Best Pen for Morning Session

CFA Level III
#1

Hi,

I just started doing the EOC of CFA I questions and try to write down the answers first before I look at the answer.

I feel that my handwriting has become horrible since I left university 4 years ago. Also I write very slow.

Which pen do you use for the morning session. How can I improve my handwriting. I have heart from people writing their final law exam that they use a brace. Does it reall help?

Thanks

#2

…i used pencil. BOOM

#3

Uni-ball jet stream fine.

#4

No need for a brace. Write concise answers!!! People write way way way too much, in general. This isn’t an essay competition. If your arm is fatiguing, you’re writing way too much.

Don’t use those gel pens, they’re an awful mess when they go wrong. I just used a black Zebra Z-grip. Boring I know. But they work.

#5

Papermate Inkjoy 550. It has a rubber grip so your fingers don’t slide down the pen. And it writes real smoothly. And it doesn’t smear.

#6

High five for Jetstreams. I steal em from work all the time, fantastic pens.

#7

The answers in the CFA Institute textbooks are really long. Would not be possible to write so much in only a few minutes

#8

Yeah, the questions are more focused than the textbooks though. Make sure you just answer the direct question they ask. Don’t even need to write in sentences (I didn’t). Point form works.

Example:

Give 2 biases Investor Joe Shmoe exhibits and why:

Good answer (considering time)

  • Overconfidence: Believes recent success is evidence of superior ability & future performance

  • Home country: All of his assets are in domestic markets

Bad answer (takes too long):

Well, Joe Shmoe exhibits several behavioural biases that could have impacts on his investment performance. Firstly, he displays overconfidence. This is because he has some recent success in generating good returns. Henceforth, he then believes that this performance confirms his superior investment ability, which may make him overconfident in future returns. Joe should reduce this bias through careful consideration of the causes of his overperformance. Secondly, Joe displays home country bias. All of his assets are in domestic markets, which may not be sufficiently diversified.

Don’t be the long answer. You’ll have too much time pressure. Quick, short. See how many marks the question is worth and provide a point for each mark. Done. Next question. That’s the way to do it. Your arm shouldn’t get tired doing that.

I finished the morning session in 2 hours and my morning results were stronger than my afternoon. It’s possible to write concise answers and win this thing. Don’t tire out your mind and arm writing essays.

#9

Bic Atlantis (pl. Atlantii?) all day, every day.

#10

^^ Geo: Do they separate out your AM and PM results on L3, or is that just how you felt?

#11

They seperate out your results. It’s actually seperated by question in the AM, so it’s very detailed. I actually did quite poorly in the afternoon. Morning was very strong.

#12

Gel pens with fine tips. Cant’ recall the brand I used but I bought a few packs and practiced with them from Jan - May.

#13

Pilot Hi-TechPoint 0.7 mm: about $25 for a 12 pack.

Avoid narrow-bodied ball points: a medical doctor actually told me this.

#14

this is a close second.

May I also suggest writing in blue? That way your writing “pops out” a little better. There’s less chance that something will get lost, because your ink color will contrast with the exam.

#15

The one I used was BiC Velocity Gel 0.7. I don’t know about the others but this one comes iwth a nice rubber grip to hold onto.

#16

Is this a serious question?

Any generic pen that writes is more than sufficient!