If you are studying for the R05 exam you will know that the study text covers all areas of financial protection, and although this may be the most straight forward aspect of financial planning, there is still a lot of knowledge and understanding required to gain a pass in the actual exam.

Our ‘Top Tips for Success’ aims to help you get the best out of your study time and help improve your chances of passing this exam at your first sitting.

So, let’s start by looking at the R05 exam itself:

• The assessment is 50 questions
• All questions are multiple choice
• One hour is allowed
• The nominal pass mark is 70%
• Previous pass rates can be viewed here
• The recommended number of study hours is 50

1. It is easy to pass because it does not overlap with other exams/areas of financial planning

This is not necessarily true. Financial protection covers many different products and although you may already have experience of some of them, you will also be examined on long term care and social security benefits.

2. All sections of the syllabus are examined equally

This is definitely not true. Chapter 4 has 8 out of the total 50 questions taken from it, and chapters 5, 6, 7, 10 & 11 have 6 questions each. These 6 chapters provide 38 out of the total 50 questions (76% of the marks) so they are the most important ones to focus on.

3. I need to have a comprehensive understanding of all social security benefits that are available

The examination of past papers shows that there are normally only 3 questions at the most on social security benefits, and therefore you will not lose too many marks if you do not know the specific details of every benefit.

4. I need an in-depth understanding of all aspects of long term care

There are only 3 questions from this chapter which has 22 pages of study text in the CII manual. Having an overall understanding of the main facts, concepts, and potential issues of this area, will enable you to think more broadly and still have a good chance of answering questions correctly.

5. I should never guess if I am unsure, and it is better to leave a question unanswered than guess and be wrong

Definitely No. There is no negative marking in the exam, so you do not lose marks for wrong answers.

The CII recommends a minimum of 50 hours of study to prepare for the R05 exam. You may find you need slightly less if you have prior knowledge of some areas of financial protection, but you are still going to have to put in a significant amount of studying.

Several things are key to successful studying - it is not always how much you do, but what you do: quality can be better than quantity. Firstly, it is important to have a plan - and stick to it. It is also important to introduce variety and mix up your study techniques to help to keep it fresh and interesting. Study in short bursts, with breaks, and acknowledge your progress with rewards to keep you motivated.

Our “Learning to Learn” package contains valuable advice and useful strategies to help you discover how you learn best, and to maximise the effectiveness of your study time. You can find out more about these short courses here:  Learning to learn courses - Wizard Learning

It is important, however, to bear in mind, that it is impossible to test the full R05 syllabus in 1 hour. As well as learning the facts in each chapter, you need to understand the practical application of these facts in various situations and scenarios – the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’.

• Use practice questions at the start, during, and at the end of each study period – this will help to identify your areas of weakness to focus on going forward
• Become familiar with the format and types of questions asked in the exam – complete the CII Exam Guide/Mock exams under exam conditions at least once
• Keep practising with as many questions as you can. This not only helps to cement information in your memory, but also increases your confidence in how to tackle them effectively
• Focus your study time and energy on the chapters where most of the questions come from
• Read the question fully and very carefully. The information provided in the question is designed to help you know what the correct answer is or how to eliminate the wrong answers. It is not there simply to ‘pad’ the question out with unnecessary information

• Leave any question unanswered. Guess if you have to. In every multiple- choice question, there are normally 2 answers which you should be able to eliminate as wrong, leaving you with a 50:50 chance of being right and gaining another mark
• Spend more than 1 minute on each question. This will give you 10 minutes at the end to go back to any questions you were unsure of. If you can’t decide on the correct answer after 1 minute move on

The assessment questions in the Wizard Learning “R05 Gap Analysis and Assessment Tool” provides a bank of 300 practice questions, with the similar mix and weightings for each Learning Outcome as in the R05 exam.

You can choose either a 25 question test or a 50 question test in either ‘revision style’ (where you will see the correct answer after each question is completed), or ‘exam style’ (where you will see your results at the end). An on-screen clock shows the expected and elapsed time for each assessment, but you can take as long as you need.

The questions are selected at random for each test from the question bank and will not repeat until all questions have been viewed.

Each test includes similar weightings per learning outcome that you will receive in the actual exam. Your end of test results shows not only your total marks, but also the marks scored against each learning outcome. All incorrectly answered questions show the correct answer and explanation, and a reference to the location of the information in our online course.

You can find out more about the R05 Course, Gap Analysis and Assessment package in our directory.