Arif Irfanullah
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- Jun 18, 2026
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By Lakshmi Nagarajan and Arif Irfanullah, CFA
(This is part two of a three part blog)
In the previous post, we briefly ran through the structure of the exam, what materials you get from CFA Institute after registering for the exam, and an overview of the curriculum.
The curriculum from CFA Institute is organized into six volumes covering the 10 topics. Each topic is further divided into study sessions, and each study session into several readings. There are 61 readings in all for the June 2016 Level I exam spanning thousands of pages. Each reading consists of multiple learning outcomes (LOs).
Students find it intimidating to study so many pages and retain the material. I, often see students drawing a blank after studying the curriculum once. This is where preparatory providers step in by presenting the gist of the curriculum in a concise form, identifying the important concepts, what to focus on, and what not to.
How to use the curriculum:
Having emphasized the need for prep providers, remember that it is necessary to refer the curriculum at various stages when preparing for the exam. Relying solely on prep provider material may see you through Level I, but definitely not the other levels. Here are some useful guidelines on how and when to refer the curriculum:
· Go through the learning outcomes at the beginning of every reading. This will give you a fair understanding of the effort involved. The keywords in the learning outcome is an indicator of what is expected. Words such as calculate or evaluate imply there is a formula involved.
· Work through the blue box examples in between the readings.
· Sift through the summary at the end of every reading. The summaries in the curriculum are the best you will find as they cover the learning outcomes.
· After completing a reading, work through the end of reading examples.
· Mock Exams: A full-length mock exam consists of 240 questions spread over two 3-hour sessions. We advise you to time the exam and take the morning and afternoon sessions on the same day to replicate the actual exam experience. In the concluding part of this three-part series, we will advise you how to prepare for the exam in general. Stay tuned!
(This is part two of a three part blog)
In the previous post, we briefly ran through the structure of the exam, what materials you get from CFA Institute after registering for the exam, and an overview of the curriculum.
The curriculum from CFA Institute is organized into six volumes covering the 10 topics. Each topic is further divided into study sessions, and each study session into several readings. There are 61 readings in all for the June 2016 Level I exam spanning thousands of pages. Each reading consists of multiple learning outcomes (LOs).
Students find it intimidating to study so many pages and retain the material. I, often see students drawing a blank after studying the curriculum once. This is where preparatory providers step in by presenting the gist of the curriculum in a concise form, identifying the important concepts, what to focus on, and what not to.
How to use the curriculum:
Having emphasized the need for prep providers, remember that it is necessary to refer the curriculum at various stages when preparing for the exam. Relying solely on prep provider material may see you through Level I, but definitely not the other levels. Here are some useful guidelines on how and when to refer the curriculum:
· Go through the learning outcomes at the beginning of every reading. This will give you a fair understanding of the effort involved. The keywords in the learning outcome is an indicator of what is expected. Words such as calculate or evaluate imply there is a formula involved.
· Work through the blue box examples in between the readings.
· Sift through the summary at the end of every reading. The summaries in the curriculum are the best you will find as they cover the learning outcomes.
· After completing a reading, work through the end of reading examples.
· Mock Exams: A full-length mock exam consists of 240 questions spread over two 3-hour sessions. We advise you to time the exam and take the morning and afternoon sessions on the same day to replicate the actual exam experience. In the concluding part of this three-part series, we will advise you how to prepare for the exam in general. Stay tuned!