18th Edition exam...Thursday

[Chris86]

Good evening all,

Booked in for the 18th edition exam on Thursday morning after completing the online training package with XS training.

Been getting 90% plus on the majority of the practice tests and felt pretty confident.......until yesterday when the doubts started to set in. I suppose a lot of it comes down to being in my 40's and it been a good long while since I last sat a C&G exam. I am also hearing it's much harder than the 17th.

Anyone already passed who can confirm just how awful it is and/or tell me to get a grip!

ATB

Chris

 

[westward10]

It is not difficult if you can navigate the Regs and treble check the answer tallys to the question. The questions flow through the book generally so it doesn't jump back and forth between sections. The bulk of the marks fall into Parts 4 and 5 of the Regs about 20 to 30 questions which are the most difficult. As I said treble check even if you think you know the answer without looking it up.

 

[ruston]

Good luck Chris . I did the 17th when I was 60.
I felt as you did. As soon as the exam started I calmed down and passed it. It was the first online one that I had done , I was more worried about that to be honest.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Yes good luck, got mine next week.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

@Chris86 my best advice would be to use the full two hours you have available to pick up some extra marks. Like you, I was regularly getting around 90% on the practice tests, but was finishing them in around an hour.

At the exam, I took a little extra time working through the 60 questions, completing it with around 40 minutes to spare. I then used this time to go back and double check my answers and did make 4 or 5 changes. This paid off, with a 98.3% (59/60) result.

 

[westward10]

Same as me Tony we both got one incorrect.

 

[KEV 1 N]

I did a One day course last month with the exam at the end.
I had previously done the 17th over 10 week (3 hours per week with mock tests)
I found the 1 day course (compared to 10 week) to be very rushed and really can’t remember anything, it was so fast paced! And no mock tests!
Having said that, I did PASS!73% part 4, 64% part 5 and 100% on the others. Total 85%
During the course the tutor would make suggestions of where to fit “post it” notes in the book....I had several in places while others, the book was practically full! During the exam....hardly any of the post it notes were of any use and mainly got in the way!
60 questions in 2 hours, 2 mins a question. I found some took around 4-5 minutes to answer and others well under the 2min. I finished the exam with around 1 minute to spare!
Also a lot of the questions were worded badly (typical city and guilds!)

As long as you can navigate the book, you should be fine, and don’t linger too long on a difficult question, flag it and leave them till last....good luck!!

 

[westward10]

Sounds exactly like mine Kev it was pointless the tutor had two packs of Post its I was the only one with none in my book and I had to correct him twice as the info he said was incorrect. He never once spoke about the 18th Ed changes.

 

[Strima]

It's the same exam as the 17th with a couple more questions relevant to the 18th added in.

If you passed the 17th then the 18th is no different.

Complete waste of money if you ask me as it should be about the relevant changes not just rehashing an old exam to extort more money out of us.

 

[littlespark]

I got mine on Friday this week. I am also in my 40’s

Get a grip, OP!

 

[KEV 1 N]

Sounds exactly like mine Kev it was pointless the tutor had two packs of Post its I was the only one with none in my book and I had to correct him twice as the info he said was incorrect. He never once spoke about the 18th Ed changes.

I pleased the company paid for it as I feel it was a waste of time and money!

Tutor “ ok, we now fit metal clad DBs....moving on. Anybody heard of AFDDs?.......ok, we now fit them but it’s not currently a requirement....moving on....”

That’s pretty much how it all went, although one thing I remember is an MCB is now called a CB!
Over and out!

 

[Deleted member 105166]

During the course the tutor would make suggestions of where to fit “post it” notes in the book....I had several in places while others, the book was practically full! During the exam....hardly any of the post it notes were of any use and mainly got in the way!

The only useful tabs or post it notes to insert are for the 7 chapters + a handful of appendices that you regularly refer to.

You'd have thought for an £80 book, the publisher could distinguish the chapters somehow using colour, even a solid flash like used in the On-Site Guide would be better than nothing.

 

[Chris86]

Thanks all for your replies, I do feel slightly better now (only slightly though) All advice about checking back through will be taken on board, as will flagging the more difficult ones and moving on.

As always with me, it's the questions that require the calculations that slow me right down. Maths has never been my strong point and under exam conditions I am even worse. Doing the XS training practice tests, I have never come across a question requiring a calculation yet if I try the ----------- online quiz I get loads and my mind goes blank. Roughly how many of the 60 questions will require calculation?

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Chris

 

[westward10]

No questions require calculations.

 

[sinewove]

No questions require calculations.

Not in my exam,had to work out voltage drop on a given cct lengthy.