ICWIM exam tips
Knowing the material is most of the work. The rest is technique: reading each question properly, pacing yourself over 100 questions, and knowing exactly what to expect on exam day. These are practical habits, not shortcuts.
Read the question
Many wrong answers come from reading too fast, not from a gap in knowledge. In ICWIM questions, the answer is often in the wording.
Read the whole question before the options. Read to the last word of the question first. If you read half of it and jump to an option that looks familiar, you answer the question you expected rather than the one in front of you.
Find what is actually being asked. Small words change the answer: most likely, best, main, first, not, least. A question asking for the main concern can have three true options and only one that is the main one.
Notice who is acting. An adviser, a custodian, a trustee, a regulator and a client each have different duties. The same facts can lead to a different answer depending on whose position the question takes.
Answer it in your head first. Before you look at the options, decide roughly what the answer should be. Then look for the option that matches. That way, a well-written wrong option is less likely to pull you in.
Watch for true statements that do not answer the question. Several options can be correct facts. Only one answers what was asked. Re-read the last line of the question before you choose.
In the exam room
Know your pace. The paper is 100 questions in 120 minutes: 72 seconds a question. If you work at about a minute a question (around 30 done at 30 minutes, 60 at 60 minutes and 90 at 90 minutes), you finish with roughly 20 minutes to go back over the questions you flagged.
Do not get stuck. If a question is taking much longer than the rest, choose your best answer, flag it if the system allows, and move on. Come back at the end with fresh eyes.
Eliminate first. Rule out the options you know are wrong. If two remain, re-read the question for the word that separates them; it is usually there.
Leave nothing unanswered. An unanswered question cannot score. Before you submit, check that every question has an answer.
Change an answer for a reason, not a feeling. If, on review, you find something specific you misread or miscalculated, change it. Do not change answers just because you feel uneasy.
Calculations
Write the formula before the numbers. Many calculation mistakes come from the method, not the arithmetic. Name the formula first, then put the numbers in.
Check the inputs. Percentages against decimals, annual against monthly or quarterly rates, which currency is the base, and whether income is included. Many wrong options are built from exactly these slips.
Sense-check the answer. Before choosing, ask whether the size of the answer makes sense: a yield of 45% or a fund value that falls when it should grow is a sign to recalculate.
Practise with the calculator you will use. Your booking tells you whether you will have an on-screen calculator or may bring your own non-programmable one (see exam day below). Practise with that kind so you are quick with it on the day. Our formulas page shows which calculations the syllabus covers and where they sit.
The final two weeks
Sit full mocks under exam conditions. 100 questions, 120 minutes, no notes, no pausing. The aim is stamina and timing as much as knowledge.
Revise from your mistakes, not from page one. Your wrong answers show you exactly where the marks are. Re-reading whole chapters you already know is a slow way to improve.
Spend time where the marks are. Chapters 5 and 7 carry 21 questions each, Chapter 6 carries 15, Chapter 3 carries 14 and Chapter 8 carries 13. Do not neglect the small chapters either: they are often the most reliable marks in the paper. See the syllabus and chapter weightings.
Make the formulas automatic. If you have to think about which formula to use, you will run short of time. Drill them until choosing the method is instant.
Check for workbook updates. CISI publishes candidate updates and corrections. Check them for your edition before the exam (official resources).
Rest the day before. A tired candidate misreads questions. Light review, then stop.
Exam day
These points summarise CISI's Examination Regulations (version 16, April 2025). Rules can change, so read the current regulations and your booking confirmation before the day.
Bring valid photo identification. It must be an original (photocopies are not accepted), show a photo that looks like you, and carry exactly the name your exam is booked under.
Arrive early. At a test centre, CISI asks multiple-choice candidates to arrive at least 30 minutes before the start. For a remotely invigilated exam, begin check-in at least 15 minutes before.
Know what you may take in. For multiple-choice exams, no books, notes, watches or digital devices are allowed. Depending on how the exam is delivered, you use an on-screen calculator or may bring a non-programmable scientific calculator; check your booking details.
If you sit the exam remotely, test your equipment beforehand and stay in the camera's view for the whole exam. Leaving the room or the camera's view can end the exam.
Keep the content to yourself afterwards. CISI's rules do not allow candidates to share exam content with anyone. Bourse Prep's questions are all independently written; none is a real or recalled exam question.
How Bourse Prep helps you practise this
Practise reading carefully with Read aloud, which reads each question to you. In Practice, rate how sure you are before each answer is checked, so lucky guesses show up as gaps instead of hiding behind right answers. Sit the Master Exam: 100 questions in 120 minutes, like the real paper. And let your mistakes review show you what to revise next.
Sources
- CISI, Examination Regulations, version 16, April 2025: identification, arrival, permitted items, calculators, remote invigilation and confidentiality (exam day section).
- CISI, ICWIM qualification page: multiple-choice format, remote or test-centre delivery.
- The exam format (100 questions, 120 minutes) and the chapter weightings are as already published on Bourse Prep's What is ICWIM and syllabus pages, from the CISI ICWIM syllabus Version 7.