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Using FE Civil Review Manual for FE Review for the FE Exam

AboutPPI'sCivilFEReviewManualIntroductionHowToAbout
theExamStratagiesforpassingtheExam

PART2:HOWYOUCANUSETHISBOOK
FORFEREVIEW
IFYOUAREASTUDENTSTUDYINGFOR
THEFEEXAM
InreferencetoIsaacAsimovsFoundationandEmpiretrilogy,youllsoon
experienceaSeldoncrisis.Givenallthefactors(theexamyouretaking,what
youlearnedasastudent,howmuchtimeyouhavebeforetheexam,andyour
ownpersonality),thebehaviors(strategiesmadeevidentthroughaction)required
ofyouwillbeselfevident.
HerearesomeofthosestrategiesforyourFEreview.

GETTHENCEESFEREFERENCEHANDBOOK
GetacopyoftheNCEESHandbook.Useitasyoureadthroughthisbook.You
willwanttoknowthesequenceofthesections,whatdataisincluded,andthe
approximatelocationsofimportantfiguresandtablesintheNCEESHandbook.
Youshouldalsoknowtheterminology(wordsandphrases)usedintheNCEES
Handbooktodescribeequationsorsubjects,becausethosearethetermsyouwill
havetolookupduringtheexam.
TheNCEESHandbookisavailablebothinprintedandPDFformat.Theindexof
theprintversionmayhelpyoulocateanequationorotherinformationyouare
lookingfor,butfewtermsareindexedthoroughly.ThePDFversionincludes
searchfunctionalitythatissimilartowhatyoullhaveavailablewhentakingthe
computerbasedexam.InordertofindsomethingusingthePDFsearchfunction,
yoursearchtermwillhavetomatchthecontentexactly(includingpunctuation).

DIAGNOSEYOURSELF
UsetheFEReviewdiagnosticexamsonfeprep.comtodeterminehowmuchyou
shouldstudyinthevariousknowledgeareas.Youcanusediagnosticexams(and,
otherassessments)intwoways:takethembeforeyoubeginstudyingto
determinewhichsubjectsyoushouldemphasize,ortakethemafteryoufinish
studyingtodetermineifyouarereadytomoveon.

MAKEASCHEDULE
InordertocompleteyourFEreviewofallexaminationsubjects,youmust
developandadheretoaFEreviewschedule.IfyouarenottakingaliveFE
reviewcourse(wheretheorderofyourpreparationisdeterminedbythelectures),
youllwanttoprepareyourownschedule.Ifyouwanttopenciloutascheduleon
paper,ablankstudyscheduletemplateisprovidedattheendofthisIntroduction.
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Theamountofmaterialineachchapterofthisbook,andthenumberofquestions
inthecorrespondingchapterofFECivilPracticeProblems,weredesignedtofit
intoapracticalschedule.Youshouldbeabletoreviewonechapterineachbook
eachday.Thereare62chaptersand16diagnosticexamsinthisbook,aswellas
correspondingchaptersofpracticeproblemsinthecompanionbookFECivil
PracticeProblems.So,youneedatleast78studydays.Thisrequiresyoutotreat
everydaythesameandworkthroughweekends.
Ifyoudrathertakealltheweekendsoffandotherwisestickwiththeonechapter
perstudydayconcept,youwillhavetobeginapproximately110daysbeforethe
exam.Usetheoffdaystorest,review,andstudyquestionsfromotherbooks.If
youarepressedfortimeorgetbehindschedule,youdonthavetotakethedays
off.Thatwillbeyourchoice.
Neartheexamdate,giveyourselfaweektotakearealisticpracticeexam,to
remedyanyweaknessesitexposes,andtorecoverfromthewholeordeal.

WORKTHROUGHEVERYTHING
NCEEShasgreatlyreducedthenumberofsubjectsaboutwhichyouareexpected
tobeknowledgeableandhasmadenothingoptional.Skippingyourweakest
subjectsisnolongeraviablepreparationstrategy.Youshouldstudyall
examinationknowledgeareas,notjustyourspecialtyareas.Thatmeansyou
studyeverychapterinthisbookandskipnothing.Donotlimitthenumberof
chaptersyoustudyinhopesoffindingenoughquestionsinyourareasof
expertisetopasstheexam.

