I was wondering if you could share your thoughts re the transition of the morning session of L3 from paper based to computer based. In the past, the AM session was handwritten, so if someone was calculating an expression he would just have to do his work on his answer sheet and if his final answer was wrong then the candidate could receive partial credit. Now that the exam has transitioned to computer based, this means that once a candidate has completed his computations he needs to type them all in if he is unsure of his final answer. And this is extremely time consuming, especially compared to the paper-based format of the test.
What’s the best strategy related to the calculations required in the morning section of the CBT test?
you no longer write out computations. You learn to type and compute at the same time transitioning from paper to typing instead and writing as little as possible. After completing 10+ mocks I find that my note pad is less than 1 page per exam and most of the numbers scribbled down are sums of computations with the occasional formula. I typically type out the main formula (I do not plan on using the editor) then type out the numbers to show values for each variable and the final answer. I skip typing out intermediate calculations to save time. I find that the marking rubrics assign partial marks for the correct formula, using correct variables and final answer so showing intermediate calculations don’t earn partial credit. Also I find in most instances on past exams the institute finds ways to test your knowledge without tons of computations. We also pick up some time from typing qualitative responses that make up the majority of the AM although you have to train yourself not to type too much.
I’ve trained myself to barely write anything on paper now. Instead I just type out my workings as I’m working them through. Do enough AM mocks in a word doc and it becomes second nature. You’ve just gotta practise.
How do you write down a calculation when you have to describe variance (ie standard deviation*2) —> meaning how do you reflect the ‘2’ as a ‘square’ sign? Im lost how to manage this on a keyboard that I have not seen yet!
I thought that with CBT they were going to stop asking you to show workings on calculation type questions. Pretty sure someone posted that on here a few weeks ago.
Yes but you still need to show - the numbers if you need to calculate something - ie volatility of shareholder capital (ie leverage/ asset SD) which parts of the formula you need to square to get to the result
that’s very smart! thanks^2