IFoA September exams - updated FAQs

[Saksham Mehta]

I'd have thought you'd still be able to use the calculate function on a Mac. It's not immediately obvious how to use it - I had to look it up a couple of days ago when it was first mentioned here! I found a website that tells you how to set it up.

So it means that we can use the calculate function of word in our September attempt 2020. As it is availability on all versions of Microsoft and as well as on Mac

 

[Meg]

I'd have thought you'd still be able to use the calculate function on a Mac. It's not immediately obvious how to use it - I had to look it up a couple of days ago when it was first mentioned here! I found a website that tells you how to set it up.

Yeah, I found that same website, I can follow it until is says I'll find a Calculate function under "All Commands", at which point there isn't an option on my Mac and all my googling so far leads me to believe that the calculate functionality doesn't exist in Word for Mac

 

[Lucy England]

How frustrating I'd suggest that it might be better / safer (in terms of the rules) to have Excel open. You can then copy and paste your calculations from Word into the formula bar in Excel, which will definitely calculate the answer for you. It's slightly slower than using the calculate function, but you might find it quicker than using a traditional calculator? Using Excel as a replacement for your calculator in this way is fine under the current rules.

If anyone's still super keen to use the calculate function, then I'd suggest checking with the IFoA as they might say 'no' if it's not something available in all versions of Office. I'm afraid I don't know exactly where they're going to draw the line on these things!

 

[Saksham Mehta]

How frustrating I'd suggest that it might be better / safer (in terms of the rules) to have Excel open. You can then copy and paste your calculations from Word into the formula bar in Excel, which will definitely calculate the answer for you. It's slightly slower than using the calculate function, but you might find it quicker than using a traditional calculator? Using Excel as a replacement for your calculator in this way is fine under the current rules.

If anyone's still super keen to use the calculate function, then I'd suggest checking with the IFoA as they might say 'no' if it's not something available in all versions of Office. I'm afraid I don't know exactly where they're going to draw the line on these things!

Ohk thanks for your reply
I will now use excel for my calculations by copying the the calculations fron word document to the formula bar in excel and then pasting the answer of that calculation in the word.
Thank you

 

[Meg]

How frustrating I'd suggest that it might be better / safer (in terms of the rules) to have Excel open. You can then copy and paste your calculations from Word into the formula bar in Excel, which will definitely calculate the answer for you. It's slightly slower than using the calculate function, but you might find it quicker than using a traditional calculator? Using Excel as a replacement for your calculator in this way is fine under the current rules.

If anyone's still super keen to use the calculate function, then I'd suggest checking with the IFoA as they might say 'no' if it's not something available in all versions of Office. I'm afraid I don't know exactly where they're going to draw the line on these things!

Yup, oh well! Maybe I'm missing something, but realistically I'd hope the time taken to go to Excel vs having some in-built calculator isn't the difference between a pass and a fail!! Thanks Lucy

 

[raidyn]

Have you tried adding a table first in Word? If you then click the 'Layout' option in the top right of your screen, you should see the 'Formula' icon on the right. If you click on that you should be able to type your calculation as you would do in Excel.....but for some reason you have to add a table first!

 

[Meg]

Have you tried adding a table first in Word? If you then click the 'Layout' option in the top right of your screen, you should see the 'Formula' icon on the right. If you click on that you should be able to type your calculation as you would do in Excel.....but for some reason you have to add a table first!

Ah, that works (should have replied sooner sorry)! Thank you raidyn for that advice.

 

[indexo]

What if I still do my calculations in Excel but I copy them over to my table in Word (without any formatting)? Do you think I can do that?

 

[Lucy England]

You'll have to ask the IFoA. I'm afraid they haven't been any clearer with us than they have been with students!

 

[Imy]

I asked the IFoA if I was allowed to use my iPad as I store all my notes on there and they said the following

Thank you for your email regarding your exam sitting.

As advised on the IFoA website (in our latest FAQs for the September 2020 exams):

During these examinations you may refer to any materials available to you – printed, electronic, or online but you are not permitted to use e-templates and any electronic files which contain pre-existing calculations.

In particular you are referring to electronic personal notes, that is allowed.

in the Cm1B prep day they said you can’t use electronic devices, has that changed now?

Thanks!

 

[Lucy England]

Yes, the Assessment Regs have been updated fairly recently (I think the latest version is dated July 2020) and they've removed the bit about only using one device for the purposes of completing the exams.

 

[Kasia]

Hi all,
I've been doing past papers by typing out the formulas in word and then calculating in excel and pasting across the answers - does anyone know if this is allowed? I'm a bit worried about my doc being flagged for plagiarism for copying and pasting because of this but it takes a lot longer (and has room for error) when typing out the #s from excel?!

 

[Lucy England]

Hi all,
I've been doing past papers by typing out the formulas in word and then calculating in excel and pasting across the answers - does anyone know if this is allowed? I'm a bit worried about my doc being flagged for plagiarism for copying and pasting because of this but it takes a lot longer (and has room for error) when typing out the #s from excel?!

I'm afraid I can't say for sure about this. A few students have been discussing how to perform calculations within Word above, so it might be worth reading those posts.

Otherwise, you could try checking with the IFoA about the approach you're using to see if they can clarify things.

 

[Lucy England]

It looks like the IFoA has now removed the following wording from the FAQs section about using Excel:

Calculations that are copied and pasted from Excel (or any other application) into your Word answer script will receive zero marks.

This section now reads:

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 the appropriate 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'll create a new post about this, but wanted to make sure anyone who's following this discussion gets the update. It looks like the ban on copying and pasting from Excel has been removed and they're just saying that you need to make sure you're showing workings.

So make sure you make it clear in your Word document how you've worked things out, but it now sounds like it's OK to copy and paste results from Excel into Word (something I said I wasn't sure about yesterday).