My 6-month study plan for EQE
Making a plan - in my opinion - is a good first step before actually starting studying. Firstly, you will feel like you have started preparing for the exam, which will calm you down. Secondly and more importantly, while making a plan, you will inevitably face how much there is to study. You cannot make a plan without thinking about the different aspects of the EQE, collecting the study materials, getting your books ready.
Do not forget that your plan must be flexible. You might need to spend more time studying the PCT or opposition than you originally planned. You might want to take a few days off, which is normal. Or you might find some additional materials that you want to add to your study plan.
Everyone is different. Some of you may prefer studying more hours few days a week, while others prefer studying 2 hours every day. Also, you know what your starting position is: Did you start preparing during the summer? Did you study a lot for the pre-exam? I finished a lot of questions from the book “Basic Legal Questions for Pre-Exam and Paper D” between May and July in order to keep my legal knowledge up to date.
Below is my rough plan; I will adjust it if needed. I will definitely take some days completely off in the autumn, and I will put my clients first. However, as we get closer to the EQE, I will be more strict with my studying, and might change my schedule so that I do more previous papers instead of legal questions.
So, my weekly plan looks something like this:
Monday:
2 questions from book “Main Exam Questions for Paper D” and the daily D question from the 12-week-long EPO course (the latter only between 28 September and 18 December 2020)
I plan spending about 2 hrs. with making notes, correcting and understanding the answers.
Tuesday:
2 questions from book “Main Exam Questions for Paper D” and the daily D question from the 12-week-long EPO course (the latter only between 28 September and 18 December 2020)
I plan spending about 2 hrs. with making notes, correcting and understanding the answers.
Wednesday:
One previous paper A/B/C/D and the daily D question from the 12-week-long EPO course (the latter only between 28 September and 18 December 2020)
Thursday:
2 questions from book “Main Exam Questions for Paper D” and the daily D question from the 12-week-long EPO course (the latter only between 28 September and 18 December 2020)
I plan spending about 2 hrs. with making notes, correcting and understanding the answers.
Friday:
2 questions from book “Main Exam Questions for Paper D” and the daily D question from the 12-week-long EPO course (the latter only between 28 September and 18 December 2020)
I plan spending about 2 hrs. with making notes, correcting and understanding the answers.
Saturday:
One previous paper A/B/C/D
Sunday:
Online meeting with my coach, discussing my questions, studying together, etc.
Other than that, on Sundays I try to be flexible and do what I really need: I might take the rest of the day off, read about PCT, or do some different quizzes.
I think that it is important that we also practice answering questions under time pressure – for example when doing previous papers; but sometimes we allow ourselves to take as much time as we need and find the legal basis and answer for every part of each question.
I would love to hear about your method! Please feel free to share your study plan with me in the comments.