The pattern of setting CA exams is such that, it is very difficult to attempt the whole question paper in 3 hour time. No matter how fast you write, you will always be left with some unanswered question, to which you know the answer to, but didn’t get enough time to write them. Sometimes, the greed to answer the whole question paper, results in poor presentation and overall quality of your answer sheet degrades. And it results in you scoring less.
If you have ever written a CA examination, you must have felt a bewilderment arise in between writing paper, that which question to answer and which not to. In this confusion you write half answer to one question and then jumps to another one because you believe that you can write that one faster and better. Isn’t it true? But when you start writing answer to that another question you are stuck again, and then you think to complete the first one, which you had left half earlier. This scenario will not only make you feel depressed during examination, but also help you fail the exams. I know I am a little bit harsh on my words, but truth is truth.
Have you ever thought why this happens with you? This is the result of the poor time management during your examinations. In my earlier blog, 20:20:50 rule to clear CA exams, I had discussed that in second 20 of the rule you have to make choice on attempting only 4 (and not 5) out of the 6 optional questions. Now taking that you have followed that rule, you have to attempt one mandatory question carrying 20 marks and 4 other optional questions carrying 16 marks each. Now let’s see how we can make it all happen in 3 hours (180 minutes) time frame.
We have to break those 180 minutes so that we not only get enough time to attempt 5 questions but also get time for revision or corrections or additions, if any, to our answers. Now you will think that we don’t get the time to drink water in between of exam, how come all this is possible? It is possible believe me because I myself did it.
· Devote first 40 minutes to mandatory question and answer it well as it contains 20 marks in your question paper.
· After this, devote 30 minutes each to another 4 questions that you need to answer, totaling to 120 minutes.
· You will be left with 20 minutes in which you can revise/ correct or make additions to your answers, or even complete an incomplete answer in this spare 20 minutes.
· The important point you need to keep in your mind is that never use time dedicated to one question to overlap on other questions time. For instance, if an answer is taking longer than 30 minutes to write, leave it immediately when 30 minutes for that answer gets over and move to next answer. Keep that incomplete answer for completion in spare 20 minutes, or in bonus time you accumulate in case some of your answer gets complete before 30 minutes.
· Always remember to go for completing an incomplete answer at the last of the time.
So this was all about the 3 hours show management, the method and procedure mentioned herewith is practical and the one that I adopted during my CA exams. Please feel free to contact me and discuss any problem you are facing in managing anything related to your studies or training. Please login and share these blogs if you like to read them and find anything helpful for yourself and others.