for the level two exam is anyone aware if we could/will be tested on if XYZ is a recommended or required procedure for compliance within ethics, meaning do we have to remember what is recomended and what is required?
I would definitely know the difference between what is required and what is recommended. Make note of it now; by the time you review Ethics again in the week before the exam, you will likely have had a chance to answer all of the mock and EOC questions. My guess is that you will have seen a question that deals with this exact idea.
Just read the preface that’s at the beginning of every CFAI book. It will be between the table of contents and the first reading. Specifically, look the for the heading “Features of the Curriculum”