If you have sat a CITG or ADIT paper and failed, you already know the quiet frustration of working hard and still seeing the wrong result. This article tells an illustrative story, built from patterns common among tax candidates, and shows the three changes that turn effort into marks. Note that the candidate, whom we will call Kofi, is not a real individual. He represents a pattern.
Why does this matter for your exam? Because many candidates respond to a fail by repeating the same method with more hours. That rarely works. Understanding why will save you a sitting.
Where Kofi started
Kofi works in a finance department. His days are long, and his study time is squeezed into commutes and late evenings. He read the textbook cover to cover, highlighted heavily, watched lectures on his phone, and postponed past questions until the syllabus was “finished”. It never was. He failed twice with the same approach.
The lesson: two identical results from an identical method is not bad luck. It is feedback.
The turning point
Kofi placed his answer script beside his notes and asked where he had actually lost marks. He found that he knew more than he had written. His answers stopped short of applying the facts, his workings were unclear in places, and he had run out of time on later parts.
He had been training input (learning) for an exam that rewards output (marks). The moment he changed the question from “how do I learn more?” to “how do I produce marks under exam conditions?”, everything changed.
The three changes
1. Past questions first. Attempt a question cold and timed. Then repair the exact gaps it exposes from the textbook. The question teaches, the textbook supports.
2. An error log. After each attempt, write one line per lost mark: “did not apply to the facts”, “no conclusion”, “ran out of time on part (c)”. After two weeks, you can see your own pattern and stop guessing what to fix.
3. A protected hour. One hour, same time daily, phone in another room. Consistency builds familiarity under pressure.
Faith and preparation
Many candidates pray before exams. That is valuable. The danger is using prayer as a substitute for preparation. A healthier frame, whatever your belief, is to pray for peace and focus, then do the work you are praying about. Prayer without preparation is hoping. Preparation without peace is anxiety. Together, they are confidence.
The result
In this scenario, Kofi’s third sitting was different. He had practised under time pressure repeatedly. He read each question, planned briefly, applied the facts, concluded, and finished. He was calm because nothing in the paper was new to his hands.
EXAM TIP: In tax papers, marks come from applying the rule to the facts and reaching a conclusion, not from reciting the rule. Practise under time, show clear workings, and always conclude.
Your 5-step plan this week
- Attempt one past question tonight, cold and timed.
- Mark it honestly. One line per lost mark.
- Fix only what that question exposed.
- Protect one daily hour and tell someone about it.
- Take thirty seconds before each session to pray, breathe or set your intention, then start the clock.
Conclusion
Your next result will be shaped by the next fourteen days. Change the method, not just the hours. Keep faith, and do the work.
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