Concerns around typing

[Karnan Narendrakumar]

I'm well into my revision however I have major concerns over the format in which the exam is being conducted. My concern is around the additional time it takes to type actuarial notation, which forms the majority of this course, compared to physically writing on paper. Not to mention jotting ideas such as time lines on paper helps with "How to go about answering the question" which of course won't be seen by a marker.

So far, after much practice, i have been unable to complete a past paper inside what would be exam time by typing on a computer. In fact it's taking me nearly three times as long as compared to doing it on paper.

Nearly all our lives, we have conducted exams on paper and i find it extremely unfair that we are expected to learn how to do exams on the computer in a matter of months with no additional time nor any substantial resources to bridge this gap.

I am worried that i won't be fairly judged on my knowledge and application of the course but rather my speed of typing. Should lack of computer proficiency really be a factor in deciding between a pass/fail? Why is scanning the exam not an option to us? I feel that no matter how well i understand the course and its syllabus, I will have a high possibility of failing purely because i can't type fast. And it could take years of practice to type quickly. I've already seen a response in the FAQs regarding concerns around typing but I'm seeking more clarity as to why we don't have extra time and what options there are available to us who aren't technically proficient other than "try your best"

 

[Deleted member 11820]

Appreciate you are concerned around the typing speed, especially regarding actuarial notation. The jotting of ideas points won't go towards your marks so I'm not sure that can be a cause for complaint, you can still do this yourself to help you answer the question.

Regarding the notation have you considered creating a word document that has all the notation you need already set-out, perhaps with an x left within the notation to populate with any information such as interests rates, age or durations that will be specific to the question. This way you can just copy and paste the correct symbols into the paper and save you have to find the symbols every time, this may save you some time.

The scanning point, I suspect is to do with the ability of the exam board to be run the script through anti plagiarism and collusion software.

 

[Lucy England]

Firstly, you cannot use pre-populated templates or calculations. This is against the Assessment Regulations. Please make sure you read these before the exam.

Karnan - I'm really sorry to hear that you're struggling with the new exam format. This is a difficult sitting given the amount of change and new info that's been coming out at different times. Unfortunately, ActEd has no control over the setting of the exams - we are separate from the IFoA, so I'm afraid I can't help you with your questions.

I would encourage you to ask questions and raise concerns with the IFoA. There are contact details of the Education Services team at the bottom of the Assessment Regs page I've linked above. Also, the process for making complaints with the IFoA is on their website.

 

[newkid]

The scanning point, I suspect is to do with the ability of the exam board to be run the script through anti plagiarism and collusion software.

It's also probably got to do with not everyone has a scanner, it's also not possible to tell when you stop writing, whereas when typing there is a time stamp on when you last saved the workbook.

What about the people who can't write fast - if you think there could be hundreds of people who failed exams in the past cause they are slow at writing or because their handwriting was poor. There was very little sympathy for them.

Finally it shouldn't really take you years to learn how to type fast if it's something that you really want to learn.

 

[Eleanor Cawston]

Karnan,
I'm afraid I have no useful advice to give, I just thought I would let you know you are not alone in this problem. My general typing speed is ok-ish, I think; but writing this notation is not normal typing. And beyond just getting an equation down on the paper, my (perhaps bigger) problem is then that it just looks like a dreadful jumble of letters and symbols all on one line, and I can't begin to manipulate that in the same way as if I had the expression written in mathematical notation with exponents up and subscripts down, the bottom of the fractions below the line, integrals visible, brackets of a size that makes it obvious what they are containing etc. etc.

And practicing this feels like an absurd thing to be learning, as it is a "skill" which has no transferable value and takes time away from meaningful learning. So - I feel your pain. Good luck.

 

[SammyLawrence]

I'm having the same worry. I'm trying to practice typing but its taking away from the time that I have to actually practice answering the questions - and I'm struggling to look back and check over my work, I think its really easy to accidentally type the wrong thing and it looks as though I've done the wrong calculation but I haven't.

I've typed up a word document with all the notation in so that I can copy and paste on the day, with definitions in my own words too so that I don't have to worry about typing up any of the wordy ones. My plan is to do the calculations on paper first and then go back and type it up with an hour or so to go.

Do you think we will have less questions to account for the time spent typing? Also was surprised that the notation word document doesn't include all possible notation, for example no joint life notation. Hoping that if we are all in the same boat maybe it will work out for us all.

Good luck guys

 

[Eleanor Cawston]

Do you think we will have less questions to account for the time spent typing?
Good luck guys

From the IFoA exam FAQ:
"The CM1A examination paper will include a similar number of questions and overall style to past papers."
However, in the "specimen questions" provided for CM1, which are passed on past exam papers,, they say they award more marks (eg an extra one) for the same question to allow for typing.

If you can get through the paper by hand with an hour to spare then I would say you are very well prepared!

