The Inside Track – The Insurance Institute's Member Blog

5 Tips to Kick-Start Your Study

Written by The Insurance Institute | 22/05/17 08:00

When you register for any qualification, it's perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed or unsure where to begin – particularly if you're planning on studying while you work. Getting organised and planning your time is the key to success and helps to relieve some of the stress, so it's important to prepare for the next few months.

Whether you’re used to sitting exams or you’ve just returned to education after a long break, the following tips will help you make the best start to your study and achieve success.

 

1. Make a study plan

Don’t put this off; a study plan will help you ensure that you’re covering all of the textbook material as well as helping you fit study around your busy work and home schedule. Your learning plan, which is available in Connect (accessed through your Member Area) contains a revision schedule that you can use as a starting point while you build your own personalised study plan.

Read our tips for creating a study plan that works.

Be sure to highlight key dates in your study plan, such as when mid-semester assessments will take place (if you're sitting modules CIP-06, CIP-07 or CIP-08).

 

2. Access your online study supports

Your study supports are there to help you do well in your exam so make sure to use them as much as possible. Our statistics consistently show, year after year, that students who use study supports are far more likely to pass their exams than those who don’t.

Study supports include:

  • Learning plans
  • Webinars
  • Key points per chapter
  • Mock exams for MCQ exams
  • Sample papers for written exams
  • Key study advice and exam preparation techniques.

All online study supports are available on Connect in the Member Area.

 

3. Find out what works for you

We all learn and study differently. What works for your colleagues may not work for you, so it’s important to figure out your learning style from the beginning.

We’ve created a simple quiz to help you discover what works for you, which is available in Connect with your study supports. The different learning styles and appropriate study methods are also explained here.

 

4. Keep an eye on the exam countdown timer

Your exam might feel like a long time away, but you could find the weeks pass very quickly once you start studying. Use your exam countdown timer that you’ll find in Connect – it’s not there to scare you but to help you keep on track throughout the semester and stick to your study schedule.

 

5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

We have a Member Services team dedicated to helping you do the best you can in your exam. If you have any questions about module content, exam arrangements or study supports don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or drop us an email – we’re always happy to help. Call us on 01 645 6670 or email memberservices@iii.ie.