In the curriculum, there are some examples of non-MCQ problem that ask yes/no questions. If one encounters this question format on the actual exam, is a simple one word the best answer or should we feel compelled to elaborate? Sample question below.
At Firm T, Manager D is responsible for Firm T’s Emerging Market Composite. Although Manager D makes all the investment decisions for the portfolios in the composite, Manager D is supported by Firm T’s research department and trading desk. Firm U is seeking to establish an emerging market investment strategy and hires Manager D to join Firm U. Can Firm U link the historical performance of Manager D while at Firm T to the performance of its new strategy and comply with the GIPS standards?
The simpler the better. Unless they ask you to explain or justify.
The sample answers in exam prep will be longer because they are explaining the reason for the answer, for educational purposes.
On the May exam I wrote as little as possible and it worked for me. It felt funny sometimes because I wondered if I should write more, but according to former graders the winning strategy is to write as little as possible to correctly make your points. Because you don’t get any more points for longer answers and you might actually risk losing partial points if you describe something slightly off even if you got the right answer. I am a long-winded writer so it felt unnatural at times during my L3 essay part. But better safe than sorry was my motto. Seems to have worked fine. Plus you’ll finish early and have time to check your work instead of typing feverishly to the final minutes.
If this were a morning question, you would have to pick “Yes” or “No”, then include some justification or explanation; i.e., you’ll be told to explain or justify your answer.
If the were an afternoon question, the three answer choices would be something like:
It used to be no. You’d never get something so brief.
With CBT all bets are off honestly. Some of those questions are super brief.
But always look to see if they use the words explain or justify. If yes then a short sentence or two.
They might not ask for any description now. Kaplan has a CBT mock that is pretty decent for the feel of the thing at least it was that way when I did it in May.
