best cma exam strategies & tips

CMA Exam Strategies for Multiple Choice Questions & Essays

Presented by: Nathan Liao, CMA

June 24, 2014

2 WITH A NEW TESTING WINDOW UPON US, DO YOU FEEL PREPARED FOR THE CMA EXAM?

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) stump a lot of people and here’s why:

 You spend too much time on each question;  You get overwhelmed by the choices and they trip you up;  You jump between questions and forget to go back and answer them;  To name a few!

3 HERE’S THE REALITY

3 hours

Don’t stress — I’ve got several tips to help you!

1.8 minutes per question

100 multiple choice questions

4 TIP #1 - STAY POSITIVE

It’s easy to get worked up, but having negative thoughts will do you no good.

Tell yourself you can do this, and you will improve your odds at succeeding!

5 TIP #2 - SKIPPING A QUESTION? WRITE IT DOWN SO YOU REMEMBER TO GO BACK!

 Lots of candidates hop between questions when they are struggling to find the answer, but don’t forget to go back and complete it.  Write the question number down on a sheet of paper and return to it once you’ve completed everything else

IMPORTANT! DO NOT move on to the essay questions before completing all of your MCQs or you will not be able to go back and complete them.

6 TIP #3 - RUNNING OUT OF TIME? PUT YOUR BEST GUESS DOWN ANYWAYS!

  You do not get docked marks for answering questions incorrectly, so it is in your favor to answer every single question.   Even if you do not know the number, do your best to complete each one.  Remember — you have a 25% chance of getting it right!

7 TIP #4 - IF YOU FINISH EARLY, REVIEW!

Some candidates power through the MCQ section, and move on right away. You can absolutely do this OR you can go back through questions you were unsure about and take more time to answer them

8 TIP #5 - DON’T OVER THINK YOUR ANSWERS

Fear and stress can make you over think and this can lead you to change your answers. Trust your gut and move on.

9 TIP #6 - READ THE QUESTIONS CAREFULLY

Each question is going to be direct. Pay attention to the verbs so you answer the question EXACTLY as it is being asked.

10 TIP #7 - PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE If MCQs usually trip you up, then take advantage of your review course study bank. Practice as many questions as you can so you become familiar with the wording and format

11 TIP #8 - TAKE SHORT BREAKS

 This may seem counterintuitive, but sometimes taking a quick minute to close your eyes, take a deep breath and calm yourself can be exactly what you need to move on and succeed.   Just don’t take too long of a break!

12 TIP #9 - DON’T PSYCH YOURSELF OUT WHEN MULTIPLE QUESTIONS HAVE THE SAME LETTERED ANSWER IN A ROW If question 8,9,10 and 11 all have the answer A, this is ok. Sometimes this happens. Don’t psych yourself out and choose a different letter just because. Trust your knowledge!

13 TIP #10 - START STUDYING EARLY

The sooner you start preparing for the CMA exam, the better. If you can understand and apply all key concepts then you will be able to succeed at the MCQ portion of the exam.

14 DID YOU KNOW…

CMA Exam Academy has over 2000 multiple choice questions you can practice with?

To learn more about the CMA Exam Academy and how it can help you prepare for your upcoming exam, visit: www.cmaexamacademy.com

15 STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AT nathan@cmacoach.com I am here to help you!

“THANKS FOR WATCHING”