I used the Becker flash cards, I cross-referenced those to the book and back to the more difficult questions. I keep lists of difficult questions coded by section...
sub-section, and question number, so I can put in extra rounds of repetition for those. On complex concepts, I've parsed out formulas onto sheets of paper and taped those to the wall. It's tacky, tedious, and burns up a ton of time but it's worked for me for two other exams. - Janice B.
----------
After I had read the book once and copied some of the notes from the ebook and got comfortable with where everything was in the book so I didn't have to keep looking at the index to find everything...I jumped straight into the MCQs doing 100 of each chapter. By the end of the progress quiz I was starting to see repeats or similar questions and started to actually get them right...I think what helped me the most was doing the MCQs over and over and understanding why I missed them by reading and taking notes on the explanation answers...I also made flowcharts for a lot of the major concepts like leases and non monetary exchanges, I made sure to make the charts as mind re-callable as possible to the point I had a perfect picture image of it in my head so I could recall back to it and answer the questions...Once I had all major concepts down on paper and somewhat in my head i bought a small white board and used that while doing the MCQs...after so many MCQs, i was basically spitting out all the formulas and notes i had in my head onto the white board to answer the questions...then after the white board trick I just tried to use the calculator and spreadsheet only to answer the questions, again in different variations, 100 in each chapter... 30 of the chapters...and on and on...eventually I started getting better scores.
And what I said about the flowcharts was just like on 10 major topics: the income statement and balance sheet for all different type of organizations, leases, bonds (the EIR amort table), derivatives, non monetary exchanges, Journal entries for most of everything, and CashFlows (indirect and direct) ..... I wouldn't worry about every little detail but the big picture...the small details you will eventually catch onto after so many multiple choice questions you will be doing.
Another big thing that helped me was colors...or should I say highlighters and sharpie pens...3 main ones: yellow highlighter for important stuff (don't over do it with the colors) and blue sharpie pen for all GAAP related stuff and orange sharpie pen for IFRS...haha not sure why blue for GAAP and orange for IFRS...just thought of it as blue for U.S. and orange for international. - Giovanny A.
I like your approach Giovanny A. ;-) I had never used a highlighter in my academic life until I started studying for this exam... I found myself buying pens in every color available and highlighters. I even highlighted my handwritten notes using a somewhat coloring convention like yours. J/Es were always in a red ink! Sylvia K.
Oh yeah, ditto on highlighters. Also, 3M flags & those wonderful fine sharpies in multiple colors. There's hardly a single Becker notecard that's escaped sharpie scribbles. My notecards are organized into sandwich-size ziplock baggies with big labels. The sections of notecards not immediately in use are ordered in one big gallon bag. Becker's notecards are colors so my handwritten ones are plain white. I know how horribly tacky it sounds, I promise to throw it all away once I'm done. - Janice B.
----------
I listened to the lectures at least twice, once doing the highlighting and notes, once while walking or doing other things. I did all the homework and I did progress tests, (start as soon as they are available). I would just do 30-45 questions at a time, to not burn myself out. I took notes on the sections Becker says to memorize and some pass keys if I did not have it down and I wrote them out again during my review weeks. I also marked questions I had trouble with and reviewed them at the end. Amy G.
----------
I listened to the lectures first, then did MCQs and made my own notes...and for topics such as leases and bonds where there are too many interrelated topics, I prepared my own outline...worked in simulation and then move on to next lecture!!! I didn't do progress tests but it is advisable to do so that u will retain information because far is too long and by the time you finish F10, u won't remember what was in earlier lectures!!! Do spend good time on F2...accrual accounting as it is the basis of financial and do not skip anything. - Kamna K.
----------
After I had read the book once and copied some of the notes from the ebook and got comfortable with where everything was in the book so I didn't have to keep looking at the index to find everything...I jumped straight into the MCQs doing 100 of each chapter. By the end of the progress quiz I was starting to see repeats or similar questions and started to actually get them right...I think what helped me the most was doing the MCQs over and over and understanding why I missed them by reading and taking notes on the explanation answers...I also made flowcharts for a lot of the major concepts like leases and non monetary exchanges, I made sure to make the charts as mind re-callable as possible to the point I had a perfect picture image of it in my head so I could recall back to it and answer the questions...Once I had all major concepts down on paper and somewhat in my head i bought a small white board and used that while doing the MCQs...after so many MCQs, i was basically spitting out all the formulas and notes i had in my head onto the white board to answer the questions...then after the white board trick I just tried to use the calculator and spreadsheet only to answer the questions, again in different variations, 100 in each chapter... 30 of the chapters...and on and on...eventually I started getting better scores.
And what I said about the flowcharts was just like on 10 major topics: the income statement and balance sheet for all different type of organizations, leases, bonds (the EIR amort table), derivatives, non monetary exchanges, Journal entries for most of everything, and CashFlows (indirect and direct) ..... I wouldn't worry about every little detail but the big picture...the small details you will eventually catch onto after so many multiple choice questions you will be doing.
Another big thing that helped me was colors...or should I say highlighters and sharpie pens...3 main ones: yellow highlighter for important stuff (don't over do it with the colors) and blue sharpie pen for all GAAP related stuff and orange sharpie pen for IFRS...haha not sure why blue for GAAP and orange for IFRS...just thought of it as blue for U.S. and orange for international. - Giovanny A.
I like your approach Giovanny A. ;-) I had never used a highlighter in my academic life until I started studying for this exam... I found myself buying pens in every color available and highlighters. I even highlighted my handwritten notes using a somewhat coloring convention like yours. J/Es were always in a red ink! Sylvia K.
Oh yeah, ditto on highlighters. Also, 3M flags & those wonderful fine sharpies in multiple colors. There's hardly a single Becker notecard that's escaped sharpie scribbles. My notecards are organized into sandwich-size ziplock baggies with big labels. The sections of notecards not immediately in use are ordered in one big gallon bag. Becker's notecards are colors so my handwritten ones are plain white. I know how horribly tacky it sounds, I promise to throw it all away once I'm done. - Janice B.
----------
I listened to the lectures at least twice, once doing the highlighting and notes, once while walking or doing other things. I did all the homework and I did progress tests, (start as soon as they are available). I would just do 30-45 questions at a time, to not burn myself out. I took notes on the sections Becker says to memorize and some pass keys if I did not have it down and I wrote them out again during my review weeks. I also marked questions I had trouble with and reviewed them at the end. Amy G.
----------
I listened to the lectures first, then did MCQs and made my own notes...and for topics such as leases and bonds where there are too many interrelated topics, I prepared my own outline...worked in simulation and then move on to next lecture!!! I didn't do progress tests but it is advisable to do so that u will retain information because far is too long and by the time you finish F10, u won't remember what was in earlier lectures!!! Do spend good time on F2...accrual accounting as it is the basis of financial and do not skip anything. - Kamna K.