[kemcpa2011]

Hey so I took about a 6 month break after really struggling until deciding I wanted to give getting my CPA another go. I’m using Becker and starting out with REG. However – I wanted to work on my strategy.

How do you all do your MCQ’s?

Do you read the question, go back in the book and look for the answer? Or if you don’t know it just get the answer and try to figure out why and write that down?

I need some help from all you wonderful CPAs out there!!!

[kemcpa2011]

not even a little advice?

[Tina82]

I try to understand the material (not just read) before doing mcqs. Only then I do the mcqs, if I get something wrong I read why the wrong answers were wrong. If I still don't get it I go back to the book. Note I don't pay much attention to the scores on mcqs provided I get the majority of them right. If I get majority wrong – re-do the topic.

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[Anonymous]

Make sure when you are working the MCQ's that you know why an answer is right and why the other three are wrong. That makes a huge difference in how well you understand the material and can apply it in the situation the examiners give you. Good Luck!

[ROACH]

@Tina, you don't write anything down at all for MCQs? I might be wasting my time writing everything down for the MCQs.

BEC: 66 | 69 | 7/23/2013
AUD: 8/28/2013
REG:
FAR:

[Tina82]

Not when studying. When doing final review I might jot down some notes for items that I keep getting wrong or stuff that's easily confused. I do take a lot of notes when studying and reading chapters (I basically read the entire section and do notes before doing mcqs). I find it helps tremendously on mcqs the first time you do them.

I don't think you're wasting your time but I wouldn't take notes for items that you know inside out; focus on things you don't understand. Also, if I take notes, they are general notes, not mcq specific. You have to be able to apply the concept to different questions.

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[Texas27]

I think it depends on your learning style. I watch the Becker lectures and honestly don't learn very much because I am constantly writing or highlighting. As soon as I get done with the lectures I jump right into the multiple choice without studying the material. I can read the material all day and not learn a thing unless I actually do problems that relate to the concepts. Therefore, I use my book when I do my homework for the first time and it really helps me learn the material in each chapter. I do a progress test almost everyday to keep up with what I have learned. I also use the book for this if I need to because straight up just guessing on a problem does not help me learn it. Instead, by using the book it forces me to read about the material again and hopefully the more times I read, the more it will stick.

If I get a question wrong then I read the reason why, rework the problem, and mark it so I can come back to it during my final review in case I don't see it again. It probably takes me longer to do the multiple choice questions than most people but that is because I am trying to learn the material and do the questions at the same time. As I do more and more progress test I don't need to use the book nearly as much but sometimes I look up the answer just to reassure myself that I was correct.

If I am really struggling with a concept then I will make flashcards or type up notes and read the constantly. I either tape them to my monitor, put them on the mirror, or put them in a protective sheet and tape them to my shower! I do whatever forces me to read them constantly.

This has worked well for me but it may not work for everyone because we all have our own methods.

BEC - Feb 2012: 80
AUD - Feb 2012: 84
FAR - Apr 2012: 78
REG - May 2012: 90

Thanks Becker!

[Anonymous]

Tina, I've found that it helps me remember a rule when I write down the answer to questions that I got wrong when I'm working MCQ's. I'm using Wiley, Online and the 2012 book, and when I get an answer wrong I read what the correct answer is and then try to put it into my own words. Usually the first thing I end up writing is RTFQ, Read The F'ing Question, then I write the rule. If you haven't already, you will grow to hate the words, not, may, should, and best. Any of those four words can completely change an answer.

[Tina82]

Thanks Kricket. Roach – agree w/Texas depends on your study style. I tend to do more notes upfront when studying so I guess that's why I don't take that many on mcqs.

Also, what works for one part won't necessarily work for another. Haven't looked at FAR or BEC yet so might end up with a whole different approach.

R - 74;88
A - 84
B - 74;89
F - no study = 67; May 15 = 87 & done

[Anonymous]

You are so right Tina. Just because something worked on one exam doesn't mean it will do you a bit of good on the others. For Audit I had to stick to flat out memorization but that won't cut it on FAR, at least for me.

[MrNormalGuy]

I tried learning the material thoroughly before starting the multiple choice for reg the first time I took it. I read the wiley book in self study mode and I started doing all the questions in wiley and I was getting fifty percents on the questions, sometimes 100 percent, sometimes 50 percent, averaging to 75 percent when I took the exam….two years ago…

But it failed me because this exam is about answering questions, and for me, I learn by experience and exposure to what I'm being tested on. This test seems to me to be 20 percent material, and 80 percent test/trickery/oddyseus like cunning in attempting to trick the examiner…for example….this isn't a question on the exam but the wording is from a wiley cpa review simulation question…..you must know that capital gains are included in the income statement even if they are offset by losses right? They are offset later after they are included…

If you don't get the lingo or the nuances then you could be a theoretical expert but get every question wrong….sometimes reading the question is not enough. You could read the question perfectly, have an iq of 140 and not know what the question is asking because it isn't written in proper English. I've seen numerous questions like that in the Becker review….well a few to be exact…

So doing the questions helps. I remember in physics, I broke the curve and passed the AP witha 5, you would write down all your variables and given information in algebraic form….this would make the answer nearly dance itself on paper….not so with the CPA….I haven't passed any parts because I have only taken reg, and reg is pretty much something i've learned entirely on my own, none of it is review….I didn't even know what an adjusted basis was when I first started studying….

So from someone who is 100 percent self taught, and will eventually pass, as I'm making serious breakthroughs now, I can tell you that the most painful thing to do is to go straight into the multiple choice after skimming the chapter, and if you were trying to be the best at doing taxes, that would be a no no, but since we are trying to pass regulation, and regulation is a test testing on itself….not actually taxation (to a degree) then doing multiple choice until you puke, as others have suggested to me, is really the only way to pass…

That being said, there are times where I've read that others do go back and learn some theory to really get a handle on the root of the question……but doing the questions exposes you to the 1,000's of nuances I've seen in review questions so far…

this is how I learn it, not the only way to pass…just to make things clear….reading accounting doesn't help me learn it if the reading is from an outline, and watching the slides gives you the key points to remember, the broad generalities, and maybe motivation, even if you hate the instructor because you want to be just as good as him or her, and if you like the instructor then its a good way to learn while daydreaming a little, and getting things into your mind by sound…

far:
aud:
reg:
bec:

[Author]

Replies