How to Study

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How to Study Revisefor your CII Exams

• Len Wilkins FCII
• Consultant, Wellington plc
• Chris Paine Dip CII
• Independent Training Consultant Advisor

Chairman Max Robinson BA (Hons) ACII Product
Creation and Innovation, Zurich London
Insurance Institute of London Lecture First Floor
Suite, London Underwriting Centre Monday 9th
February 2004
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New CII Designation System

• Important changes to structure of obtaining CII
  qualifications detailed in CII Study News Issue
  03 and CII Briefing Pack
• Award in Insurance (FIT)
• Certificate in Insurance (Cert CII)
• Diploma in Insurance (Dip CII)
• Advanced Diploma in Insurance (ACII)
• Not our intention to discuss that today

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I dont want to do this dont worry, nobody
does

• Youre not going to believe it, but studying can
  be fun
• For those of you who have cracked studying -
  some thoughts
• For those of you who struggle, or are coming back
  to studying for the first time - some ideas !

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Firstly, why people fail !!

• Research has show that students fail CII Exams
  for three reasons
• ONE - they did not PREPARE
• TWO - they did not FINISH the examination paper
• THREE - they did not PRACTISE answering questions
• You have been warned! So, you need to study to
  avoid these traps

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How to Study

• Were going to look at -
• Studying
• Recalling
• Reviewing
• Revising
• Although CII exams are not typical academic
  exams, exam techniques are still vital please
  make sure you see our next presentation on this
  topic

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Five Golden Rules to Studying

• Rule One - get your act together and become
  organised
• Rule Two - activate your brain - find out what
  motivates it. If youre bored, so is your brain !
• Rule Three - you cant revise it until youve
  learned it and you should allow eight weeks to
  revise

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Five Golden Rules to Studying

• Rule Four - if your existing ways of studying
  dont work, then throw them away and find new
  ways of study
• and lastly, and perhaps most importantly
• Rule Five - promise yourself you will study NOW
  and not the day before the exams

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Step One

• Decide on the correct exam route
  Award/Certificate/Diploma/Advanced Diploma
• Decide how many subjects (no more than two at any
  one sitting, please)
• Establish how long it will take to study the
  subjects
• Cert CII Average 50 hours ( 40 credits)
• Dip CII Average 96 hours (110 credits)
• ACII Average 120 hours (290 credits)

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Step Two

• Buy stationery supplies
• pads, pens and highlighter pens
• drawing pins or Bluetack
• sticky tape
• tape recorder
• old posters or flipchart
• Now make out a study plan with both study and
  play time AND STICK TO IT !

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Step Three

• Start with a copy of the syllabus. CII grades
  the syllabus, so see what's important and what
  extra reading is recommended
• The exam is set from the syllabus, so make sure
  you know what is important and how much detail
  you need to know
• Its a shame to study something CII doesnt care
  about or removed from the syllabus two years ago

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Step Four

• Now look at previous exam papers for the past two
  years (four exams). Look at the topics that have
  been used for compulsory questions, essay
  questions and short answer questions
• Produce a list, grid or matrix of what comes up
  regularly and what never comes up at all

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Time to make plans

• Now get a copy of the Examination Guides - these
  will give you hints, tips and answering styles
  (6.00 from CII website www.cii.co.uk or
  publishing_at_cii.co.uk)
• Talk to anyone else who has taken the exam
  recently and pick their brains
• Now you know where to focus your mind !

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Time to make plans

• Now you need to plan your time. Work out when
  you are most responsive to new ideas - weekends,
  early mornings. How much time you will need ?
• Fit studying around work, holidays, study
  assignments and revision times

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Time to make plans

• Do this and you will accept study time easily,
  realise that your aims are feasible, stand a
  chance of keeping your sense of humour (and your
  partner) and still get to see the match on
  Saturday
• Once youve made this plan KEEP TO IT !

