Hi Joanne,

I think my original posting on this thread still holds good.

A variation on the theme of answering question after question is the "fish" technique for Section A questions. If you've not used it before this involves writing your introduction in full, then the content of the main body of your answer in bullets, and then the recommendations and justifications in full. This way you should be able to do a full case study in about half an hour, or you use the full hour to look up as much as you need to to support your answer, in terms of academic and case study research. You'll get through more questions this way, but don't forget to do full answers nearer the exams because you'll need the practice of writing long hand for the full hour (two preferably to do a full paper) to get your writing muscles used to it. I don't know where we'd be without MS Word, but it is a devil for making us wimps about writing!

I am frustrated that tutors are not providing their students with a basic toolkit of study techniques to facilitate their own learning, but then I guess tutors can only do so much.

Look at the CIPD revision guide and download all the old papers you can get from the website.

The finally piece of advice I would give, to supplement my previous posting, would be to start revising! Empty page syndrome leeches time from you, so it almost doesn't matter where you start, just as long as you do. Pick the oldest exam paper on the website, and try to do that. Set aside half an hour every evening of "dead" time and just do questions, or review your answers from the previous day, but whatever you do, just do it. You should be able to do two Section B questions in 15 minutes by the exam, so try doing 2 in 30 minutes to start with to make sure you get enough content in. Most people have an odd half an hour in their day of spare time, or could make it if they needed to - whether that is the "Coronation Street" slot, or getting into work half an hour early, or staying half an hour late, so you're still in a work frame of mind should be easy enough to accomodate for the sake of 3 months.

Good luck,

Claire

Thanks Claire for your advise - that defintely helps me

Hello..

I am taking my PDS PM&D exams in May and am feeling rather sick! I havent studied in 12 years and have not managed to complete all of my work files (I doing it via MOL distance learning) - I work full time, have two children and 10 hours a week study just sometimes isnt realistic.

I am fortunate enough to have a great job with gives me fab hands on experience. I have written my revision plan for my exams using the MALPAS cards and my own pointers as a plan. But feel rather frightened about it all to be honest.

Feel like I have let myself down that I havent finished all 18 work books (done 14...).

All of your advise is hugely appreciated!

Thanks
Liz

CLAIRE Isaacs,
I understand you are a CIPD course tutor? If so I have some info you might find of value for your students on organisational culture and change (free) email me or put your contact details on your profile
Mike

Hi Mike

I would be very interested in receiving the info you have on organisational culture and change. [email address removed - moderator]

Thanks!

Hi Caroline,

You first need to activate the "Email me" function in your profile - bit clunky, but this will get easier after July! Please follow instructions here:
www.cipd.co.uk/.../networking

...then you and Mike will be able to email one another; no email addresses allowed within threads, I'm afraid.

Thanks,
Steve

Hello Mike

I hope you don't mind me jumping on board with Caroline's request for your info on organisational culture and change?

I would very much like to receive the info and you should be able to contact me via my profile, hopefully I have followed the instructions properly. ;-)

Many thanks indeed

Lorraine

Good luck to anyone who may be taking exams over the next two weeks.

Hi Caroline - please update your profile as per Steve's instructions - or email me direct - my email is in my profile.

For others requesting the info - please do so directly as these types of 'me to' requests make the threads difficult for others to read.

Mike

Clare,

It's been a while since I took my exams, but one of my tutors provided the class with genuine answers to questions on the May 2001 Employee Relations paper (including the case study), and I found this particularly useful.

If you let me have a note of your address, I'd be happy to send you a copy.

Kind regards.

Sue

Hi everyone
The discussion has been very long but as I am probably as frustrated as many others out there I would like to share my thoughts with you.
I am about to do one of my exams next Friday and I am terrified. I have failed resourcing and although I did the resit few months ago we still havent got any results or feedback. We havent got the results from our written assignments either so now, when I am just about to hand in another assignment I am worried - and so are people from my group - that we should not be handing in our next assignments without having feedback from the first one. Cos how shall we learn and progress if we dont get any feedback on time? Being qualified as a teacher myself I am surprised that such things are allowed cos it seems to be against the idea of teaching/learning! At my current college we seem to be going through exams and assignmens without ever getting feedback and in the end, in summer, it is going to be: failed.But have we ever been given the opportunity to learn from mistakes? No.

Claire wrote that "It is unfortunate that there are times that the examination results do not reflect the capabilities of the students" - my question is why does CIPD doesnt do anything about it? I myself have spent 10 years at universities in 3 different countries and studying various subjects, I have BA and MA - and I must say that I have never experienced such exams where questions were so unclear. To be honest - untill I started CIPD - I never failed an exam for which I was prepared for...! Here, however, during my first year of studies we had a question on our first exam which only one person in the whole group understood...! out of ca 25 people. And what this indicates to me is that there is something wrong whith the questions, not with the students.
For my comming exam we had no preparation whatsoever, I havent been shown any past papers. I am so stressed about "what will be behind those questions" that I am waisting my time and energy trying to figure out how to figure out the questions rather than to actually learn. And this, to be honest, seems like a waste of time and not the point of those studies. The notes we are given in the class help little in the exams - so why waste so many hours doing it? why dont we practice case studies instead, for example?
Anyway, in my ideal world i would make these questions strainght forward so if my examiner wants me to create an action plan - why not simply mention it? I really think that right now many poeple waste to much time trying to figure out vague and tricky questions - and that shouldnt be the case as in real business my boss asks me direst questions.
Good luck to everyone who is taking exams. And to CIPD - please, please look into it. We are all here, willing to learn and do our absolute best but please let us get the opportunity to learn from mistakes, let us have proper feedback and questions which will demonstrate our knowledge and not ability to figure them out - or not.
Kind regards
Edyta

Hi Edyta,

I hear your pain! I agree with your observations, the exam questions seem to be the issue for many of my fellow students and is it most definately the case for myself.

I would love to see the questions written in a more straightfoward manner, actually getting to the point and giving you some kind of indication for what CIPD are looking for. However, they are obviously worded in this way to keep CIPD certification somewhat exclusive (why else would they be making it so hard?).

I would to see CIPD provide more advice and guidance on deciphering exam questions - preferably as a free resource to members! But I cannot help asking if it is a failing of the colleges running the course and would ask how CIPD monitors its providers and their standards/methods of tutoring.

It is obviously achievable because people do pass but I really think there should be some more advice available on exam technique and would really appreciate CIPD looking at this. Maybe I will write my own guidance book once I have passed and make a million!!!

Edyta, Clare I will pass this thread on to the appropriate team at CIPD as feedback.

Good luck with the exams to all taking them.

Johanna (Website Manager, CIPD)

Another L&D failure here my friends. I studied hard; read around the subject; attended group meetings and failed - but I'm not surprised.

During an ICS revision weekend, our class covered a range of previous papers and even the tutor, generally speaking, got the answers wrong. Putting it simply, the answers didn't and don't match the questions - most bizarre .... and then the author of that exam provides a review which, quite frankly, is very, very badly written and ridiculously negative.

The exam system is in urgent need of review and everyone I have met, successful or otherwise, agrees.

Wishing you all the best!

Greg

Hi All

What a great thread, I've just failed my first exam ever and was feeling so disheartened and you've all made me feel a bit better - so thank you. I've only dare tell my husband, I cant bare telling anyone at work or my friends and family just yet. I worked so hard, I just think how can I do it all again? But I'm gonna try. I'm studying PR and L&D as well so its going to be hard work! 3 exams in a row - yippee!

I'm thinking about buying the individual examiners feedback, has anyone found it useful or should I give it a wide birth?

Helena