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We need further guidance on aswering questions on Microsoft Word

Discussion in 'General study / exams' started by Arfan Rahman, May 29, 2020.

  1. Arfan Rahman

    Arfan Rahman Member

    I find this situation highly untenable that IFOA have presumed that moving from a paper based exam to online is a simple transition. A host of issues arise and IFOA has not informed us of how to prepare for this transition adequately.

    But for now my main concern in how do we use mathematical notation in our answers in word?
     
    Arfan Rahman, May 29, 2020
    #1
    almost_there likes this.
  2. John Lee

    John Lee ActEd Tutor Staff Member

    They have already given us more than 3 months notice. This allows time for the examiners to rewrite the schedule so there is less maths and then they can better give us details in due course.

    But simple maths is very doable, eg int_0^Inf 3x^2 - 3x +1 dx
     
    John Lee, May 30, 2020
    #2
  3. mavvj

    mavvj Ton up Member

    I hope they give details. When I asked for more such details for SP6 for the last sitting, I was told that they would not do so. In addition the FAQs said there would be no graphs and yet there was a graph question undermining confidence in the information they do give. I complained many weeks ago about the error in the FAQs. I have been told it has been passed to managers but otherwise have had no response, not even an apology.
     
    mavvj, May 30, 2020
    #3
    VictorC_Lndn and almost_there like this.
  4. Admin

    Admin Administrator Staff Member

    Hi Arfan,
    The IFoA’s announcement that the CM/CS exams will be wholly online is very recent, and therefore there is currently limited information available about what this means in practice.

    However, the announcement makes it clear that the syllabus and Core Reading for the examination have not changed. This indicates that all the study resources currently available will be relevant to passing the exam. If you understand the material thoroughly and can carry out the calculations quickly and accurately, then you should be able to display the required knowledge and pass an exam, regardless of the precise format. So, our current advice is to continue studying, learning and practising questions as you have been doing so far.

    The IFoA announcement has said that the format of the papers will be adapted so that the answers can be presented in Word (or possibly Excel). You’re right that it is difficult to present some of the standard actuarial notation used in some subjects using those software packages, and we imagine that this is the reason for adapting the format. At the moment, we can only guess at what those format changes might be – for example, breaking longer questions down into smaller chunks so that it is easier to award method marks for part progress through a question, or introducing some multiple choice questions. It is also possible to type some (but clearly not all) of the notation in Word, as we do in these forums sometimes to answer questions, eg I’d hope you’d understand what the following means, even though it is not hugely neat:

    A60:10 = A60 – v^10 * 10p60 * A70 + v^10 * 10p60, where 10p60 = l70/l60 and v^10 = (1+i)^-10

    In Word it would be quite easy to make this much neater user subscripts, or even the in-built equation editor. However, we suspect that they will avoid students having to write too much algebra and notation like this.

    At this early stage, though, please note that the IFoA have not yet provided any specific information about how the format of questions is likely to alter, and the above is speculation on our part. We recommend that you keep your eye on the IFoA website and our website (acted.co.uk) in case there are further announcements.

    I'm also sure that everyone would be happy to share tips on using Word if you are not used to using it.

    Best wishes
    ActEd
     
    Admin, May 30, 2020
    #4
  5. Arfan Rahman

    Arfan Rahman Member

    Thank you for the response, sorry for late reply as I was learning how to use Word :D.


    If this is the case then that would be ideal. But I fear this approach will disadvantage students that have prepared well.

    I hope IFOA can publish a specimen paper so we can get a better idea what will be expected of us.

    Thank you gain for the replies.
     
    Arfan Rahman, Jun 6, 2020
    #5
  6. N_Exam

    N_Exam Very Active Member

    Hi everyone,

    I'm assuming exams with a part A and B will be weighted the same as before. E.g. CS2 will have an A:B, MS Word:Excel, weighing of 70:30?

    Will Acted be issuing materials/study help so that we can become used to this new exam format (MS Word for CS2). E.g. Will Acted be providing samples/mock exams on Word for this Septembers sitting?
     
    Last edited: Jun 7, 2020
    N_Exam, Jun 7, 2020
    #6
  7. Admin

    Admin Administrator Staff Member

    Admin, Jun 7, 2020
    #7
  8. Bill SD

    Bill SD Very Active Member

    In case not already seen, the IFoA says:
    The CS2A examination paper will contain a similar number and overall style of question to past papers, but with sections which previously required significant mathematical notation now assessed by one or more multiple-choice questions. These multiple choice elements will be embedded into the type of longer question that candidates are already familiar with. The new format papers are currently in the final stages of development and this FAQ contains the most up to date information we can share with you at this time. We will provide further detail via this FAQ page as more becomes available. It is our intent that you will have sufficient detail on the new format papers to enable you to make informed decisions before examination booking opens in July.

    From <https://www.actuaries.org.uk/studying/exam-bookings/exam-dates-2020/exams-faqs>

    Personally found it was difficult to follow the notation examples above in Word, and would dread typing a diffrential/integal equation in the exam!
     
    Bill SD, Jul 15, 2020
    #8
    almost_there likes this.
  9. almost_there

    almost_there Member

    That's not clear or straightforward at all for people to do
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 21, 2020
    almost_there, Jul 21, 2020
    #9
    Yungbuk likes this.
  10. ProudActuary

    ProudActuary Member

    I disagree - I think that actuarial students could reasonably be asked to do something like this
     
    ProudActuary, Jul 21, 2020
    #10

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