help on how to prepare for P1 and P7

We’re at the start of February so you have just over 4 weeks to do all this (if you’re seriously aiming for March)

This advice holds good for both P1 and for P7!

We’re right at the start of February … I suggest that you read through the course notes again and watch the lectures – possibly even read the course notes once each week between now and the exam – it’s 2 hours from start to finish if all you’re doing is reading them and that’s what I’m recommending that you do … just READ the course notes – don’t try to learn them or memorise them

When you’ve read those notes and watched / listened to the lectures, read the last 10 technical articles for both P1 and P7

And the examiners’ reports from the last 2 years

Then read my article on examination technique – you’ll find it on the P1 home page (it applies to both P1 and P7) – as well as the article (also on the P1 home page) about examination technique from a marker’s perspective

Try to catch the BBC World news in the evening on the radio (seriously!) and pay attention to the recurrent themes of bribery, corruption, lying, deceit, failures in corporate governance, lack of transparency, lack of probity, failures of risk management … there are often 2 or 3 real life examples in a half hour evening World news programme (this is more orientated towards P1 but it won’t harm your chances at P7)

And now … the big one! Read those revision kits like you would read a novel or a magazine – just read them, cover to cover, question, answer, question, answer, question, answer, que…

You get the idea

Do that as often as you feel you can going far beyond the boredom threshold. 3 times would be wonderful if you can manage it

But at this stage I’m wanting you simply to read. Don’t try answering any questions. Don’t even BEGIN to think about looking in a study text – in fact, if you have one, post it to a fictitious address in a foreign country without writing a sender’s address on the back of the envelope

What I’m asking you to do is immerse yourself in the language of P1 and P7 and see how the suggested solutions answer specifically the requirement verbs and also how they repeatedly refer back to the scenaria in the questions

Just read, read and read … and then do it all again

And then, post on this forum 2 weeks before the exam – around 21st February – and ask for the second piece of advice on how to tackle both P1 and P7 with real confidence

Meanwhile, if you come across anything about which you’re not sure, post again on this forum (or the P1 forum) and I shall get back to you

OK?