BETHOROUGH
Beingthoroughmeansreallydoingthework.Readthematerial,dontskimit.
Solveeachnumericalexampleusingyourcalculator.Readthroughthesolution,
andreferbacktotheequations,figures,andtablesitreferences.
Dontjumpintoansweringquestionswithoutfirstreviewingtheinstructionaltext
inthisbook.Unlikereferencebooksthatyouskimormerelyrefertowhen
needed,thisbookrequiresyoutoreadeverything.Thatreadingisgoingtobe
youronlyreview.Readingtheinstructionaltextisahighvalueactivity.There
isntmuchtexttoreadinthefirstplace,sothevalueperwordishigh.There
arentanyderivationsorproofs,sothetextisuseful.Everythinginbluetitled
sectionsisintheNCEESHandbook,soithasahighprobabilityofshowingupon
theexam.

WORKPROBLEMS
Youhavelessthananaverageofthreeminutestoanswereachquestiononthe
exam.Youmustbeabletoquicklyrecallsolutionprocedures,formulas,and
importantdata.Youwillnothavetimetoderivesolutionmethodsyoumust
knowtheminstinctively.Thebestwaytodevelopfastrecallistoworkasmany
practiceproblemsasyoucanfind,includingthoseinthecompanionbookFE
CivilPracticeProblems.Solveeveryexampleinthisbookandeveryproblemin
FECivilPracticeProblems.Dontskipanyofthem.Alloftheproblemswere
writtentoillustratekeypoints.Additionalpracticeproblemscanbepurchased
fromfeprep.com,FEreviewwebsite
PPIcreatedfeprepasaonestopFEreviewwebsitedesignedforthenewFE
exam.
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FINISHSTRONG
Therewillbephysicaldemandsonyourbodyduringtheexamination.Itisvery
difficulttoremainalert,focused,andattentiveforsixhoursormore.
Unfortunately,themoretimeyoustudy,thelesstimeyouhavetomaintainyour
physicalcondition.Thus,mostexamineesarriveattheexaminationsiteinhigh
mentalconditionbutindeterioratedphysicalcondition.Whilepreparingforthe
FEexamisnottheonlygoodreasonforembarkingonaphysicalconditioning
program,itcanserveasagoodincentivetogetinshape.

CLAIMYOURREWARD
AsHariSeldonoftensaidinIsaacAsimovsFoundationandEmpiretrilogy,the
outcomeofyouractionswillbeinevitable.

IFYOUAREANINSTRUCTOR
CBTChallenges
Thecomputerbasedtesting(CBT)FEexamformat,content,andfrequent
administrationpresentseveralchallengestoteachingaliveFEreviewcourse.
SomeofthechallengesareinsurmountabletoalmostallFEreviewcourses.Live
FEreviewcoursescannotbeofferedyearround,adifferentcurriculumis
requiredforeachengineeringdiscipline,andahardcopy,inclassmockexam
takenattheendofthecoursenolongerpreparesexamineesfortheCBT
experience.Thebestthatinstructorscandoistobehonestaboutthelimitations
oftheircourses,andtoreferexamineestoanyothercompatibleresources.
Manyofthestandard,triedandtruefeaturesofliveFEreviewcoursesare
functionallyobsolete.Theseobsoletefeaturesincludegenerallecturesthatcover
everything,complexnumericalexampleswithmorethantwoorthreesimple
steps,instructorpreparedhandoutscontainingnotesandlistsofreference
materials,andahardcopymockexam.Asbeneficialasthosefeatureswereinthe
past,theyarenolongerbestcommercialpracticefortheCBTFEexam.
However,theymaystillbeusedandprovidevaluetoexaminees.
ThisbookparallelsthecontentoftheNCEESHandbookand,withtheexceptions
listedinthisIntroduction,usesthesameterminologyandnomenclature.The
figuresandtablesareequivalenttothoseintheNCEESHandbook.Youcanfeel
confidentthatIhadyourstudentsandthesuccessofyourcourseinmindwhenI
designedthisbook.

InstructionforMultipleExams
SincethisbookisintendedtobeusedbythosestudyingfortheCivilFEexam,
thereisnoeasywaytouseitasthebasisformorethanaCivilFEexamreview
course.
Historically,mostcommercialFEreviewcourses(takenprimarilybyengineers
whoalreadyhavetheirdegrees)preparedexamineesfortheOtherDisciplinesFE
examination.Thatisprobablytheonlylogical(practical,sustainable,etc.)course
ofaction,evennow.FewcommercialFEreviewcourseprovidershavethelarge
customerbaseanddiverseinstructorsneededtooffersimultaneouscoursesfor
everydiscipline.
UniversityFEreviewcoursesfrequentlycombinestudentsfrommultiple
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disciplines,focusingtheFEreviewcoursecontentonthecoreoverlapping
conceptsandthetopicscoveredbytheOtherDisciplinesFEexam.Thechangein
theFEexamscopehasmadeitmorechallengingthanevertoadequatelyprepare
adiversestudentgroup.
Ifyouaretaskedwithteachingacoursetoexamineestakingmorethanoneexam,
refertotheguidelinesandsuggestionspostedatfeprep.com/instruct.The
materialsavailabletoFEreviewcourseinstructors(aswellasforexaminees)
continuetoevolve,andthatsitewillreferencethemostcurrentresources
available.