 

[SammyLawrence]

If you can get through the paper by hand with an hour to spare then I would say you are very well prepared!

I definitely can't, but planning on skipping some questions and going with it that way!

The specimen papers are so short, really not a true representation of any of the actual working they are expecting us to provide!

 

[Lucy England]

The Assessment Regs say "Candidates are strictly prohibited from copying and pasting content from any source, such material may be used for reference purposes only."

Please do not copy and paste anything from pre-prepared notes or reference material unless you are prepared to go through the IFoA's disciplinary process. Make sure you've read the FAQs and Assessment Regs before the exam.

Shouty bit over...They said on last week's webinar that they will write the papers so that you don't have to write out line after line of notation. They are trying to account for the fact that you'll be typing your answers.

They're fine with students using any reasonable notation, so if it doesn't appear on the notation sheet then make up something sensible. You can always define any notation you're using.

 

[SammyLawrence]

So we have to type everything up as we go? Makes no sense to me how we can be expected to look back over our work and check that we've done the right thing considering we've only had 2 weeks to learn a new way of looking at everything

 

[Lucy England]

I'm afraid so, yes. This has been the case for some time though (unlike the whole use of Excel thing, but that's discussed on another thread). The FAQs and Assessment Regs have always been clear about not copying and pasting from any reference materials you're using.

 

[SammyLawrence]

Eurgh what a faff!

Can’t wait till it’s over! I just assumed would be able to copy the notation from their sheet, should have read it better
Thanks!

 

[Lucy England]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news there. To be honest, by the time you've found the notation you need, copied & pasted it and then amended any ages / terms / other values so they're relevant to the question, you may as well have just typed it out.

You might find copying and pasting within your Word document useful (this is allowed). For example, if you are manipulating an expression then one line will be similar to the previous one, and copying the line above should help to reduce errors. You might even find that part of an expression from one question will be helpful with another. (Note that this refers only to copying within your Word document and not from any reference materials you're using.)

 

[Eleanor Cawston]

Karnen, Sammy,
I have been testing this morning using a function in Word which was mentioned in another thread of this forum: "Formula". Do you know this one? I'd never heard of it, but Googled when others discussed it and am finding it to be helpful. It won't save you tons of time, but I think over the course of the exam it's maybe worth a couple of minutes. And hopefully less chance of transcription error also, transferring numbers from your calculator to Word. I've only used it for simple multiplying and adding - I don't know if it can also handle eg exponentials - but at least I'm not typing the figures once into Word to show my working and then again into the calculator. If you haven't yet, maybe give it a try.

And if anyone knows of other useful Word functions, I would be very happy to hear about them!

 

[Attack]

Karnen, Sammy,
I have been testing this morning using a function in Word which was mentioned in another thread of this forum: "Formula". Do you know this one? I'd never heard of it, but Googled when others discussed it and am finding it to be helpful. It won't save you tons of time, but I think over the course of the exam it's maybe worth a couple of minutes. And hopefully less chance of transcription error also, transferring numbers from your calculator to Word. I've only used it for simple multiplying and adding - I don't know if it can also handle eg exponentials - but at least I'm not typing the figures once into Word to show my working and then again into the calculator. If you haven't yet, maybe give it a try.

And if anyone knows of other useful Word functions, I would be very happy to hear about them!

Were those functions confirmed to be allowed, please confirm this. It may save someone 10 minutes exam time

 

[The Student Actuary]

I understand your concerns Karnan.
I am finding it quite hard to complete the exam on time. Having everything on paper versus having part of the workings on Word and part on paper not only takes up way more time but also more energy. I try to jot down the major points on paper and then try to type them out so as to avoid unnecessary mathematical notation.

Earlier, when IFoA was not clear on the copy and paste issue, I used to calculate on Excel and copy them to word. Since we can no longer do so I find it even harder to finish the exam on time. I wonder why the institute waited 2 weeks prior to the exam to confirm this.

 

[Greentea]

This is sightly tangential, but I've only just started focusing on typing my answers rather than writing them (because as mentioned, it's very inefficient to type vs scribble out working on paper). Just looking at the notation and I can't see suggested notation for a last survivor status?

 

[Lucy England]

They haven't covered absolutely everything on their notation sheet, but they have said they'll accept any sensible notation. I typed out something along the lines of adue:[65(m):60(f)]bar for a last survivor annuity the other day, so you could do something like that if it comes up?

 

[Greentea]

Thank you, yes that seems reasonable

 

[The Student Actuary]

They haven't covered absolutely everything on their notation sheet, but they have said they'll accept any sensible notation. I typed out something along the lines of adue:[65(m):60(f)]bar for a last survivor annuity the other day, so you could do something like that if it comes up?

Thank you this helps!

 

[Lucy England]

If in doubt, you could always just leave a short note below your workings that says something like "ad:[65(m):60(f)]bar represents a last survivor annuity".