[Accountingbeans]

So I just finished F10 for FAR and am about to start reviewing (I have 4 weeks which I know is a lot of time, but it made sense to give myself this cushion based on score release dates). In the past, I’ve re-read the textbook to make outlines, but I currently have decent outlines made and FAR is just SO long, I’m considering trying a different method.

Does anyone else re-read the entire textbook for review? Not sure if I’m just wasting time by doing this, as it will take me at least 2 weeks to do..

Newbie
BEC- August 31

[Wannafree]

I have done it and it was not useful ,try something else e.g.Mock test , reviewing your own notes etc.It could have been very useful in old format.

[Mike J]

@wannafree

I agree that rereading a textbook you started with may not be fruitful. You don't want to memorize so much as UNDERSTAND BETTER the material.

But, I disagree with practice tests. You won't see an even distribution of topics on exam day. You just don't know what you're gonna see.

Instead, @Accountingbeans, I might spend half a day researching a topic or two that was particularly difficult for you. eg Let's say it is Fixed Assets. Separate from (eg) Becker materials, I would research the internet and your old college textbooks to gain a better understanding. Then, sum up in your own words what you find. Then, integrate that with whatever notes you've been taking while going thru lectures/Becker text and MCQ. Then, tackle the Becker materials.

The idea here is that a different perspective on the same material may help you understand the material better. After all, you tend to get into ruts when you study something the same way for hours and hours, weeks and weeks.

That's my two cents. Everyone is different. Best of luck!

[Cjsr]

The second time I took FAR, I did re-read the entire textbook as part of my review. I had actually read it twice as part of my pre-review study, so this was my third re-read. I do think it made a difference. The first time I read, I was making flashcards as I went along. As I re-read it in review, I had the flashcards next to me and thought about whether I had really learned that concept, and also made a few new flashcards.

As WannaFree mentioned, this was in the old book, however. I haven't seen their book to go with the new test.

By the time I got to the third reading, I was reading roughly 20 pages per hour in FAR (slower than in the others). So somewhere around 30 hours for the whole book.

BEC. 83. 9 Jan 2016
REG. 83. 30 Jan 2016
AUD. 92. 27 May 2016

Becker FastPass with in-class videos

[Wannafree]

@Mike30882,
“You won't see an even distribution of topics on exam day. You just don't know what you're gonna see.”
100% agreed with the above line .What I trying to say is had he re-read the book multiple times(for old format exam ) it would have been almost sure shot to pass but in new format that may not useful.
In Q2 I was reading the Becker's multiple times and I have found a new technique by which I was able to read the FAR textbook (3-4 chapters in a day ) and felt fully prepared but didn't work in exam.Same re-reading technique worked in all three sections.

[Accountingbeans]

Thanks for the replies thus far (heh..FAR) everyone! Why would reading the old textbook have been more useful than reading the new textbook? Because the new exam requires more application and less remembering and understanding?

Anyway, I think I've pretty much decided that I will not reread the textbook, as it'll be very time consuming and exhausting when instead I could be doing a bunch more practice MCQs and SIMs and just rereading/adding to my notes as I go.

Newbie
BEC- August 31

[Holly]

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!

BEC - 79
REG - 85
AUD - 5/27/16

[Anonymous]

Normally I skim though the book a few times trying to visualize what I know about the topic and look for things that I may have missed to strengthen my foundation. I did this for both REG and BEC and it really helped. If I knew a lot about a topic I would skim through faster until I was in a more unfamiliar area. For me, it helps to see the rules written out so that I can refer to that info in my head later. It's not memorization, but understanding.

[Me!]

I did for my last three passes(AUD, BEC and REG). I picked up some knowledge from items mentioned in the book but not in the MCQ's. This was after completing all the MCQ's in Wiley and CPAExcel. I am re-reading FAR in case I have a retake ahead. I lightly read portions for my last exam but not all of it.

[Mike J]

@wannafree

That's fair. I also hate Becker's “highlight and underline” approach.

New or Old format, doesn't matter. I didn't start to progress until I divorced myself from the notion that I had to memorize this or that. From practicing the right way, I got better. I sought to just understand what I was (re)learning and what I was being asked.

That's not to say you were saying. But, this is where my advice was coming from.

[Author]

Replies