Big achievements start with small actions
As a Registered Tax Return Preparer (RTRP) candidate, what would make you happy in your current position? Completing review of any of the 7 domains of the RTRP exam outline?
I guess it’s the same as asking yourself, will you wait until you reach your goal of earning $100,000, $500,000 per year to celebrate, or will you celebrate incremental increases in your earnings of $50, $100 or $1,000 per week or month, until you reach your goal? of $100,000 or $500,000, knowing that without the smaller steps you won’t be able to reach the bigger goal anyway?
The point is that, most of the time, great achievements are the result of an accumulation of small successes.
New research from Stanford and the Harvard University School of Business has found that people feel better about incremental accomplishments than hitting big goals all at once. That brings to mind the fact that a sense of incremental but steady progress is the true source of feeling good in any area of our lives. In that sense, daily progress, or small steps, tend to lead to greater achievements.
By applying the above concepts to the RTRP exam, it is the positive action of gradually adding to the preparation process that makes it an achievable goal right down to the possibility of passing the exam on your first try. A series of small successes is powerful and increases your self-confidence to work towards the big goal.
The following are some small steps you could take in your preparation for the RTRP exam. As you successfully complete each step, you’ll gradually feel better, and when you complete your preparation, you’ll feel confident that you’ll pass the exam on your first try.
Step 1: Thoroughly study or review the content of each of the 7 areas of the IRS test specification outline. Focus on the topics you feel least informed about rather than the ones your knowledge is strong on. What you know today, you will remember on test day.
Step 2: Take additional notes as you study and use them for quick reviews as often as time allows, such as during your lunch hour at work. Repetition during quick reviews will increase your ability to recall information quickly, when you need it most.
Step 3: Practice, practice, and then practice some more using a suitable multiple choice test bank. This will familiarize you with solving problems similar to those you will face in the test center.
Practicing the mock exam will help you gain confidence about the exam process, navigating the test room computer, question format, and tempering your expectations on test day at the Prometric center.
By preparing step by step, being fully informed and aware of the entire exam process, you gain control over the exam and have a better chance of passing the exam on your first try.
Regardless of what you do to prepare for test day, keep in mind that there is no fast track to passing the RTRP exam. You pass the exam by answering all the questions you are sure of the answers to and remembering that there is no penalty for getting it right, especially if you get it right. The point is, don’t leave any question unanswered. Passing the exam consists of correctly clicking enough answers in the allotted time to accumulate a score of 70%. It’s about adding points to your final score with each click.
All that said, passing the RTRP exam requires more than just studying the tax-related topics included in the exam outline and practicing with mock exams. Well-prepared and well-informed candidates can fail if they give in to test anxiety for lack of an exam strategy to handle the challenges of being in the exam room. Fortunately, the many fears that can hold you back can be lessened, if not completely neutralized, by acknowledging them beforehand and then taking steps to put the right measures in place to restore your confidence on test day.