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How to Plan

• Allow STUDY TIME for EACH SUBJECT
• Cert CII
• 35 to 50 Study Hours (3 to 4 hours a week)
• Dip CII
• 100 to 150 Study Hours (6 to 8 hours a week)
• ACII
• 120 to 150 Study Hours (8 to 10 hours a week)

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How to Plan

• For example
• Starting in October for April Exam
• Mid-September to Mid-December 13 weeks
• January to February 8 weeks
• Revision should begin on or near to 1st March

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Step Five

• Assess syllabus and course text-book to see what
  TIME is needed. Dont allow set time for each
  chapter. GRADE the subjects into degrees of
  difficulty
• HARD needs lots of thought concentration
• DIFFICULT - will call for some hard work
• EASY - need revising, simple background reading

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Step Five

• Now allocate your time over these subjects on a
  321 ratio
• 3 hours for hard
• 2 hours difficult
• 1 hour easy

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Its up to you

• Try to get face-to-face tuition. If unavailable,
  try and arrange study group to help
• Do continuous assessment assignments
• Time to start studying. Scan-read the book,
  cross through bits you dont need. Take text
  thats important to you and rephrase the words
  into your own style. Summarise text passages
• Get a friend to ask you questions, check your
  answers and help you revise

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Dont just write notes

• Dont just write notes - use colours, pictures,
  boxes and rhymes - anything to help your memory.
  Give your brain something to hold on to
• Use your imagination. Colour items - use
  highlighter pens. Draw the things you keep
  forgetting !
• Use unrelated items any form of thought
  association

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Dont just write notes

• Put important points on Index/Key Fact Cards,
  Wall Charts, Post-it Notes, use acronyms,
  phrases
• Tape it. Tape main points of a passage and
  replay it. Use gags, music, sing to the thing.
• Could you forget the principles of the Financial
  Services Act set to I will Survive? Play
  insurance Mastermind or Scrabble !!

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Making notes will give your brain something to
retain when it gets DIFFICULT

• MOVEMENT
• EXAGGERATION
• Make it INTERESTING
• Make it FUNNY
• Use MNEMONICS (system for improving memory)

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Anyone for Tennis ?

• If you have a partner in life, dont forget about
  them
• Are they supportive - ask them to test you
• Get them to use flash cards

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Stupid, but it works !!

• Before you start, say out loud I am going to
  pass this exam in fact, I am going to get a
  distinction
• (Okay, you might have to stretch the truth here)
• Dont get bored - give your brain variety
• Work a reward system

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Revision

• Passive Revision - learning, reviewing notes,
  re-expressing facts, concepts and ideas
• Active Revision - answer questions, use memory
  joggers - words, rhymes, tapes, flash cards for
  key points and legal cases, write out Post-it
  notes and put them round the house - mind maps to
  link things together and above all practise under
  exam conditions !

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Revision

• Use CBT if available
• Plan your Revision - prepare timetable that
  includes breaks as well as work and stick to it
• Remember, you need somewhere quiet, free of
  distractions and equipped with storage space

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The end is in sight, so keep going

• Revise in attainable chunks - not the whole
  syllabus all at once
• Work in 40 minute chunks - revise for 40 - 45
  minutes, review the key points - then 15 minute
  reward break - now back to it and do exercises
  for another 40 45 minutes etc.
• Now review for 5 minutes key points of what
  youve learned. Technique will help put facts
  into your long-term memory! Have a break and then
  back to it

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The end is in sight, so keep going

• Just before you go to bed, review the key points
  of all the facts youve learnt during the session
• LASTLY, dont forget to set your alarm clock for
  30 minutes earlier than usual. Go through the
  key facts from yesterday
• You will be amazed at how many you remember !

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Remember ..

• Do practise writing answers - you will find out
  what you dont know! Would you have passed your
  driving test without driving a car first ?
• Thousands of people pass CII exams every year.
  Every year the CII appoints hundreds of new
  ACIIs, Dip CIIs and Cert CIIs.
• Remember, one day this could be
• ..YOU !!!!!