NCFM Technical Analysis study plan

Define the core premises of technical analysis (price discounts everything, prices trend, history repeats) and state one limitation of each premise

Distinguish the six major chart types (line, bar, candlestick, point-and-figure, Renko, Heikin-Ashi) by construction and by what each obscures

Label the anatomy of a candlestick (real body, upper and lower shadow, open, close, high, low) and decode 10 given OHLC rows into bullish, bearish, or indecision candles

Compute simple support/resistance levels from a supplied 30-bar OHLC table by identifying swing highs and swing lows

Identify and sketch reversal patterns (head and shoulders, double and triple top/bottom, rounding bottom) with their confirmation and measured-move rules

Identify and sketch continuation patterns (triangles, flags, pennants, rectangles, cup and handle) and state the volume behaviour expected in each

Apply measured-move targets to five pattern examples and record the implied target price

Explain the role of volume confirmation and distinguish a genuine breakout from a false breakout

Draw trend lines on supplied price series and classify each trend as up, down, or sideways using higher highs/higher lows logic

Mark support and resistance zones and explain why zones outperform single price lines

Explain role reversal (support becoming resistance and vice versa) with two worked examples

Relate chart patterns from week 2 to the trend line and support/resistance structure that contains them

Compute simple, weighted, and exponential moving averages by hand for a 10-period series and compare the outputs

Explain how the smoothing constant in an EMA relates to its responsiveness and lag

Generate crossover signals (price/MA and MA/MA) on a supplied series and tabulate entries and exits

Identify the failure mode of moving averages in range-bound markets and propose a filter to reduce whipsaw

Distinguish trend-following indicators (moving averages, MACD, ADX, Parabolic SAR) from oscillators (RSI, stochastic, Williams %R, CCI) by intended market condition

Compute RSI and stochastic values for supplied price data and interpret overbought/oversold readings without treating them as automatic reversal signals

Explain MACD line, signal line, and histogram construction and interpret a bearish and bullish divergence

Describe how Bollinger Bands and Average True Range are constructed and what they measure (volatility, not direction)

Detect bullish and bearish divergence between price and an oscillator across five supplied examples

Explain oscillator failure swings and when overbought can persist in a strong trend

Combine one trend indicator and one oscillator into a stated rule set and back-test it mentally against 20 historical bars

Distinguish momentum, rate of change, and rate of change of momentum conceptually

Define position sizing by fixed fractional risk and compute position size given account equity, risk percentage, entry, and stop

Compute risk-reward ratio and expectancy for a 30-trade sample and state the minimum win rate required to break even at a given ratio

Explain maximum drawdown, and describe why risk of ruin rises with position size even at positive expectancy

Describe how to design and record a simple system's rules, and why forward testing follows backtesting

Consolidate all six domains into a single-page summary map linking each domain to its core formulas and decision rules

Complete a timed 60-question self-test and review every wrong answer against the source domain

Re-derive from memory the formulas for EMA, RSI, stochastic, ATR, position size, and expectancy

Identify the three weakest sub-topics and produce targeted remediation notes for each