Seven Top Tips

　　1.Make use of support

　　Make use of any distance learning support you have. Some of you will be distance-learning candidates so will have access to remote support from tutors - use it.

　　2.Use the latest materials

　　Sometimes students studying at home will use second-hand study materials, which may be out of date. The syllabus for some exams changes so you must make sure you have the latest materials - or at least know and have access to whatever material has changed.

　　3.Find a peer group

　　One of the most effective ways to learn is to have a peer group of people who are all trying to achieve the same goals. Find friends or people you may know and regularly meet up or communicate to support each other through your exams.

　　4.Be disciplined

　　Be disciplined in your studies. It's very easy to want to take extra breaks, or not really push yourself hard when studying at home. You must focus on the reasons why you are taking the exams and use those and strict time management to keep yourself disciplined.

　　5.Immerse yourself in a topic

　　When you study at a college you will concentrate on one topic or paper for days at a time. The reason is that the human brain learns best when immersed in learning. Use this principle and focus on one topic or one paper for hours at a time. It may get boring, but it works.

　　6.Do practice questions

　　It can be very easy to become lazy about doing practice questions at home. You can fool yourself into thinking that just because you have read something you know it and don't have to test yourself. You must do practice questions as you study.

　　7.Recreate exam conditions

　　In order to perform well in the actual exam you must get your body and mind trained to be able to cope with the physical and mental pressure. So make sure you do mock exams under exam conditions including sticking to time limits, using a small desk, sitting continuously for just over three hours, writing neatly, etc. The better you can recreate exam conditions the better you will do in the real exam.