The modules present a different challenge than the preliminary exams; they are self-paced and based on written exercises, instead of multiple-choice problems.

Many people approach the modules expecting a refreshing break from exams but are caught off guard – they struggle to complete them in a reasonable time or have trouble passing the end-of-module (EOM) exercises on the first attempt.

These common pitfalls can be avoided with the right strategy. Read on to learn the techniques we used to get through the FAP modules in less than 6 months.

 

Key concepts in this article: 

 

 

 

Mindset: focus on the end game

One of the common complaints we hear is that the modules are too open-ended, making it difficult to stay focused.

The best remedy for this is to focus on the end game: figure out what the SOA wants you to learn from each module. This may sound basic, but it is a subtle and important shift.

In our book, we discussed conducting an 80-20 analysis on the study material. This is just as important for the modules.

The question “What skill does the SOA want me to learn from this section?” can keep you focused amidst an overwhelming amount of information. Using this question as your guide while reading the module will prevent the following common pitfalls:

• Rushing to the end of the reading without remembering any of the key concepts
• Slowly trudging through the reading, giving each piece of information an equal amount of attention and missing the bigger picture

You should also frequently ask this question while you work on each EOM exercise. People often spend too much time worrying about the “right” answer. Instead, you should focus on demonstrating the high-level skills you identified from your reading.

For example, did you consider each step of the control cycle from this module? Did you directly address each part of the EOM exercise assignment? These questions are more important than getting to an exact answer.

Now that you have the right mindset, we can focus on the specific steps of approaching the module readings.

 

How to approach the readings

The module readings are one of the biggest obstacles to quickly finishing the modules. You don’t want to skip over important material, but you can easily get stuck in the details and slow your progress. The best way to get through the readings is to break each one into manageable steps:

1. Preview the module ~ 1 hour

To avoid spending too much time memorizing details (e.g. accounting concepts and regulatory standards), you can preview the module to quickly extract the main ideas. This is similar to our previewing process for exam readings in Chapter 3 of our book, but the modules are even more conducive for this process, due to their structure.

For your initial preview of the module, we recommend:

• Read the module introduction slides and pay attention to the learning objectives – these slides spell out the main goal of the module and what you should learn
• For each section, read the Introduction, Reading Summaries, and Section Summary, along with any diagrams
• Read the Summary section (last section of module)

You will be skipping over a lot of details, such as case studies and links to recommended readings.

That is the goal of the preview: focus only on the high-level concepts and build a basic framework to later refine by investigating the details.

 

2. Create a folder structure for your notes (perform with previous step)

This is a bonus step to perform along with your preview. The goal of the preview was to build a mental framework of the key concepts; this folder structure is the physical representation of that framework.

For each module, you can create folders on your computer to organize information for each section of the module. For example, your folder structure may look like:

 

 

As you preview the module, you can save PDFs, diagrams, and important summaries to the respective folder. The Snipping Tool can be helpful to capture screenshots. You are essentially creating your own condensed summary of the module.

If you’ve worked on the modules, you know that it is not the quickest process to log into your SOA account, open the module, and navigate to a specific section to find the material you need. With your condensed notes, you can navigate more efficiently to the information without requiring an internet connection.

Now you have cemented the high-level concepts of the module into your memory and created an easy-access Cliff notes version of the module.

BONUS: Use a cloud storage program like Dropbox to make your folder structure and notes available across multiple platforms. This is a key step to utilize the mobile studying strategy in Chapter 5 of our book.

 

3. Download the EOM Exercise ~ 1 hour

Yes, we recommend downloading the EOM exercise before reading the module in-depth. Why? To give you context when you refer back to the module a second time.

You will be much more efficient at processing detailed information if you have an immediate problem to apply it to.

If you’re trying to learn how to fix a flat tire, which scenario do you think results in better long-term retention? (1) You read a step-by-step article sitting in your broken-down car that needs a new tire, or (2) you read the same article from your home, just in case your car breaks down in the future? This illustrates the advantages of “Just-in-Time” information over “Just-in-Case” information.

