Study pack

[Archie]

Hello again, I have registered as an associate, and that's all approved and paid for, and I have also enrolled in the MOD 5 exam, and received my study pack, which is a CD-ROM only is this all I should expect?

Also will another exam be held a bit later down the line, as preparation for October is going to be a massive task for me, with work commitments, taking the plunge of getting married and going on a honeymoon, blah, blah, blah?

[PJW]

Hello again, I have registered as an associate, and that's all approved and paid for, and I have also enrolled in the MOD 5 exam, and received my study pack, which is a CD-ROM only is this all I should expect?

Also will another exam be held a bit later down the line, as preparation for October is going to be a massive task for me, with work commitments, taking the plunge of getting married and going on a honeymoon, blah, blah, blah?

Each of the modules 1,3,5,7 were produced on a CD-ROM about 10 years back; previously you got photocopies of past exam papers and some technical papers so in terms of content you get more on the CD. The packs are really to introduce the exam to tell you what to expect and to suggest topics and source material; they are not to be confused with set text books- "learn all this and you will do well in the exam because the questions set will just be based on this content".
What you will realise is that the packs generally don't have a lot of facts within them- more usually some discussion to make you THINK.
In the xam you are constructing an answer- you must plan, design and implement in a short timescale and exam preparation should be mainly about doing this. Of course you need the raw materials at hand and be familiar with various tools of the trade; these are essential pre-requisites and the Study Packs tend to assume that you already have these or at most attempt to inform you where to locate. Don't forget to look at other IRSE Exam information like the Reading List0 free download from the IRSE website.

Mod 2 was never published until a couple of years ago and this plus all the other Study Packs are on a combined DVD. I guess the IRSE must be using up previous stocks; I would have hoped though they would have given you in some form the more recent past papers in addition to the CD ROM itself as that would only have incorporated question papers until the time of its production.

No I am afraid that there is only one sitting of the IRSE Exam per year; with all that going on in your life then yes it does sound a very large challenge for this year. I suppose if you've paid your money you might as well give it a go but don't overstress yourself as that won't help a bit. Turn up having done as much preparation as you have been able to do with the attitude "if you pass you pass, if you don't then you have gained experience ready for next year" and who knows- you may surprise yourself.

[Archie]

Your comments are very true, I have not seated a proper exam since I was about 16, so just getting the exam technique will be an advantage for next year if nothing else.