Summer exams 2023: are you ready?
Feb 28, 2023
Longer spring days also mean that exam season is also slowly approaching! Here is an update on what's happening in CAP1, CAP2 and FAE education programmes this March
Dates for your diary: CAP1 and CAP2 in-person student events 2023
Our academic programmes kicked off last September and October with in-person student networking events, and we're pleased to announce another series of in-person events for our CAP1 and CAP2 students.
On Friday, 24 March, CAP1 and CAP2 combined events will take place in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny (venues TBC). Our Dublin event takes place on Saturday, 1 April.
We'll have presentations on exam preparation, e-assessment technique and getting the most from study leave at the events.
There will also be guest speakers who will help you look after your well-being during stressful periods, and you'll meet regional representatives from CASSI.
At the time of writing, email invitations to CAP1 and CAP2 students are due to go out shortly. We look forward to seeing you there!
FAE in-person dates and venues are to come.
Sample papers
The Education team has released some additional support for CAP1 and CAP2 exams.
'Sample papers' (accompanied by solutions) are full, exam-standard PDF scripts that allow you to attempt a full paper in exam conditions and duration.
If you undertake each sample paper in MS Word over the coming months, you'll quickly find out how well-prepared you are.
There are four sample papers for every subject examined, and they are now available on the Institute website.
FAE sample papers will be available soon.
Practice papers
For additional exam preparation, the Exams team is also providing a practice paper to assist with exam technique.
For this, we take one of the sample papers and upload it to the exam platform, Cirrus. Before going into your practice papers, please view all the explanatory videos on e-assessments, available on the exams section of the Institute website.
Once you access the practice paper, you can address the exam questions just as you will in the summer exams (bar the invigilation that will be present on exam day).
You'll learn how to navigate the paper, switch from exam questions to the answer window, how to insert tables, add rows and view additional resources.
A practice paper will be available for each main subject across all programmes, starting with CAP1. You will have a maximum of four attempts on the practice paper. We recommend using two attempts before the mock exams and two afterwards.
Remember, once you enter and close out the practice paper, that constitutes one attempt, so use them carefully.
Mock exams
Another important support you should take advantage of is the mock examination.
CAP1 will start in April, followed by CAP2 in May. (More information on the Institute website.)
The mock exams are online, and exams may be sat during a time window when it suits you.
You'll use Cirrus, just like you will during the summer exam, but without the invigilation and with the ability to self-mark your own exam script.
Exam paper solutions and lecturer recordings of those solutions will be available as soon as the mock exam windows close.
The mocks are fantastic preparation for your main exams. Please put these dates into your diaries and plan to undertake the mocks now.
FAE update
The second (and last) material release for FAE Electives takes place on Wednesday, 1 March, when all FAE content (bar Integrated Case Day support materials) will be available.
Finally, a reminder to all FAE students: all students must attend a minimum of five out of seven Integrated Case Days – otherwise, you can't sit your FAE exams. Watching them back as recordings does not count as attendance. The Integrated Case Days are a practical way of preparing to answer in FAE question format.
Don't hesitate to contact us by email at CAP1 / CAP2 / FAE@charteredaccountants.ie and use the discussion forums for all your academic queries.
Bryan Rankin is the Head of Student Operations at Chartered Accountants Ireland
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