ATPL Study guide – What to expect from your ATPL theory examinations

If you are starting out your ATPL theory examinations and not sure what to expect,
then keep reading.

This guide has been written to cover even the most basic questions I keep seeing

If you are reading this, then you are probably wanting to know the best methods to
study your ATPL examinations, and take it from experience they are something you
have never experienced before, if you are married or have a relationship I would
recommend you speak to your partners and show them this document (And I am not
joking either, set your expectations to your partner so they don’t feel unwanted)

But let’s get to business…..

Are the exams hard? Of course, they are, you are going to be in charge of an airliner
one day and responsible for passengers lives, they don’t hand these exams to just
anyone. But can they be passed.. absolutely, I have seen some of the least academic
people get through these but there is a massive element of dedication required. The
material may put you off, you may have received your pack of books and are already
regretting this decision, there is a lot of material to get through but it can be done.

Your social life will take a hit undoubtedly , and we have all experienced it, I would
even feel guilty going to do a Tesco shop as its 1 hour I could of spent reading the
books , expect a year of it too, its important that’s once you start you don’t have too
many events that may hindur your study progress, if you have any holidays try
associate them so they take place after your exams for one of the modules, taking a 2
week holiday half way through a module will set you back another 4 weeks easily as
you have to read through everything again

How long should I study per exam? For someone who is part time I would
recommend a course of around 3-4 months per module assuming you can get through
2-3 hours a night of studying, this is a reasonable pace. But this is down to your own
pace, don’t rush, but don’t take too long either (I will come on to why next), a good
idea is too book the exams maybe 2-3 months in to your module for 4-6 weeks later
(You can always cancel/move your exams for free with 7 days notice) , don’t forget
you also have to contend with the problem of getting an exam slots, so get the slot
booked in and at least you know the exam is there for you if you want to take it. – if
you need more time…. Then cancel and rebook it for a month later.

Why should I not take too long? So here is the deal with ATPL theory
examinations, they are very much more of a memory game, once you have read
through all the books the next mission is to keep it In your memory, and this is why
its not a great idea to take time off when your studying once you have started, you
will be amazed how much having a week off from reading the books has an effect on
your revision and for this reason I say…show this to your partner! , even having a day
off can have an impact (but we do all need a break from time to time), just don’t take
long extended breaks of more than a few days, it will cost you a week in catch up
time. Instead once you have completed a module, take a week, a month, as long as
you need before settling back in to another pack of books!(But don’t forget you have
18 month timer ticking after that 1st exam is complete to finish the lot)

Am I ready for my exam? Use the question banks to test your knowledge, some
students learn from the banks, some learn from reading and testing your knowledge
on the banks after, for this I can’t say the best method for learning its down to each
person.

Study resources – Don’t rely on one source for your learning material, buy a few
books on ebay from a different centres, whilst the BGS,CATS & Oxford manuals are
no doubt amazing, you may find a few other area’s are explained in other books and it
can really help having some additional sources to look at

[Link]
ebook/dp/B07HQWV53B

This book is a great resource, it doesn’t break things down as granular as the books
but it’s a great revision tool, all subjects are covered in one BIG book

Youtube also has stacks of videos – all ripped off from oxford I must say, but they are
there and free

[Link]

Whilst these videos are monotone at times, they are over all a brilliant resource non
the less.

Sittings – how many exams should I take at a time

So you get 6 sittings to take 14 exams in – do not take 2-3 exams per sitting, If you
get to sitting 6 and fail an exam, you are stuck, You have no sittings to take anymore
exams! The general split is 3-5 exams per sittings, and having them completed in 3-4
sittings, this leave you a nice buffer to resit any failed exams should you need it. Its
entirely your call but spanning it out across all 6 sittings is a terrible idea, even 5 is a
push! I have seen students fail a 5th sitting exam, with one shot left and I dread to
think the pressure they are under of having one chance to pass an exam or everything
they have done is to be done all over again

When booking the exams, try spread them out over the week, 1-2 exams a day, (1 a
day ideally, to be explained why at the end this will help) - appreciate there are
accommodation costs and time off work, but the cost of resitting in an exam in time
and effort will out weigh this

For exams like VFR & IFR & Mass & balance, you could comfortably put these on
the same day as another subject as they are easier….(easier….you can still fail them
so don’t get too comfortable)

Facebook
There are many groups out there to help you, but please….if someone has posted a
feedback document don’t message asking “if the exam was hard” – its annoying! I
would post a feedback document to find my inbox with 20 people asking me
questions about the exam that I have just posted about it.

How should you use the question banks?

How ever you wish! Some students spend a full month just blasting out questions,
some do not use them much, do what works for you but 100% use them at least once
to test your knowledge.

Revision strategy

This is my strategy, everyone has their own method, do not take it for gospel

weeks 1-7 – Based on 3 hours studying a night

So you have subjects,A,B,C,D – read through A fully,B fully,etc etc – and make
notes…lots of them, but be sensitible, I have seen the most ridiculous extended notes
where the user has gone as close to rewriting the whole book(but if this is what works
for you then its your call)

Maybe watch the YouTube videos mentioned earlier too, (they can range from 5-20
hours per subject) they are something you can watch one day in bed at least, each
subject will have a different length of time required to get through.

AGK is huge for example, VFR is the size of a take away menu, some maybe take 1
weeks, some take 4 weeks, at this point though take your time, there is no massive
rush to absorb everything(that comes later)

Week 7

Spend some time on the question banks, probably get upset because you are getting
50-60%, don’t panic…. This is common.

Week 7-9

Read through books A,B,C,D again… at a faster pace

Make notes again, a much more condensed version..…. maybe at this point begin to
aim to write a 10-12 page revision note book per subject on the areas you are
struggling most (which is what you will read the day before the exam)

This is the point where you are now in a race with your own brain to maintain
everything in its memory, and you are likely to be more fragile to forgetting things if
have a break for a few days

Week 9-10

Question banks again, hopefully scores are increasing now….

Keep reading your notes and skimming the books its important to keep things in
memory

week 11-12

At this point, I would then start to read through A,B,C,D again but not spending more
then 2-3 days per subject, at this point you are starting to realise how fast you are
forgetting stuff you only learnt ,

Week 12-13
Question banks and revision – sit on the question bank , cant answer a question, find
the answer in the books

Week 13-14

2 weeks before the exams

Read & skim your notes and books…..hopefully your exams are now approaching,
start to aim to spend 1 day per book, reading revisions notes, using the question banks
, you are wanting to try get in to habit of having to of read the books close to each
other as possible, and question banking… find your missing gaps! Hopefully you are
scoring 80% by now and we are fine tuning the gaps

1 week to the exam – are you ready? consider cancelling if not

Days before the exam, you are probably panicking now , at this point I would aim to
spend the majority of my time on the question banks and reading through the
condensed note pack you made

day before exam Focus solely on the subject you have tomorrow, stay the night
before in the accommodation, get there early in the day to give you a full day of study
,use the question bank, and revision notes

Now if you have booked 1 exam a day, this gives you a nice gap between each exam
to revise,

Once the exams are all finished, relax….. and wait for those results on the Friday!
Nothing will make your heart sink more than when you get the email “exam results
updated”

Once you have finished your first exam sitting, you are officially an experienced
ATPL theory student, and wait for those exam results to come in! at this point you are
more aware of the commitment and scale of work needed, so you can go in to MOD2
knowing more about the pattern that works for you