got exception for many exams as I did them at university. I had law unit at university but students only get exception for f4 when they graduated in 2014-2015..
Yes
No preference (cbe result is instant, paper takes time to mark)
I have no idea whether or not you can changeRevision kits are 70% fine for paper based and even the multi task answers give you an idea of what you should be writing
Maybe worth checking again about the possibility of an exemption
Thank You! 🙂 I better start getting myself organised!
I think I will be more concentrated on the exam whilst doing it on the paper rather then on the computer (just something that I have noticed in the past at Uni), hence why I have opted for the paper exam. 🙂 As you said majority of the exam is the same for both methods, and at the end of the day I need to know the answer for the questions in the second part of the exam, no matter if they are given to me or I need to write them myself.. 🙂 I will get hold of the revision kit and start reading the notes! I am really excited to start learning again, but very scared and stressed at the same time, as I will be doing this all on my own!
I have told everyone I know who is studing ACCA about OT as I really do think it is an amazing website, especially for people who will be or are studing by themselves! 🙂 It is also amazing to know that there is always someone on the other side that is happy to answer any questions or help with problems! 😉
thank you VERY VERY MUCH Mike! 🙂 And I am sure I will speak to you soon sometime between now and December the 11th 🙂
Hi I have just looked through the syllabus from September 2014 – August 2015 and September 2015 – August 2016 and they are identical. Even at the end of the pfd document for the new syllabus they stated:
” SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO F4 ENG
ACCA periodically reviews its qualification
syllabuses so that they fully meet the needs of
stakeholders such as employers, students,
regulatory and advisory bodies and learning
providers.
There have been no additions or deletions to the
syllabus.”Does that mean that the BPP books will have exactly the same content for both years? There is a new edition book for exams until August 2016, and the old edition for exam until June 2015. Would you recommend buying the new version which seems to be a lot more expensive or is it safe to get an old one? 🙂
An old one will do ………. if you really feel that you need one!
I’m not sure that I would recommend that you buy a study text at all. If you come across anything in the notes, revision kit, past exams or lectures you can always look it up on the Internet or post your query on this site
But if you feel that you really must spend your money, then fine, buy a study text
For those who have done F4 CBE exam, is the specimen paper on acca website waaay easier than the CBE?
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