Lectures
Yourlecturesshouldduplicatewhattheexamineeswouldbedoinginaself
directedreviewprogram.Thatmeanswalkingthrougheachchapterinthisbook
initsentirety.Yourebasicallyguidingatourthroughthebook.Bycovering
everythinginthisbook,youllcovereverythingontheexam.

Handouts
EverythingyoudoinalectureshouldbetiedbacktotheNCEESHandbook.You
willbedoingyourstudentsagreatdisserviceifyougetthemaccustomedtousing
yourcoursehandoutsornotestosolveproblems.Theycantuseyournotesinthe
exam,sotrainthemtousetheonlyreferencetheyareallowedtouse.
NCEESallowsthattheexammayrequirebroaderknowledgethantheNCEES
Handbookcontains.However,thereareveryfewareasthatrequireformulasnot
presentintheNCEESHandbook.Therefore,youshouldntdeviatetoomuch
fromthesubjectmatterofeachchapter.

Homework
Studentsliketoseeandworkalotofproblems.Theyderivegreatcomfortfrom
exposuretoexamlikeproblems.Theyexperiencegreatreassuranceinworking
examlikeproblemsandfindingouthoweasytheproblemsare.However,most
studentsareimpatient.So,therepetitionandreinforcementshouldcomefrom
workingadditionalproblems,notfrommorelecture.
Itisunlikelythatyourstudentswillbeworkingtocapacityiftheirworkis
limitedtowhatisinthisbook.Youwillhavetoprovideordirectyourstudentsto
moreproblemsinordertohelpthemeffectivelymastertheconceptsyouwillbe
teaching.

Schedule
Ihavefoundthata15weekformatworksbestforaliveFEexamreviewcourse
thatcoverseverythingandisintendedforworkingengineerswhoalreadyhave
theirdegrees.Thisscheduleallowsforone2to21/2hourlectureperweek,with
a10minutebreakeachhour.
Table1outlinesatypicalformatforalivecommercialCivilFEreviewcourse.
Tosomedegree,thelecturesbuildupononeanother.However,acredible
decisioncanbemadetopresenttheknowledgeareasintheordertheyappearin
theNCEESHandbook.
However,a15weekcourseistoolongforjuniorandseniorengineeringmajors
stillworkingtowardadegree.Collegestudentsandprofessorsdonthavethat
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muchtime.And,studentsdontneedasthoroughofaFEreviewasdoworking
engineerswhohaveforgottenmoreofthefundamentals.Collegestudentscanget
bywiththemostcursoryofreviewsinsomeknowledgeareas,suchas
mathematics,fluidmechanics,andstatics.
Forcollegestudents,an8weekcourseconsistingofsixweeksoflectures
followedbytwoweeksofopenquestionsseemsappropriate.Ifpossible,two1
hourlecturesperweekaremorelikelytogetstudentstoattendthanasingle2or
3hourlectureperweek.Thecourseconsistsofacomprehensivemarchthrough
allknowledgeareasexceptmathematics,withthemajoremphasisbeingon
problemsolvingratherthanlecture.Forcurrentengineeringmajors,themain
goalsaretokeepthestudentsfocusedandtowakeuptheirlatentmemories,not
toteachthesubjects.
Table2outlinesatypicalformatforaliveuniversityreviewcourse.The
sequenceofthelecturesislessimportantforauniversityreviewcoursethanfora
commercialcourse,becausestudentswillhaverecentexperienceinthesubjects.
Somemayactuallybeenrolledinsomeoftherelatedcourseswhileyouare
conductingthereview.
IstronglybelieveinthebenefitsofexposingallFEreviewcourseparticipantsto
arealisticsampleexamination.Unlessyouhavemadearrangementswith
feprep.comforyourstudentstotakeanonlineexam,youprobablycannot
providethemwithanexperienceequivalenttotheactualexam.Awrittentake
homeexamisbetterthannothing,butsinceitwillnotmimictheexam
experience,itmustbepresentedaslittlemorethanadditionalproblemstosolve.
Inolongerrecommendaninclassgroupfinalexam.SinceaFEreviewcourse
usuallyendsonlyafewdaysbeforetherealFEexamination,itseemsinhumane
tomakestudentssitforhoursintothelateeveningforthefinalexam.So,ifyou
aregoingtouseawrittenmockexam,Irecommenddistributingitatthefirst
meetingoftheFEreviewcourseandassigningitasatakehomeexercise.

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