By reading the EOM exercise assignment before fully reading the module, you are creating your own “Just-in-Time” information scenario.

 

4. Revisit the module ~ 4 hours

Now you can perform a more detailed read-through of the module, focusing on the parts you skipped during your preview. This time around, you may benefit from writing your own notes and summaries in a simple Word document (later saved to your Module folder).

We found the following note structure to work well for quickly summarizing information in an organized manner, still emphasizing how the details fit into the high-level concepts.

 

 

This notes document should complete your condensed summary of the module and give you a good start thinking about your EOM exercise response. Now you can move on to completing the exercise, referring back to your notes folder as necessary.

 

End-of-Module (EOM) exercise

If you followed the previous steps, you will have already read the EOM exercise by now. Before starting to write your responses, you should revisit the prompt one more time and focus even more on the specific questions.

In addition to demonstrating competency with the material, there are two key points for a successful EOM exercise:

• Fully address every question of the assignment
• Communicate in a clear and concise manner

The following steps will help you stay on track to accomplish these goals while passing the module:

 

1. Outline your response

Before writing a full memo, we recommend outlining your paper. (If you have never outlined a paper before, you can refer to articles like this that discuss it in depth).

An outline helps you quickly brainstorm and document the main points for your response. The last thing you want is for the excellent ideas in your head to be lost in translation, and the outline helps you get them on paper without interrupting your thought process with details like word choice and punctuation.

Paralysis by analysis is common, especially in the early stages of crafting your response to the exercise. Things may not click right away, or it may be difficult to find and take a clear direction.

In these instances, try to break down the question into components and jot down as many relevant details from the module readings as possible. This will jog your brain, and you can gradually massage this clutter into a more cohesive picture.

When in doubt, don’t forget the competencies that the grader wants you to “prove” in completing each module (our guiding question from the first part of the article).

Before moving on, compare your outline to the assignment to make sure you fully addressed each question – we have mentioned this repeatedly because it is extremely important!

 

2. Write the first draft of your response

If you made a quality outline, you’ve made this step much easier; simply connect the ideas in your outline by forming them into sentences, and then format the paper so it is easy to read (e.g. separate paragraphs for the main ideas in your outline, bullet points for lists, section headings, etc.).

Remember: a human-being will be grading your paper, so proper formatting is very important to draw their attention to the main points of your paper.

 

3. Edit your response for clear and concise sentences

We recommend waiting at least 1 day before editing your initial draft – familiarity can be an obstacle to successful editing. One useful (and free) tool to efficiently edit your responses is the Hemmingway App:

http://www.hemingwayapp.com/

Ernest Hemingway is known for his simple and direct style of writing, which is exactly the style that is useful for business communications. The Hemingway App analyzes text for simplicity and readability, assigning you a score to assess your writing.

Copy and paste your response into the app, and it will highlight: sentences that are hard to read, uses of the passive voice, unnecessary adverbs, and phrases with simpler alternatives. The app is not a perfect solution to create a successful paper, but it is incredibly useful and efficient in finding potential areas for improvement.

Not only does the app help you pass the modules, but it provides clear and objective feedback to help you improve your written communication.

Note: You may not want to listen to every suggestion from the app – some actuarial terminology will be flagged as overly complex, but it may be very appropriate for your EOM exercise response. Use your own discretion in accepting suggestions.

 

4. Submit your paper

Before submitting, we advise double-checking any formatting rules outlined in the assignment (e.g. used appropriate fonts, didn’t paste charts as pictures, etc.).

It is important to follow directions, address the prompt thoroughly, and adhere to submission guidelines. Failing to properly consider these small details can discredit the most quality of EOM submissions, and you wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt your chances of passing.

Now you’ve finally made it – congrats on finishing the module!

 

Staying Motivated

The final issue for many people is the motivation factor that comes with self-paced modules.

Unlike the exams, you don’t have a deadline pressuring you to study (the 2-year deadline for the FAP modules doesn’t create much urgency).

Breaking the modules into the manageable steps from this article should help you get started, but there are additional strategies you can use for motivation:

 

1. Managing your energy levels + appropriate goals

The easiest way to lose motivation is burnout, resulting from mismanaged energy levels.

