How To Pass Paper P4?

Love The Paper P4
The best motivation is one that comes from within. You gotta be passionante about the subject, be curious. Curiousity gives birth to geniuses.

Practise, practise, practise!
Get yourself familiar with past year questions. Exam day should not be the first time you attempt questions or else you would face shock. And haven't you heard practice makes perfect?

Read Relevant Articles in ACCA Website.
Keep self informed with the technical articles by examiners. It is always said that articles are hints from the examiner. 

Know You Examiner : Shisher Malde
Your examiner for Dec 2012 is Shisher Malde. Dig your examiner. Knowing his background may give you an added advantage. You may be able to know what's his favourite topics and his style of questioning. 

Do You Homework.
It is impossible for lecturers to practise the whole questions in class. So do your homework when it's given. Only refer to answers after you have tried attempting them yourself. Auditing the answer will defeat the purpose of learning.

Question-based Approach
Start your studies with a question based approach. Instead of reading the whole textbook then only practise questions. Work backward. This will save a lot of your time. As once you've seen the question, you will know what is expected from you when studying. UK country does adopt this in their ACCA colleges.

Update Yourself With Current Issues.
P4 is a practical paper and is about real business and finance that is happening around the world. Be aware of current issues. Read newspapers, business articles from Financial Times, The Economist,   Bloomberg, The Edge, etc. If you feel that it's too dry and hard, start by chunks, ie reading the headlines only. At least these will gice you a rough idea. And from there grow your interest to know more. This is very useful and you will find easier to relate to what is being taught in class. Also by knowing  a little something, you can have something to discuss with your lecturer.

Luck/God's Undeserved Favor
It's up to you to believe it or not. If you have passed with a 50 marks before, you would know why you need this. 

Approaches To Studying Towards ACCA Qualifications

I believe as a student, we have a part to play if we want to excel. One cannot just expect to be spoonfed by lecturers and waits for magic to happen ie. be an ACCA Worldprize winner. Lecturers are there only to guide you. You gotta do you parts as well. As the saying goes it takes two to tango.

As ACCA students who are pursuing a professional qualification, we are expected to be different from normal college students. We are pursuing a higher level studies. So think maturely. Our approches to studying should be as those of a working adult. Professional traits such as competency, skillfulness, independence, time-management, reliability should be in us. At least if we don't have them all, we should train ourselves towards professionalism. 

My approaches to learning is summarized in three stages: 

 

Before: 

Prepare before class starts. Scheme through past year papers or questions so that your brain is in an inquisitive mode. Have some background knowledge. If you do not prepare, you will feel blur in class and can't really relate when the lectures start. 

During:

Pay full attention. Engage with the lecturers. Ask questions. Get involved. Make full use of them. Be an active student not a passive one. Clarify to confirm your understanding. There should be interaction and communication, that how to learn. After each class you should bring home extra knowledge with you.

After: 

Revise after class, do homework, practise questions, read relevant articles. Summarize your understanding in a notes(if you want to practise your writing) or blog it (this saves paper) so that you can browse through what it wrote. That way knowledges are retained. If ever you have the chance, apply it in your life.

Anyway, in all you do, have passion and thirst for knowledge. That way you wont feel tired studying. Think of all the unfortunate ones who actually yearn to go to college but don't have the means to do it. That way you wont ever take your studies for granted. Have big dreams. Be ambitious. Know that knowledge is power. It will take you somewhere one day. Don't waste a single second of your college life. Embrace your education.

I wish you all the best in your undertakings.