From the Accreditation Board
The IPEd Accreditation Board is making plans for next year’s accreditation exam to be held on Monday 12 August 2024. Part of the planning process is to hold exam preparation workshops for prospective candidates. There will likely be at least two rounds of these workshops, to be held between February and May. We propose to hold some sessions on weekends and others on weekdays to accommodate people’s varying schedules.
The purpose of these workshops is twofold: to give potential candidates guidance on how to prepare for sitting the exam or to help them decide whether they are ready to tackle the challenge, valuable knowledge in itself. If you do decide to sit the exam, the workshops should help you to work out your exam timing strategy, provide you with insight into the format and likely contents of the exam and give you practice in exercises like those that will appear in the exam.
The exam preparation workshops will follow a format similar to that used in 2020 and 2022. Each round consists of three 2-hour online workshops, with each workshop focusing on the content of one part of the exam (Language, Knowledge and Manuscript). They include practical exercises to test editing knowledge and skills using exam-format PDF and Word files with questions similar to those asked in the exam.
Each session also provides guidance on exam structure and marking and presents useful exam strategies, including preparation, time management and effective use of digital and hard-copy resources. In addition, because of the interactive format, participants have opportunities to ask questions about particular concerns they may have. Many also take advantage of meeting other potential candidates online to form study groups to support each other in exam preparation.
The presenters of the workshops are AEs who have been involved with the exam preparation process for years. They are prepared to share their personal experiences as well as imparting technical information about the exam’s content and format. Feedback received from participants in previous workshops has been positive. Previous participants have found the workshops to be fun as well as informative and have commented on the friendly and approachable manner of the presenters. Overall, participants came away from the workshops with increased confidence and greater knowledge about gaps in their skills that needed more study.
Some specific comments were:
- “I was definitely given a reality check, but not so much that I want to pull out. It made me realise how much study I will need to do.”
- “The workshop has allowed me to make a clear study plan and given me greater knowledge of my strengths and weaknesses.”
So if you’re still debating whether you’re ready to sit next year’s exam, keep an eye out for announcements of dates for the workshops early next year. Even if you decide not to sit the exam, you could have some fun, learn some tips and meet other editors keen on upgrading their qualifications.
Editor’s note: Note that the fundamental editing skills assessed in the exam are also taught as part of regular IPEd training. Watch out for the “Accreditation Skills” workshops run by SCPD.