If you feel like you’re constantly revising for CITG or ADIT but you’re never quite sure it’s working, this post is for you. Four uncomfortable truths about how most candidates actually prepare — not how they think they’re preparing — and exactly what to do differently starting this week.
Bitter Truth 1 — Recognising Is Not Recalling
Rereading a page until it feels familiar trains recognition. The exam hall tests recall: producing the answer from a blank script, from memory, under the clock. If your only revision method is rereading, you’re training the wrong skill entirely.
The fix: After every session, close the book and write out everything you just covered, from memory, in your own words. What you can’t reproduce, you don’t know yet.
If you want the complete walkthrough with all four truths and their fixes, watch the full YouTube lesson. Bill goes through each one step by step.
EXAM TIP: Examiners never see how many hours you logged or how many times you reread a chapter. They only see what you can produce from memory under time pressure. That’s the only thing worth training for.
Bitter Truth 2 — New Material Feels Like Progress. Finishing What You Have Is Progress.
Downloading another set of notes or another video series gives a hit of “I’m doing something,” without requiring you to face the unfinished, uncomfortable parts of what you already own. Before adding anything new this week, finish one thing you already started — all the way through, including the parts you’ve been avoiding.
Bitter Truth 3 — You Avoid Past Questions Because They Show You What You Don’t Know
Vague revision keeps you comfortable. A timed past question tells you exactly where you’re weak, right now. Most candidates delay that discomfort — but the exam delivers the same discomfort on the real day, at the worst possible time. Book one full past question this week, under real time pressure, and mark it honestly.
Bitter Truth 4 — There’s No Future Week With More Time Than This One
“I’ll get serious closer to the exam” assumes a calmer, more available version of you who never actually shows up. The only time you reliably have is the time you have this week. Build your plan around who you are right now, not who you hope to become closer to the sitting.
Conclusion
None of these four truths are about talent or effort — they’re about whether your study habits produce the one thing that’s actually marked: what you can recall, under pressure, on the day. Fix even one of these this week and your preparation starts converting into marks instead of just hours logged.
Ready to Go Deeper?
The structured revision programme on Profstudymate is built around recall practice, timed past questions, and a realistic weekly plan — not just more material to collect. Join the live classes on Profstudymate.
Join the free newsletter for weekly study tips, exam breakdowns and insider strategies, and get the Profs physical and digital textbooks to build your recall practice around.
