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Did anyone read the exam advice in the latest The Actuary

H

Hamilton

Member
Well you could call it advice , being told to "read the questions" like 7 times in the article , completely useless and incredibly condescending . Not a mention of how to use the first 15 minutes of reading time to best effect which I like alot of people wouldn't of had in college exams . In the first 15 minutes I intend to read all questions and start making notes for the solutions ( you are able to do this right? on notes sheets) and look up any values and formulas I might need from tables ,f values etc , easily done in 15 .
 
I mentor students at work and mark assignments & past papers as part of that - generally find that with the later "wordy" subjects most marks are lost through 1) not answering the question that was asked / going off on a tangent, and 2) repeating the same point with different words / waffling.

For the exams I would:
  • Spend 15 mins reading time to read through the paper and jot down the lists / formulas that you'll need for each question (on notes paper of course)
  • Rank the questions from 'most likely to score high marks' to 'oh-oh' and and attempt them in that order
  • if there's time left, rank the items in the lists according to how appropriate they are to the question write them down from most to least important
This should help you to cut down thinking time in the exam itself and get the best questions and most important points down on paper first. Your brain will also be better at recalling numerous lists at the start of a 3 hour paper than 2.5 hours into it. Cross off points as you cover them to avoid repeating.

On reading the question - try to read each question before attempting it, whilst attempting it (to avoid going off on a tangent), and after to make sure you answered all parts - e.g if asked whether you agree with something you actually have to categorically state whether you do and not only the reasons (rookie mistake but you'll be surprised at how often it happens!).

Also remember that your marker may be working long hours themselves and marking papers in the middle of the night - you have to make it easy for them to find your answers - leave spaces between points, use bullet points (except for CA3) and stay away from black ink - it can be harsh on the eyes so stick to a nice plain blue.

Lastly - get enough sleep and good luck!
:eek:
 
Great tips Meldemon - I've done some marking and I'd support what you're saying (though I'd never given any thought to the ink colour point).

I think you're being very harsh Hamilton and that your view would change if you took a look at some scripts produced under exam conditions. It is remarkable the number of candidates who simply pick out a couple of key words and blast out all they know on the subject. The point about reading (and analysing) the question can't really be stressed enough imo.
 
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