APMHelp please, failed APM again!

Thank you. I would be interest to know if the tutor you used was part of the larger BPP, Kaplan tutors or a local one. If you dont mind me asking, did you base you learning phase on just open tuition then spend most of the time on question practice? (for your retakes). Thanks

Hi Paul Sorry about the result. the tutor i used is Mustafa Muchhala in FME online he helped me pass APM at 2nd attempt He marked my solutions and told me everything i was doing wrong i attended i large tuition provider and the lecturer was good, but i sought more individualized tuition as i stilled failed before the lecturers at FME know or some use to be ex examiners of APM so they know the standard required for ACCA

I had a similar experience to awogbod2 and tekka. It took me three attempts, and the thing that made the difference was classroom tuition with Gamel Taher, via a residential course at Reed Business School. Gamel is brilliant. I also found the residential aspect hugely beneficial, as you don't have think about anything except study. It's a weird paper. I think the syllabus content is (mainly) really interesting and relevant in pretty much any organisation. There is however a huge volume of information you are supposed to be able to recall and apply as required under time pressure. The knowledge phase of the course took three days. We covered the whole syllabus in that time however I don't think it would have been enough on its own. I did a lot of reading outside the classroom. It was a small class and there was plenty of time for discussion, like a seminar group. Assuming you have the right level of knowledge in the first place, you need to be clearly instructed by the examiner as to what you're supposed to be doing with it. Gamel taught us how to interpret the question and plan an answer in response, broken down into points to make and a time allocation for each point. There is a pattern to the wording of the questions that becomes apparent with enough practice. I find it very difficult to make myself answer practice questions in simulated exam questions. We did loads in the classroom, including a full mock, where there was no choice. That made a big difference for me, both in terms of technique and confidence. Gamel taught us a number of things that can make the difference between 45 and 50 eg: - How to get all the professional marks in Q1. - 1 page of writing is worth an average of 5 marks - A page of a passing script will typically contain 5 or 6 short paragraphs, with a blank line in between each paragraph - A marker will read an answer to a 25 mark question in 5-10 minutes. Try to make it easy for them to spot where to give you marks. - Candidates tend to score marks much more efficiently in the time it's supposed to take to write an answer, ie for a ten mark question you're likely to score 5 or 6 in 18 minutes or 7 or 8 in 30 minutes.So it's important to stick to time for every element of every question, and to move on even if you have more to say - Pay attention to the marking scheme in practice questions - Being aware that there are often marks available for any relevant point if it's well constructed. - You don't have to answer the questions in order. If Q2 and Q3 examine subjects you are strong in, you might as well do these first and approach Q1 with 25-30 marks already in the bag. - Use the reading time at your own discretion. It's fine, for example, to allocate your time at 50, 50 and 100 minutes and to start writing as soon as you've done your first answer plan In the exam I panicked and most of the above technique fell apart for me, but I still blundered through with a score of 54. I reckon 45-50 of my marks came from questions 1 and 2 . Question 3 was a bodged, rushed mess.

In addition to Richard, You have to get to the point quickly in APM, 1point=1 mark =2-3 sentences max per point. if a question is a 15 marker they are expecting 12-15 points. if you only have 5 good points you only get 5-7 marks which is a fail like SBL identify the issues of the company in question and offer recommendations and solutions relative to requirements. If you forget definitions its ok in the exam.i did and still scrapped a pass one point = new paragraph to make it easier for examiner remember each exam script is marked in 7-8 minutes so you don't have to over elaborate on a point APM is based on situation and the specific environment, use the case study to justify relative points to the industry knowledge and commercial acumen you have for instance if a question is on retail industry- there must be a point you can make on delivery, fast fashion, trends, advertising, customer satisfaction if a question is based on a tech company-there must be a point to make on- cloud computing, security, data warehouse, licensing, software R&D development etc

dont give up. im an acca affiliate today. i gave apm 5 times. 5th times a charm apparently. just keep going.