Binomial Trees and Run-off Triangles in Paper A

[Emily Wong]

Hi, reading the latest guidance from the Institute, they have stated below:

Can I use Excel to help construct my answers?
Most of the examination subjects require the answers to be provided in Microsoft Word. The exceptions to this are CP2, CM1 Paper B and CM2 Paper B which require the use of Excel. When sitting other subjects, you may wish to use Excel to aid with calculations. It should be noted however that any calculations have to be typed in full into your Word answer script to ensure you receive full marks.  Calculations that are copied and pasted from Excel (or any other application) into your Word answer script will receive zero marks.

For the CS and CM exam papers, the level of detail that is required for your workings in calculation questions is similar to the model solutions in previous sittings. If you miss out any of the calculation steps then full marks may not be awarded.

I'm wondering if it's still OK to do the Run-off triangles or Binomial Trees in Excel, then paste it into Word (typing the calculations for one of the steps in Word as I would do in a paper exam)? Or do they mean absolutely no copy paste from Excel, and I have to create the actual tables from Word? How would people do Binomial Trees or Run-off Triangles in Paper A basically?

Thanks,
Emily

 

[laura_mils]

Hi Emily

I wondered the same thing, having practiced these in excel only also..
I think I was now planning on pasting in as a table (the second from the left when you right click in word) so it then looks like a word table and not a picture and just making i sure i explain how I have calculated these figures in terms of the algebra / formulas. Maybe with a few examples.

I had just been planning on pasting in the work as pictures from excel with the end answer written in word until I read the new FAQ.

Laura

 

[Joe Hook]

Hi both,

The new guidance suggests that excel should be used mainly as a replacement for your calculator and should not be used as a replacement for what you would do in word. This can still prove useful as excel can store intermediate calculations and so ensure there are no issues with using the memory of your calculation or worrying about rounding.

However, you will need to type any workings or values manually into word to ensure you receive credit. I think the key line to bear in mind is: "Calculations that are copied and pasted from Excel (or any other application) into your Word answer script will receive zero marks."

I think it would be best to err on the side of caution. The exams should be set in such a way that it is achievable to type out all workings in the time limit, without the need for excel.

Hopefully you have enough time between now and the exam to switch your approach to these types of questions a little.

Joe

 

[Helloall]

Thanks for the reply Joe. On the safe side, i will retype things out (hopefully i dont run out of time)...

One thing i was wondering is whether it is okay to copy and paste within the word document itself. Quite often there are maybe two black scholes questions which might require the three formula (call, d1 and d2) in cm2. I can see in the exam faqs that you should not copy and paste from "any source" but what about within the word document itself, this isnt a source is it ( from the context of the assessment regulations i deem the word "source" to mean online notes etc). What i am interested in knowing is if i have typed out the formula once in question 2 can i just copy and paste it for question 8? Really unsure about the rules around this exam and the specifics... Think there is a lot of room for misinterpretation of these rules...

 

[Joe Hook]

The rules around copying and pasting are designed primarily to prevent plagiarism. As I see it copying and pasting your own material within word should be fine. Indeed it's a very sensible way to answer questions such as those on integration where you can move through step by step changing variables or values along the way. I'd suggest this is absolutely fine but if you wanted to be totally sure you could email the institute for clarification.

Good luck!
Joe