Where to start with professional papers?

Deciding which professional exam to attempt first can be made easy by thinking which recent Skills exam you took. For example, if you have taken FR recently, it can be really helpful if you take SBR. Similarly if you’ve attempted FM then it will be useful for taking AFM, same goes for APM and ATX. As the knowledge will be fresh, it will not take much time in refreshing what you already know and using it as a basis to understand additional concepts.

However, the passing rates for optional exams are much lower than SBR and SBL, implying that examiners are very strict when it comes to marking AFM, APM, ATX and AAA. In addition, exam technique plays a vital role in passing strategic professional exams, particularly in options, which you are not likely to be familiar with if taking first exam. Attempting SBR or SBL can be safe option if you consider passing rates. Also, the application and writing skills you learn in these two exams help alot in optional exams.

I took SBR as my first professional level exam in December 2019 immediately after passing my FR exam in June attempt. This was helpful as SBR is quite a huge syllabus and learning it from scratch would have consumed a lot of time and effort. I then moved to AAA in March 2020. It is recommended by majority of people, tutors and students alike, as SBR syllabus constitutes about 30% of AAA. I am now preparing for ATX in September after which i will (hopefully) be left with SBL. But this is just my story and it may or may not relate to what you plan for your optional exams.

Hope it helps.