What do you do when you get stuck on a topic?

  • Creator
    Topic
  • #2000174
    SuperAccountingGod
    Participant

    Do you spend extra time to try and understand it or do you cut your losses and just move forward since time is of the essence?

Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
  • Author
    Replies
  • #2000249
    rahee
    Participant

    I have the same question! esp for REG!

    #2000258
    Recked
    Participant

    I got caught up on Gov't. Spent a whole weekend day watching the Roger lectures.
    Next day I decided none of it stuck, it just wasn't making sense, so Sunday I just started over and rewatched all the video.
    Started over on that chapter from scratch, and it worked out on the second time around.
    I'd encourage you to give it a second pass before moving on. Too many holes can lead to poor results, and even weaker self confidence. Never ending cycle.

    #2000456
    YouCanDoIt
    Participant

    give your brain a break from the same info. especially if its just not sticking at the time (keep trying to fit a square in hole = waste of time and frustrating). Instead, go to another topic, that is not similar, and then re-visit your old topic again the next day. Learned this technique of breaking/and moving on to a completely different concept from a video my niece send me on learning and memory. Works wonders.

    FAR: 76
    REG: Currently studying
    AUD:
    BEC:

    #2000894
    rubberducky
    Member

    I agree with the comments above. Taking breaks when you get frustrated helps a lot. Personally, I got frustrated with a few topics in FAR (Pensions, cash flows, etc.) and trying to understand a concept while being frustrated just makes it worse. Take some time off of the topic completely, and come back with a clear mind. Oftentimes in going through it a second time around, you realize the topic is less complicated that you initially thought. I also took detailed notes on these specific sections, and by the time I took the exam I was more confident with those topics than anything else. Good luck!

    #2000939
    nalratoss
    Participant

    Take a break and take a deep breath.

    When I studied at Temple University, my intermediate accounting professor (I think his name is Marco Malandra) would remind us to “take a deep breath” before the start of every quiz and exam. It helps ease the tension and keep the blood flow to your brain.

    #2001290
    CS
    Participant

    One bit of advice I've read when I started studying was one candidate would move onto the next topic and then come back to it, sort of to diminish the significance in the sense that sometimes when we're stuck, we magnify the problem instead of seeing it as one step of the entire process. Although I definitely would never recommend in skipping a topic, for me personally, a few times I would review it again, and if it didn't stick move on, kept on doing progress MCQs which included the topic itself, and come back to it a little later. For whatever reason, maybe the MCQ osmosis and just seeing the bigger picture as I continued on helped. This helped a lot with Pensions for FAR and Business Law for REG.

    #2001392
    Mike J
    Participant

    For whatever the reason things just don't click. Part of that could just be how the information is being presented. Also, you could just need a reboot, specific to a given topic.

    So if you're just not understanding the CPA Review material for that topic try something else.

    I know for passthrough and corporate bases, I needed to start over. So I took a day to pour through my old textbook on the subject. Whatever gaps I still had, I searched the web for. Then I wrote out about 2 pages of notes. I reviewed that and took like 10 MCQs on that alone, with those notes in front of me. And it clicked.

    Then, I didn't need to have the notes in front of me.

    In short, maybe you need to just take A step back before you can move forward. I know you spent a lot of money and time on review materials. But it's like buying an expensive power saw. It's just one of many tools available to you. Some jobs need different tools.

    Good luck.

    #2004104
    fsugirl2005
    Participant

    When I get stuck, I just go watch Youtube videos of different accounting teachers. I watched some Farhat videos and then used Roger's short videos to bridge the gap…and it worked! I was struggling with REG's partnership tax and I finally got it. I was missing that one detail that helped me to understand.

    I am taking REG for the second time on 10/6 and I hope to slay it. I fell short last time because I sucked in the SIMS and I got some questions on my weak areas. Truth be told, I just didn't spend enough time studying and I wasn't exactly studying well.

    AUD - 10/21/16 (75----07/2010 expired)
    FAR - 10/28/16
    BEC - 11/2016
    REG - 01/2017

    Using Gleim CPA Review, Ninja Audio, Ninja Book

Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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