[1ForAll]

Anyone know if my Note taking method is good? I am taking notes on all the NINJA MCQs such as writing down the explanations as to why the answer is correct, if i really did not understand I would read it over and over and over and think from a different perspective and then write additional personal notes that would help me understand the question or topic if I ever came across it again, If I happened to come across a question that talks about the same thing like idk”Governmental Fund” that goes with past questions l I tend to write over past notes about it in addition to the new notes in order to really get a feel of the materials and how they all relate to each other and work.

I know note taking is very time consuming and it slows you down but I like that idea because I know I can always fall back on my notes to relearn the materials if I needed to do a retake. I plan on reviewing them every day as well.

What I want to know is “Am I doing too much?” or “Is there a better way to take Notes?” Please anyone that passed with their own notes let there be lights that shine down upon my notes

[SaltyCaptain]

Yes, I hate to be blunt, but thats a huge waste of time. What you need to do is do thousands of mcqs and let the material bake into your brain. You need muscle memory, which will be most helpful on the test. Note taking is slow, tedious, boring and inefficient. If you simply forget something, go look it up in the specific section in the book. Dont waste your time. I never took any notes for any of the four sections of the exam. This is what you do: Read the chapter-> watch the lecture ->hit the mcqs. rinse repeat till you are finished with the book. Than go competely HAM on the MCQS for a couple weeks and take the the test. Dont waste time on the SIMS or mock exams either. Just take a look at a couple sims to see what they're structured like. Make sure you know how to navigate the authoritative literature and are comfortable with the test software by looking through the AICPA sample exam. Writing notes will leave you with a sore wrist and a lack of progress.

[SuperAccountingGod]

I agree and disagree with Abickiya. I used to take notes on all the questions I missed (including the ones I got right) but I was spending too much time when I could've used those extra hours to crank more MCQ. You def want to do as many MCQ as possible. However, everyone is different and learns different. Some need to do about 1000 MCQ to pass, others can do it with 800, others with 500, etc. If taking notes helps you learn better then I would keep doing it, just make certain most of your time is allocated more towards practicing, because you def want to focus on speed and accuracy on exam day. Now what I do is instead of doing sets of 10 MCQ and spending an hour total taking notes on everything I miss, I now do sets of 30 MCQ and can finish them up in less than an hour, THEN review what I miss. Also, if you are taking notes, try to keep them concise but easy enough to understand. You don't need to take notes on every little detail the answer gives you. Just on what actually answers the question. The book confuses me so I never use the book. If something confuses me, I use the NINJA Blitz videos to get the main idea down then do more MCQ again until I get it. Just do what works for you but make sure you are utilizing your time efficient.

[CS]

I took notes a total of two times – once 2 days before BEC just jotting down COSO and IT terms and once 2 days before REG jotting down notes on obscure topics like the 90 day letter rule etc. so basically if it was material that was pure memorization I would write it for osmosis so it would last another 48 hours hopefully. Unfortunately I have the handwriting of a 2 year old so I was never able to read them but I do feel that a few of those notes sunk in just enough. Other than that never took a note, I’m way too lazy and I thought about it but with so much material I wouldn’t even know where to begin. I agree with the others, if notes work for you great but MCQs should be the enforcement tool for learning.

[1ForAll]

thank you @Abickiya and @SuperAccountingGod for the advice, it seems that taking notes for anyone takes a huge amount of time, and I have noticed it ever since I started my studies. I need to find an efficient approach and adjust my study plan a little bit more, I wonder how long it will be until I figure it out

[glopooka]

I am in the “hammer as many MCQs as possible” park. That is the best. I also write down/take notes on ones that I consistently have issues with. writing it down helps cement it in. I took a lot of notes on the first exam I did (FAR), but I had a lot of time to prepare. The next two I didn't because I only had three weeks to prepare. Overall, I felt more confident going into the last two than the first one. I did SO many MCQs (I use Becker only). Then again, everyone's study habits are different. Do what works best for you. Good luck!

[Yuri]

For me taking notes took a lot of my time so I only took notes on the important topics that I was having troubled with. Plus, it might be a good idea to only take notes on concepts that you are not really getting and try to refer to the book or videos to help you nail the concepts down. If I kept getting the same questions wrong I would definitely write it down but keep it to a bare minimum because you can make better use of your time by doing more MCQs, trust me on this if ever wonder how others are doing so many MCQs in 1 hour. Wish you the best of luck! Eventually, you will find it and when you do the process of studying and passing these test should be pretty much self explanatory.

[tmacpa]

IMO- note taking on incorrect MCQ answers can be great, but make sure you're being efficient with your time. Shorten the answer to a few key words and have your notebook organized to where you can read several of these notes in a short period of time. I had the shortened question on the left, and the answer on the write.

Key words!

[Anonymous]

I also tried the notes approach before switching to flash cards, and yes, I would advise against it. The main problem, aside from the horrible inefficiency of writing your own textbook essentially, is that the notes will be too long and cumbersome to be of any use except as a secondary reference. I ended up with 30 pages per section, which made it impossible to do anything with them except to keep reading (and rewriting) them over and over and hoping it'll stick. Can't memorize with notes, can't pound MCQs with notes, no progress check – really just a huge waste of time.

[Author]

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