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Illustrating workings for maths questions in SP7 Exam

L

Leo Nagi

Made first post
Hi,

Can I please clarify the appropriate level of detail for showing workings for mathematical questions in the exam?

Are we allowed to also upload a spreadsheet with workings e.g. for triangulation projections? Can we take screenshots of calculations in excel with and without formulas displayed and paste them into our word answer files?

Or should the approach be to type directly in word examples of the calculations performed in each stage of the projection?

Thank you,

Leo
 
Hi Leo

For answers to questions like these it is always best to consult the latest version of the Assessment Regulations and Examinations Handbook on the IFoA website.

The IFoA require SP7 exam scripts to be uploaded in Word. Therefore you cannot upload a spreadsheet or take a screenshot of your calculations in Excel and paste them into your word files.

Quoting from the Examinations Handbook: "When sitting subjects which require answers to be provided in Word, you may wish to use another software package to aid with calculations. You will be able to copy and paste this calculations on your submission, however, it should be noted that any calculations should appear in full in your Word answer script to ensure you receive the appropriate marks. If you do not display your full workings then examiners will not be able to assess how your answer was determined, and full marks may not be awarded".

Hence, you can use effectively use Excel in place of a calculator, but you need to copy your answers across from Excel to your Word script. You also need to explain clearly in your Word script how you have derived your answers. Just reciting your excel formulae with cell references, etc, is unlikely to be sufficient and you should include the same amount of explanation/detail as you would if it had been a normal written exam. This is particularly important if you make a mistake somewhere along the way as the examiners may award you some marks for applying the right method or “error carried forward marks” if you get an early/intermediate part of the calculation wrong, but you then use that number in the correct way to derive your final answer.

We have also produced a short video guide to sitting online exams which you can find on our website: https://www.acted.co.uk/sitting_online_exams.html
 
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