How I (Finally) passed P5

Just a few tips on what made a difference for me, as I had struggled many times with this exam, always scoring around 45 but this time I passed with 66.
First thing is TIMING:
-I worked on this through forcing myself to do a couple of mock exams (with Kaplan but you can do it anywhere else) and really and truly do them to time made me keenly aware of the time pressures involved. I had more or less scraped through the fundamentals level papers with only one or two re-takes. However, I hit a real barrier on entering the Professional level papers mainly because I underestimated the work involved and also, the need to get help on exam technique and how to approach the subject.
I studied maths at a top university and this as well as everything else I studied has, more or less, been about knowing the material well. If you did, there was always enough time to pass the exam well.
However, the professional level papers are really very much about exam technique, and in P5 in particular it is about SPEED (although I always had a slight problem with handwriting when going so fast) and reading the question VERY carefully.

I think because I was lacking some of this very important exam technique I failed a couple of the professional exams and then I entered into a vicious circle where I lost confidence (and even motivation) and would not even be able to sleep much the night before the exam thereby penalising myself even further and slowing myself down in an exam which is, to a great extent, all about speed.

In my other attempts at P5 I would only ever answer about 70-80% of the paper which, when you are hovering around the 45% mark is punishing. This time I answered a good 90%.

Specifically I would offer the following tips:
-Make sure you know the pocket notes (I used Kaplan which you can even order from them separately from the tuition but I’m sure they exist here too and on other sites). It saves wading through a book of 600 pages when you don’t have the time. I am not recommending not reading a full textbook but if you have limited time obviously the pocket notes, if known thoroughly, should easily be enough.
-Make sure that you not only know the pocket notes but you can “see” the structure of them and the overall syllabus instead of simply learning micro-lists of pro’s and con’s without seeing them in the context of the overall syllabus.This definitely helps to “see through” a question to be able to understand from what area of the syllabus a question or part of a question might be coming from.
-Practice timed past papers and get a marking service if you can (again I used Kaplan who offer this service independently of the full tuition which tends to be much more them just regurgitating the text back at you).

-Do lots of past questions. I did about 35-40 and noted down rough bullet point answers for each and then basically memorized them (I’m not saying this is advisable but I think that having a good bank of answers to questions in your head helps to understand what they are looking for).
-Look at the most recent papers as a priority.
-When asked to write a report use a “header, date, To: and From:” at the top of your answer and conclusion at the end. This should immediately pick you up a couple of professional marks.Use referenced appendices where needed.
-When asked to “discuss” it means give Pros and cons.
-“Evaluate” means discuss plus come to a conclusion as to the value of something (e.g. is it worth doing, useful or not etc?)
-“Evaluate the use of a BCG analysis” for example does not mean evaluate the company USING the BCG but instead evaluate if it is USEFUL as a tool or not. I think I failed a couple of times just launching into an analysis using the BCG matrix or similar tool instead of realising they were asking me to say whether it is a useful and appropriate management performance tool. Such misunderstandings will cost you the exam.

For me ultimately speed was crucial. My mark increased by 50% from around 45 to 66%. I honestly can’t say I knew the subject 50% better. Maybe 10 or 20% (as I had more time to devote to revision this time) but speed played a huge factor in the other 30% improvement. If I had just forced myself to hit the exam hard at full speed from the very start of the reading time rather than take too long, in an attempt to get my confidence up, and then panic as I got half way through I should have been close to passing on the first or second attempt instead of the 7th or so.
That is why doing a couple of timed exams not too far from the Exam emphasizes the stress you will be under and the speed at which you need to write and think in the exam. It is good to be attuned to that during the days leading up to the exam.
Also, if there are 7 or 8 marks you have no clue on how to answer, leave a space and move on. These exams are all about “hovering” the maximum number of marks in 3 1/4 hours! This goes against my own way of working, thinking and prior education but that’s just the way it is.

To all of you out there struggling with this exam, I hope that this may help you in some way and I wish you the best of luck as I know what a weight on my mind it was to have this exam hanging over me all the time.