As an ambitious actuarial student, you may be tempted to push through this fatigue to reach your daily study goals – you should resist that temptation. These forced study sessions not only prevent you from fully grasping the material, but they further prevent you from recovering and achieving optimal performance.

The modules and the exams are a long-term process, and you should pace yourself accordingly. One of the best ways to sustain long-term motivation is cultivating the self-awareness to know when you can benefit from a break.

Setting appropriate goals is critical. For the modules, students often set goals to get through X number of slides in each study session – we do not recommend this approach.

As we discussed earlier, not all information is equally important, so you should not set an arbitrary goal for X number of slides.

Instead of focusing on quantity of information, you should set your goals around depth of understanding.

To turn this into a more concrete goal, you can aim to understand a section well enough to explain it in your own words (can use the Feynman Technique discussed in our book).

You can use the note-taking template discussed earlier to practice these explanations and write section summaries, while answering the key question: “What does the SOA want me to learn from this section?”

Focusing on the end game helps you set appropriate goals and manage motivation throughout the modules.

 

2. Time constraints + scheduling

If you plan for a 4-hour study session, it can be very daunting to even get started.

se time constraints to lower the barrier to entry and make study sessions more manageable while making yourself more productive.

In Chapter 5 of our book, we talk about Parkinson’s Law (the time it takes to complete a task expands in proportion to the time allowed). This theory is very relevant for the modules; you can schedule short study sessions (e.g. 1 hour each) to work more efficiently through each step of the reading and EOM exercise.

These short sessions are helpful to maintain a high level of focus, as our attention span naturally depletes the more time we spend in a single study session.

If your mind is constantly wandering to a work project, your friend’s birthday dinner, or a problem at home, you will spend many unproductive hours in which you don’t grasp the readings or don’t produce quality writing. This hurts morale, wastes time, and kills momentum!

If you work for a company that gives you paid study time, you can use the total study hours as an overarching time constraint and work backward to schedule daily sessions.

For example, we set a high-level goal not to study more than the company-given hours. Starting with the overall study hours granted, we allocated a certain number to each module, and then further allocated hours to daily study sessions (e.g. Day 1: Preview material & Create Folder Structure for 1 hour. Day 2: Read EOM Exercise for 1 hour. Etc.).

Having a clear, stepping-stone approach toward finishing the module helps you stay motivated.

 

3. Incentives + Stakes

 

 

We’re all familiar with incentives, but how can you implement them for your modules? One option is to design a reward system for your progress – maybe you allow yourself a Netflix binge on the weekend if you stick to your study schedule during the week. The right rewards will be highly individual, so have fun experimenting with different systems to work for you.

If rewards aren’t enough, you can use incentives from the other end of the spectrum: stakes/punishment. You can use websites such as Stickk.com to set up a study goal and pledge a certain amount of money if you do not complete the goal (the money can be donated to an “anti-charity” of your choice for extra incentive). This may sound like an odd method, but it is very effective. (If Friday night rolls around and your decision is to do modules or forfeit $500 to Stickk for a night out with friends, your priorities will quickly become clear.)

 

Recap

We touched on four key points to help you succeed through the modules:

1. Mindset: focus on the end game (“What skill does the SOA want me to learn from this section?”)

2. How to approach the readings (preview the module, create a folder structure for notes, download the EOM exercise, and then do a full read-through with notes)

3. How to approach the EOM exercise (Make an effective outline, write your first draft, use editing tools such as the Hemingway app, and finally submit the exercise)

4. Staying Motivated (Managing energy & appropriate goals, time constraints & scheduling, and incentives & stakes)

In the end, we enjoyed the modules as another avenue to become a more dynamic actuary. They were very helpful in providing more context in what an actuary does, and are a great addition to the exams in preparing you for a “real-world” work setting. They are only “bad” if you think that they are bad – it is all about choosing the right mindset!

As always, we’d love to hear your questions, comments, and experiences regarding the modules – please reach out in the comments below or using our Contact form.

 

Study Smart, Pass Fast, Live Life

Mike & Roy