I’ve chatted with candidates studying for Level III. Some of them are re-takers. I’ll summarize my advice for the morning essay portion here to reflect what I hear:
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Practice on as many real CFA exams as possible. Be sure to do the recent exams (2015-2017). You really need to practice on the exams to get in good shape for the exam.
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Manage your time well. It is very easy to lose track of time in the essay portion, but this is a big mistake. Your job is to score as many points as possible.
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Related to this, keep your answers concise. The CFAI morning portions test specific concepts. For example, the behavioral finance question on the 2015 exam asked about how an investor would trade if she were averse to regret. The answer simply is that she wouldn’t trade whether a security’s price rose or fell because regret-averse people tend not to act. It’s really that simple. Keep your explanations short and simple. Avoid thinking that you need to write in complete sentences.
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Get your hands on well-written essay exams from providers. This is a bit more tricky because it’s really hard to find content written in the unique manner of the CFAI morning session. You can get your hands on some well-written material here at AdaptPrep for free. This includes one full mock exam with guideline answers, as well as questions to two other full-length morning sessions.
All the best studying!
–Keith