Can we copy and paste calculations within our exam script?

[CT123]

Just want to make sure I understand what we can and can't do in these exams as some of the regulations aren't that clear. I've tried to ask exam support about this twice now and they don't seem to understand what I'm talking about.

I'm sitting CM2 this month and I will potentially have to write out a lot of calculations. If I write out a line of calculations during my exam, am I allowed to copy and paste this into the next line and manipulate it to speed up my writing? Obviously this would only be copying and pasting things I have written in my exam, not anything done before the exam.

I'm just worried that if there is anything copied and pasted in my document then this could flag me for plagiarism. Would the above be allowed?

Thanks

 

[yuli2513]

Just want to make sure I understand what we can and can't do in these exams as some of the regulations aren't that clear. I've tried to ask exam support about this twice now and they don't seem to understand what I'm talking about.

I'm sitting CM2 this month and I will potentially have to write out a lot of calculations. If I write out a line of calculations during my exam, am I allowed to copy and paste this into the next line and manipulate it to speed up my writing? Obviously this would only be copying and pasting things I have written in my exam, not anything done before the exam.

I'm just worried that if there is anything copied and pasted in my document then this could flag me for plagiarism. Would the above be allowed?

Thanks

Hi,

I checked with IFoA on this last year. Below is the quote of the answer I got from them:
If you have already typed some text or a formula/equation within your answer document you may copy and paste this to use later on if you need to.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[newkid]

The only issue I see is what exactly can they check when scanning for copy/paste. For some other subjects when calculation questions are repetitive, you could have a pre-set up template in excel where your just adding in the parameters as given in the question, and this could save you up to 20 mins depending on the question - so if someone just copies and pastes this over - how are the IFoA any wiser?

Also, if they ask a theory based question, you could just copy/paste directly from your home made notes. I know of people who have done just this in previous exam and passed - and it's like wtf - they save so much time while the rest of us are typing it out.

 

[Trevor]

I'm not sure if there is any way at all to find out the source where it is copied from.
They might have a very specialist way of checking it, and I don't think they want to disclose this because people will find ways around it.
I've heard of people doing what you said too, they wasn't caught either.

However my advice is, just don't do it even if no one was caught.
You never know when it will get you; when it does, it is too late to be sorry.
Just practice typing your answers in full, get used to it.

The recent exams are probably going to exclude the pure bookwork questions anyway, to allow for an open book exam style. I think there will hardly be any opportunities to copy paste directly even if you want to.
Remember the best way to score is to tailor your answers to the question specifics. If you copy-paste like that, you are going to lose out on a lot of obvious marks specific to the scenario.

 

[yuli2513]

I'm not sure if there is any way at all to find out the source where it is copied from.
They might have a very specialist way of checking it, and I don't think they want to disclose this because people will find ways around it.
I've heard of people doing what you said too, they wasn't caught either.

However my advice is, just don't do it even if no one was caught.
You never know when it will get you; when it does, it is too late to be sorry.
Just practice typing your answers in full, get used to it.

The recent exams are probably going to exclude the pure bookwork questions anyway, to allow for an open book exam style. I think there will hardly be any opportunities to copy paste directly even if you want to.
Remember the best way to score is to tailor your answers to the question specifics. If you copy-paste like that, you are going to lose out on a lot of obvious marks specific to the scenario.

This is a bit worrying me. What I did is to copy and paste what I wrote during the exam, for example, if I wrote out a formula, I copy and paste it to the next step. From what I understood from IFoA, this is allowed.
I also do copy the results in excel to word (given that the formula for the calculations are first written in word. And this also seems to be allowed.
However, I indeed didn't know that there is no way to find out the source of copies.
I think in that case, it might be wiser for me to limit the amount of copy and paste I do.

 

[Trevor]

This is a bit worrying me. What I did is to copy and paste what I wrote during the exam, for example, if I wrote out a formula, I copy and paste it to the next step. From what I understood from IFoA, this is allowed.
I also do copy the results in excel to word (given that the formula for the calculations are first written in word. And this also seems to be allowed.
However, I indeed didn't know that there is no way to find out the source of copies.
I think in that case, it might be wiser for me to limit the amount of copy and paste I do.

This is absolutely fine, I believe the exam rules mentioned it is okay to copy what you wrote during the exam itself.
What I was referring above is if you pre-typed a long bookwork question before the exam, and then copied from it during the exam.

Don't worry too much about it, and good luck for whichever paper you are sitting for in the next few days =)