The Best Way to Improve on Your Weaker Topics

by | Actuarial Exams

This blog post is has been made specifically for members of my Study Strategy Consulting Program & Study Strategy Boost Program, but I’m sure many others can get use out of it too.

It’s inevitable.

There are going to be types of practice questions that come up during your studying that you just feel you’re not very good at.

They may be problems that you never seem to get right.

They may be problems that take you far too long to complete.

They may be problems on a topic that you just don’t understand 100%.

This is OK. But you need to fix it before exam day!

How to fix it?

… by doing Drill Problems!

Drill problems are a great way to get you extremely comfortable with the types of problems that you struggle with the most.

How to do drill problems

1. Make a list of all the types of problems that you typically struggle with

2. Split the list up into groups containing anywhere from 1 – 3 problem types. The types don’t have to be related in any way.

3. Take the first group from above and find 15-20 practice questions total related to the topics in the group

4. Go through all the problems (no notes), one by one, looking at the solution right after you do each question. Keep track of which you get right and wrong.

5. Second round, do only ones you got wrong on the first round through. Again, look at the solution right after you do each one and track which you get right and wrong.

6. Continue looping through the questions, only doing the ones you got wrong in the previous round until you’ve gotten them all right by yourself (without looking at notes).

7. For each group that you created in step 2, repeat the same process.

If you’re a member of one of my study strategy programs, I’ve likely already done step 2 and 3 for you because its often difficult to select these questions without looking at the solutions first.

That’s all – now go do some drills!

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