First, Congrats to all those that’ve recently passed level 3. Was hoping to get some advice hoping things are still somewhat fresh in your heads.
I know the whole thing about using bullet points , but what I don’t know and unsure of is.
For formula related problems do you need to spell out formulas, use the symbols, or just start plugging in the values where they are suppose to be?
For questions with multiple parts in 1 question like " Determine if ABC Company violated Standard I. Show 2 examples supporting your answer". Do you just go straight into the answer bullet point style or do you state what the Standard is first before going into what he did is wrong?
I’m hoping there are people who’ve passed or someone knows for sure they don’t actually have to spell out the formula and even better if you don’t have to use symbols as long as you show your work. Also I assume something important to keep in mind is these are charterholders grading your test so you don’t have to explain every step because they already know why you did Step 1 - 5 etc. (unless specified too)?
I have a tendency to overthink everything and causes me to write way to much stuff. If you can share what you did I’d appreciate it.
For formula related problems do you need to spell out formulas, use the symbols, or just start plugging in the values where they are suppose to be?
Write the formula out, then plug and chug. THat way you have a chance to get some partial points - in case you make a calculation error while using the calculator. Also it shows the grader that you know your stuff - because you used the right formula - only made a calculation error … *if you did that*
For questions with multiple parts in 1 question like ” Determine if ABC Company violated Standard I. Show 2 examples supporting your answer”. Do you just go straight into the answer bullet point style or do you state what the Standard is first before going into what he did is wrong?
Here you need not write out the standard. Just the two examples. The guideline answer will have the standard presented in this case - as a teaching moment - but that is not needed in your version of the answer.
Here are a few keys/tips to doing well on the essay portion of the exam:
Study the right material. Stay in the fairway of the material, and don’t get too far into the weeds. For example, the whole purpose of Level 3 is portfolio managment and how to provide professional, ethical service to your clients. As such, you can guess that ethics, the IPS, risk/return objectives, constraints and other key topics will be important on that 1st Saturday in June. Know individual and institutional investor considerations well. Spending too much time on a formula with a very narrow focus will not buy you as many points as understanding material that has broader application.
Your job is collect points, not answer every question perfectly on the exam. Remeber that you have 1 minute per point on the exam. For me, I looked at how many total points each question was worth, then wrote down what time I should be finishing that item set based on the number of points available. I skipped a couple of subsections of individual questions where I knew I had little chance of picking up many points but would use valuable time. This gave me more time to work on a couple of easier questions where I knew the material cold and could pick up easy points.
Write succinctly and to the point. Don’t answer a question that isn’t asked. You won’t get any points for right answer to the wrong question.
When asked for your opinion, think through the priorities as presented in the material, and formulate your answer and then support your answer with logic, calculations and/or facts from the case. Be sure and say “why” you chose your answer and don’t just regurgitate facts from the case. And DON’T argue both sides or give a wishy-washy answer! If you need to you can note a counterpoint, but then state why it was not enough to change your answer. Again, be concise!
Work quickly. A short, precise, concise answer is better than a wordy answer that says little. Using buzzwords from the curriculem correctly can save you a lot of time in constructing your answers.
Practice, practice, practice. You need to practice lots of different quesiton types so you are not surprised by the way questions are formatted on exam day. The ONLY way to do this is to practice LOTS of questions.
Remember that if a certain question is completely stumping you, it is probably stumping others as well. Quickly answer to the best of your ability and move on (see suggestion #2 above!)
Read and re-read the guideline answers as you do practice questions. Your answers can be shorter than the guideline answers because the guideline answers often have to take into account multiple possible responses. But you should be able to hit the key points of the guideline answers within the alotted time. You will need sufficient practice to work quickly and accurately on the exam. Again, practice is key!
Don’t stress out about the morning session. If you are well prepared, odds are that you will do just fine even if you miss a number of points. Then crush the afternoon session. This is the most common recipe for success that I have seen.
This one got me good last year. I choked up and definitely “quoted” facts as answers thinking that’s what they wanted and/or used it as a intro to an explanation (waste of time for sure). Also answers were definitely “wishy-washy” thinking if I explained why something wasn’t the answer was a good idea… I should have just gotten straight to the point why bullet points 1 & 2 were the answer.