ACCA F4 Exam technique 

ACCA F4 Exam technique

(see also the section on general exam technique)

Always remember, this is a law exam for accountants, not a law exam for lawyers. 

It is intended by ACCA that students should appreciate that company law, the law of transactions, employment law, the law of tort and partnership law is governed by established principles as well as by statute

Do I need to know case names?

• emphatically, NO!  Before the change in the format of the exam with effect from 19 November, 2014, it was always useful (and often fun) to be able to quote the names of decided cases when illustrating a principle of law in a 10 mark written answer

• but with effect from 19 November, 2014 it is difficult to see how knowledge of the name of an historic case could be of any benefit in an exam that is essentially 100% multiple choice or multiple task

• in brief, therefore, NO, there is no need to know case names

Do I need to know the dates of cases?

• emphatically, NO!  There are no marks for knowing case dates

Do I need to know the section numbers for company law questions?

• emphatically, NO!  There are no marks for knowing section numbers

Do I need to know the years or titles of Acts of Parliament?

–     emphatically, NO!  There are no marks for knowing neither dates nor titles of  statute laws

What do I do if I run out of time in the exam

• how can you run out of time? You have the same two hours as everyone else!

• this is a classic question from students who have little or no exam technique / no self-discipline

• there are 100 marks in the exam and the exam is 120 minutes long – that means that you have 1.2 minutes per mark – AND NO MORE!

• if you feel that you don’t know the answer to any question but that, given time to think, you could maybe work out the answer, then leave it, move on, and come back to it later

What is the format of the exam?

• there are 25 multiple choice questions (mcqs) worth 2 marks each

• • an example from the December 2014 exam:

Which is the correct minimum period of notice an employee is entitled to after five years’ service?

A           One calendar month

B           Five weeks

C           Ten weeks

D           Five calendar months

• there are 20 mcqs worth 1 mark each

• • an example from the December 2014 exam:

In relation to agency law, ‘warrant of authority’ is provided by which of the following?

A           The agent

B           The principal

C           The third party

• there are 5 multiple task questions worth 6 marks each

• • an example from the December 2014 exam:

Ann owns a shop selling prints. She placed an advertisement in the Friday edition of her local paper stating:

‘Unique opportunity to own a Bell print for £500 cash. Offer valid for one day only – tomorrow Saturday.’

When Con saw the advert, he immediately posted a letter of acceptance.

On Saturday, Di asked Ann if she would take a cheque for £500, but she refused to accept the cheque and told her she could not have the print. Later that day Ann sold the print to Evi.

On Monday morning Con’s letter arrived.

Required: In the context of the rules governing the creation of contracts:

(a)             Describe the precise legal nature of Ann’s advertisement;  (2 marks)

(b)        Explain whether Con has any right of action against Ann;   (2 marks)

(c)         Explain whether Di has any right of action against Ann.     (2 marks)

• these 6 mark multiple task questions are very similar to the scenario questions from F4 exams that pre-date December 2014.  It would be time well spent to read through and appreciate the answers to questions 8, 9 and 10 from the previous F4 “old-style” exams!

I am right, aren’t I, that I won’t need a calculator in a law exam?

• er, NO, you are not right!  Take a calculator into the exam room with you

How do I prepare for the exam?

–    download a copy of the free course notes on this site (English or Global variant)

–    watch / listen to the video lectures (these are substantially the whole of the English variant syllabus but the Global syllabus also overlaps to the tune of around 50% – 60%)

• of major importance GET HOLD OF A REVISION KIT / EXAM KIT that contains hundreds of multiple choice questions

• and then, get stuck into the kit.  Aim to answer say 50 questions each session that you have set aside for trying these law questions.

• when you have scored in excess of 70% in, say, 5 consecutive sessions then you’re probably ready to tackle the exam for real

• remember, there is a limit to how many different ways a question can be asked.  If you can get through the totality of the questions in an exam kit two or three times, F4 should be comfortably within your capabilities

• when practicing these mcqs and mtqs DO NOT WRITE IN THE EXAM KIT!

• this achieves two positives!

• you have a clean book that you can now sell to the next generation of F4 students from your office / home town / through this site, and

• you are able repeatedly to go over and over the  same questions countless times until you are confident of getting a passing grade

• in addition to the exam kit / revision kit questions, there are in excess of 200 questions on this site in the format of mock exams.  Try those J

• BEWARE!!!!  Both publishers’ exam kits that I saw in December 2014 contained errors in the answers (not many, but nevertheless …..)

• where you come across a printed solution that disagrees with your guess, look the topic up on Google – don’t simply accept that your answer is incorrect, it possibly isn’t

• or post the question and the alternative solutions (indicating the solution that the book suggests) on the F4 Ask the Tutor page on this site and we’ll get back to you

Finally, as always, if you have a problem, post it in the Ask the Tutor forum