Revision materials

  1. Overview

Overview

You need to make the best use of your study time to maximise your chance of exam success. This includes making careful choices about which revision materials to use, and having a robust strategy for how and when to use them.

We know that every learner is different, which is why we have a wide range of revision materials, supporting different approaches to exam preparation. You can be sure that, regardless of your circumstances and learning preferences, there are efficient and effective options to help you on your path to qualifying as an actuary.

Our revision materials span the main phases of exam preparation, from learning and checking to rehearsing and assessing.

Learning and checking

The Course Notes, assignments, marking and some form of tuition are likely to be part of your learning and checking phases of exam preparation. To help commit key points to memory, we provide a range of additional products:

In choosing between these products, you should consider your preferences for reading or listening to material, and your lifestyle and routine. In particular, one or more of these products might be convenient to access at certain times or places, for example during a regular journey, and so be effective for fitting in additional bursts of studying.

We recommend that you move through two stages of exam question rehearsal, by practising answering:

  1. questions by topic - to consolidate your understanding and get you up to exam speed
  2. complete papers - representing the exam experience, the variety of questions, and the speed at which you need to work.

Rehearsing questions by topic is supported by the Revision Notes, ASET and The Vault.

The Mock Exam (contained in the CMP) allows you to rehearse a complete exam and assess your exam readiness. This can be supported by:

The benefits of the Mock Exam and Additional Mock Pack can be further enhanced by the use of marking, which would enable you to receive constructive feedback to help you refine your approach for the exam.

  1. Purpose
  2. Contents
  3. Format
  4. Samples
  5. Complementary products
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ActEd's Flashcards provide an efficient and effective way of memorising key points of the course.

We recommend that you use the cards actively and test yourself as you progress through your exam preparation.

Contents

The Flashcards cover the key points of the course which most students like to commit to memory.

Format

Each A6-sized flashcard has a question on one side and the answer on the reverse.

Flashcards are available as eBooks as well as a printed product. They are available in most subjects, namely Subjects CB1-2, CM1-2, CS1-2, CP1, SP1-2, SP4-5, SP7-9, SA2-4 and SA7.

Sample

The sample flashcards are in Adobe Acrobat format, and you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print it. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it here .

  1. Purpose
  2. Contents & Format
  3. Complementary products
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ActEd's Sound Revision has been designed to help you become more familiar with the most important aspects of the course. The audio format can benefit many learners, as it has been reported that 30% of information that is read is retained, but that this rises to 50% if the information is also heard.

The recordings are also perfect for use on-the-go, or where taking folders and notes is impractical or inconvenient.

Sound Revision is currently available for Subjects CP1, SP2, SP4 and SA2.

Contents & Format

Sound Revision consists of a set of audio files, being split into a number of manageable topics based on the chapters in the Course Notes. The audio files are made available as downloads from our virtual learning environment, The Hub.

Complementary products

  1. Purpose
  2. Contents
  3. Format
  4. Samples
  5. Complementary products
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Having been designed with input from students, ActEd's Revision Notes will help you to revise efficiently. They are suitable for first-time sitters who have worked through the ActEd Course Notes or for repeat-purchases, who should find them much more useful and challenging than simply reading through the course again.

Contents

Each booklet covers one main theme of the course and typically includes:

  • all the relevant Core Reading, with a set of integrated short questions to develop your bookwork knowledge
  • up to ten years of relevant past exam questions with concise solutions
  • other useful revision aids.

Revision Notes are currently available in Subjects CM1-2, CS1-2, CP1, SP1-2, SP4, SP5 and SP7-9.

Format

Revision Notes are available in printed A5-booklet format or as an eBook - perfect for revising on the train or tube to work.

EBooks can be purchased as an addition to the printed product or as a stand-alone product.

Samples

Download three sample sections from a Subject CM1 Revision Notes book:

The sample Revision Notes are in Adobe Acrobat format, and you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print it. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it here.

  1. Purpose
  2. Contents
  3. ActEd solutions
  4. Format
  5. Answer templates and data files
  6. Samples
  7. User guide
  8. Complementary products
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ActEd's Solutions with Exam Technique (ASET) and The Vault can both be used to practise exam questions, and to gain a feel for the depth and breadth of knowledge required for the exam.

They might be used:
  • firstly, to help you work through some of the older questions by topic, so as to improve your understanding of each part of the course
  • subsequently, to help you work through the more recent papers as practice exams, attempting some under exam conditions as additional mocks.

The Vault also enables you to search for past exam questions by topic, as well as by year / exam paper.

We recommend you pick just one of these two products, and work through questions actively, ie attempting the questions before reading the solutions.

Contents

ASET The Vault
Exam papers from April 2021 to September 2024 (except for Subject SA1 where ASET covers the April and September 2022 exams) Exam papers from April 2014 to September 2024
Questions organised by exam paper Questions organised by exam paper and by topic
ActEd's full solutions (as described below) ActEd's full solutions (as described below) and IFoA solutions from Examiners' Reports
ActEd full solutions include not only a valid answer to the question but also comments to help you with your exam technique - including references to relevant course material. Where appropriate, they also include alternative valid approaches.

Separate mini-ASETs covering the April and September 2026 exam paper(s) will also be available (except in Subject SA1).

ActEd solutions

The ActEd solutions in ASET are updated for syllabus changes and changes to the Course Notes since the date of the exam sitting.

The Vault contains the current ASET solutions for recent exam questions, and the most recently updated ASET solutions for older exam questions. Therefore, when using the older solutions, there may have been subsequent syllabus changes and changes to the Course Notes (eg chapter names and numbers or Core Reading) that could impact the solution. If the syllabus changes are more extensive and a question is no longer examinable, a warning will be shown and/or the question will not be shown in the Vault. There are no ActEd solutions to the 2018 exams.

Format

ASET is available in all subjects except Subject SA7. Most ASETs are available in printed format or as an eBook (Subject SA1 is eBook only, as are the mini-ASETs in all subjects). EBooks can be purchased as an addition to the printed product or as a standalone product.

The Vault is accessed online via The Hub and is available in all subjects except Subjects CP2, CP3, SA1 and SA7. Students have access for up to 13 months. An eBook of ASET solutions is also contained within The Vault. This eBook is intended to allow offline access to questions and ActEd solutions and increase accessibility, eg for those who have difficulty reading text in The Vault.

In some subjects you will need to work from a template and/or refer to data files. These are available from within each subject's 'Studying Subject' course in our virtual learning environment, The Hub.

Samples

The ASET samples are in Adobe Acrobat format, and you will need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print it. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download it here .

  1. Purpose
  2. Contents
  3. Format
  4. Answer templates and data files
  5. Complementary products
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The Additional Mock Pack (AMP) provides two further mock exams, for those students who want more than the Mock Exam that forms part of the Combined Material Pack.

Like the Mock Exam, the AMP has been to designed to:
  • give you practice at answering exam-style questions
  • enable you to rehearse the exam experience
  • help you assess your exam readiness by benchmarking against the passing standard.

Marking Vouchers can be used if you would like your attempts at the additional mocks marked by ActEd.

Contents

The AMP consists of two further mock exams in all subjects. It is ideal if you are retaking and have already sat the Mock Exam, or if you want some extra question practice and exam rehearsal.

The AMP is only available as an eBook, not print.

To complete the mock exams in some subjects you will need to work from a template and/or refer to data files. These are available from within each subject's 'Studying Subject' course in our virtual learning environment, The Hub.