How do you prepare for the essay questions?

essay questions require more memorization of the material than the item sets. but is there any way to figure out which topics are more likely to appear in essay format than the others? is the EOC questions in the curriculum a good proxy? Thanks.

IPS is a good place to start.

lots n lots of lube

My eyes blur…I saw it as “How do you prepare for the easy questions?” No easy answer…The best we can do is to practice.

Face it, you’re not going to get a perfect score on the AM section. All you can do is know the concepts well enough to compare and contrast them with other ideas or at least explain the basic principles and how they are applied. Best way to go about this, as deriv108 mentioned, is to go through practice questions.

thats was my approach last year n here i am

I failed band 10 last year. I did very well on the afternoon and absolutely bombed the IPS questions. Anyone have any good tips on them? I don’t feel I have improved with the IPS questions at all, even with practice.

Join a local study group if possible.

Learn the cliches from Schweser and use them at will

pimpineasy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > lots n lots of lube lol. and from my experience last year, agreed.

From the guys who failed, can you expand? Did you all practice and study a ton?

Memorising the IPS is the best bet - in my opinion.

what does it mean to “memorize” IPS?

cfalover Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > From the guys who failed, can you expand? Did you > all practice and study a ton? yes, that’s what’s so frustrating. i’d like to say i was able to see the light this year and now feel like i understand how to beat the essays, but i’d be lying. and btw i passed L1 and L2 on the first try with very high scores on both and only 6 months between L1 and L2.

don’t underestimate the physical side of writing essays. half way through last year’s exam, my hand cramped up so badly that i had to hold the pen with my hand clenched in a fist. i felt like a monkey trying to write

isnt it ironic…if u were masturbating lots ur hand would be hairy and strong but yet u would have nothing to write cuz u didnt study enough…

I mean I know peeps who failed level 2 once and passed level 3 first try. I also know peeps who passed level 1 and 2 first try and now they’re on level III TAKE 3. so – yea.

cfalover Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I mean I know peeps who failed level 2 once and > passed level 3 first try. I also know peeps who > passed level 1 and 2 first try and now they’re on > level III TAKE 3. > > so – yea. That’s because L3 isn’t like the other tests. I’m looking forward to the challenge and hope it filters out the folks who actually understand these concepts versus those who want to memorize a list of formulas and rules.

I feel that more memorization is needed for this test compared to others. My 2 cents based on previous tests

Don’t get overwhelmed by the essay section. Keep your answers short, use bullet points when you can. I didn’t use more than one sheet of paper for any one essay question last year. The graders don’t want to read more than they have to. Most importantly, remember to actually answer the question they ask. And there will be 2-3 IPS questions, you can count on it.