what is the easiest way to write formulae in the audit trail please? Also I find I'm massively pushed for time on paper 1. Never able to get an audit trail and model that looks like the sample solutions in the time available. Any tips greatly appreciated Thanks
For formulae, whatever is quick & easy, but is clear. Don't spend time doing fancy equations (using the equation editor in Office), or even subscripts. Something like this, for example, would be perfectly fine: A(x) = A(x+1) * v * (1-q(x)) + q(x) If you're unsure that something would be understood, define it. On Paper 1, I'd agree that this an area that a lot of students struggle with. To be fair, it's something that the examiners have struggled with as well, as the new exam format has been bedded in - the earlier exams were harder than the more recent ones. If you're still struggling with the more recent papers, then you need to change what you're doing. What you need to do is focus on getting through to the end with a half-decent standard, and then embellish. This means: - don't spend lots of time worrying about the data - do a few checks, document them, and move on. - don't spend time formatting your model until it's done and working - make sure your audit trail covers everything to a reasonable standard before going back and adding in an overview, more detail on data, etc. Rather do everything at 60% than half of it at 100%. I've lost count of the number of papers I've marked where I've been thoroughly impressed by the detail in the overview, the thoroughness of the data checks, and then been disappointed when it ends abruptly half-way through. Lastly, bear in mind that the model solutions are more like 'near-perfect' solutions than a mere passing standard. So don't worry if you're not matching them.
