I have failed the SA2 exam for the second time. In my first attempt in Sep 2019, I got 60.5%, missing the passmark by 1.5 marks. I never gave up, I worked even harder. In the last exam sitting, I got 60%. Although we don't know the passmark yet, I have a feeling that I missed it again by not more than 2 marks. The pain is overwhelming. Feeling hopeless now. What can I do to hit the passmark? I am even thinking of taking a break or trying another exam (SA1 specifically). Anybody with some advice? Please share.
Hi - I am sorry to hear that - it must be very frustrating for you. I will leave it for others who have been in the same situation to share any thoughts on the value of taking a break or switching subjects. However, I would add that although it might feel hard to do so, you should take the positives from being so close to passing. You must be doing quite a lot right. Do you understand why you are falling short? Is it exam technique (such as writing style, eg wasting time writing points too elaborately, or not sticking closely enough to the question etc?), or ability to generate a wide enough range of ideas, or understanding of the course content? Have you had marker feedback on mocks or full exam paper attempts that can help you to pin this down? Working out what the 'gap' is and then aiming to 'fill it' would seem like a good next step. Are you making the most of the available resources? As well as the tutorials (which are currently being held online due to the coronavirus), we now have an Online Classroom available for SA2. This is a set of videos covering most of the course chapters, in which we work through the tougher areas of technical content, go through questions (as we would in a tutorial) and talk about idea generation methods. Might be useful?
You are almost there and picked a good line for passing the exam. Try to attempt full paper and give short bullet point wise answer. Manage your time with exact number of points in any answer rather than many points irrespective of marks for the question. I wont suggest switching to SA1 at this stage. Best of luck.
Hi Kamau, I totally understand your feeling. I am at the exactly same situation with you, 60% and 60% for Sep and this time. My issue is I cannot go through and finish all questions in the paper. For both time, I can only attempt 90% questions. It seems like I wasted too much time on irrelevant points or elaborated in too much unnecessary details. So my next step is to work hard on exam skills, i.e. timed mock and smarter writing style, with concise bullet point. I have to complete the full paper to pass. I will attempt Sep again. Hope you don't give up as well. We are almost there. Best luck with us.
Thank you and sorry for everything. We will hack this one finally. I think I will also have to work on my exam skills. Cheers and best of luck too!
Hi Lindsay Thank you very much for the advice. I will consider using some of these resources. Thank you once more.
Yes... 2 points for 1 mark. Although some main points in answer carry 1 mark each. So, for a rough idea 16-17 points will be sufficient for 10 marks question. Keep point short as you have seen in examiner report.
Finally managed to hack the SA2 after 3 attempts, such a happy ending! Thank you all for the tips. Han Wang, did you retake the exam? How did it go?
Hi Kamau, congratulations!!! and yes I did resit SA2 in Sep and managed to pass it as well. So finally qualified and no more papers!!
Thank you Yengest. I put a lot of work on my exam skills as advised by some members above. I revised as hard as I has done in the previous sittings but managed time better during the exam...used concise bullet points for answers and ensured that I follow the 2 points for each 1 mark mark rule.
