[Legit44]

Hello,

I am studying through Becker and was wondering on everyone’s opinion on making your own notes from the text? Is it a waste of time or a good way to memorize the material?

Thanks

 

 

[MRSJLeon917]

I think it really depends on how you learn – for some people, writing is how they learn information. For others, working non-stop MCQ is what works for them. When you were in school, did writing notes help you learn the material?

AUD (5/25/2012): 91
FAR (10/22/2012): 89
REG (11/28/2012): 89
BEC (01/05/2013): 82
Ethics Exam: 90

IL Licensed CPA - 7/15/2013

A long journey, officially DONE!

[Keely]

It is a GREAT way to study. I watch the lecture, do the MCQs for the first time, then I go back through the entire chapter, reading and taking notes on all the big topics. I usually repeat the reading/note process at least a few times before the exam, because, for me, it's really the only way I actually retain the material. I never look at my notes afterward, I literally just ball them up and throw them away. I only do it to reinforce the material. Always print, never type the notes. This works for me, but like the other poster said, it depends on your learning style.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[SeePeeAyy]

I use a very similar approach as Keely.

Watch lecture, do the MCQ. Then on my review I will re-read every page and simultaneously take notes. It forces you to read the material, understand it and then put it down in note form (which is easier to read again instead of the text). Then attempt the MCQ again, you should see a big score improvement.

[foreseeableCPA]

Yes take notes.. I use the blank sheet in the beginning of each chapter to write down key information.

CPA - Class of 2013
CIA - Class of 2016

[Anonymous]

I used Becker and I didn't really ‘make notes'. What I did was write out every question and answer that I did not feel comfortable with. That really helped me a lot. I combined the question and answer together in one statement and I think that is what helped me to remember a lot. Even if the question was not a theory question I found a way to put the concept behind the question in words.

[Anonymous]

Disclaimer: I haven't actually taken any exam yet but my FAR exam is on Monday; I scored a 91 on the practice exam, and I generally feel comfortable with all the topics after 6 brutal weeks.

That being said, I don't think I absorbed any of the information the first time around. Like people above me said, everyone learns differently. I did not take any notes after watching the lectures. However, I did write small notes on why I got questions wrong while doing MCQs.

THEN, when I started my final review, I went back in the book and made a monster document of all the highlighted/underlined information in each chapter. I also added to this after doing MCQs during review. Now I feel like I can recite the whole thing by heart (exaggeration) and have created a handy little review guide, since I'm not really a flash card person. Note, though, that this process took about 2 days of studying to complete, but I feel like it really helped to make myself read the information a second time while creating these notes rather than just aimlessly highlighting whatever Tim G was saying.

Again, I haven't actually taken an exam yet, but I'm feeling very confident for FAR and there was definitely a “light bulb” moment after I went back through a second time and created this document.

[make_yourself]

I think taking notes is a great idea with Becker. I used 2011 for FAR and BEC, and used/am using 2012 for AUD and REG.

My approach is to watch the lecture roughly 10 pages at a time, then pause to read the book and take (pretty detailed) notes. It's a tedious and time-consuming approach, but I feel like it really drives the material into my brain, and by the time I get to the MCQs I usually score in the 80s or 90s.

The notes are also great as a review tool. When I go through all the material a second time I don't look at the book, I just review my notes and do MCQs until I can't stand the thought of doing one more question.

It has worked out pretty well for me so far. Good luck!

FAR - 81 (07/24/2012)
BEC - 92 (10/06/2012)
AUD - 92 (11/29/2012)
REG - 88 (02/28/2013)

Ethics - 90

California Licensed CPA - 12/2013

[Author]

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