is answering all questions compulsory

Though I have taken CA1 couple of times, I find that I am unable to answer all the questions.I feel the question paper is quite lengthy. How can I overcome this problem? Is answering all questions a must for a pass?
Any past experience please share.

 

Hi, in order to pass the total marks must be above the pass mark and the candidate should have scored above a certain level in each paper. If the total mark is a borderline FA, then the quality of answers, trail of thought & examiners perception will decide whether to award a pass or not. This is subjective and that's why there are detailed marking schemes and 2-3 markers for consistency as well as to remove subjecivity. But I guess you already know this.

To answer your question, answering all questions is not a must for a pass.
But the way the exam and marking works is such that statistically speaking one need to attempt everything to get enough marks to be in the pass range.
In order words one needs to score as high as possible to pass. My suggestions:

1) I think it would help to identify the areas and chapters you are weak in and focus on those. Acted has revision workbooks that split past exam questions by chapters. I found these to be very useful.

2) Mark your own work or get a friend to mark yours against the answers. You will then see things from the examiners point of view and know why you are not scoring enough points. Examiners are looking for keywords, keypoints in answers

3) Underline keywords/keypoints in your answers to make it easier for the examiners to mark.

4) Practice as many old and relevant 300 series questions as possible. These are covered in the revision books and very often appear again in CA1.

5)Make sure you know the entire Core Reading by heart. These are free marks and should not be given away. Every point counts and brings one closer to passing

6) You should also practice questions under exam conditions. Do this by one question at a time and slowly build up to working on full exam papers. Through enough practice I believe there comes a point where one starts understanding the subject and the kind of answers the examiners are looking for. Practice, active marking, self criticising helps one understand the subject better IMO

7) Use a different approach with each attempt to keep the mind fresh and active instead of becoming passive

8) Practice an exam paper everyday for 1-2 weeks up to the eve of the exam. OK this is extreme but it helps settle you into exam mode sooner and reduce exam panic fear

9) Arrange your points in order of importance. This creates a good impression to examiner and shows them you understand the relevant considerations when given a problem. It also makes marking easier

10) Practice the art of reading and inferring questions.

 

Many thanx. You have thrown light on a sure pass. I'll follow ur advice sincerely and let u know on passing

 

i'm not sure what statistics are being referred to here, but obviously its perfectly possible to get no marks on some questions and still pass. To pass you just need enough marks in total to exceed the pass mark - it doesn't matter where you score them (or on which paper).

That said, the gist of what calibre is saying is probably right - as a rule of thumb, most questions usually have a few easy marks (for regurgitating bookwork, or stating some obvious points), which most people will get, whereas the last few marks will be pretty tough. So the most efficient use of your time probably doesn't involve leaving more than one (tricky short) question unattempted.

What you said suggests that you are running out of time, rather than ideas - if that's the case, then surely it suggests that exam technique and time management are your main problems, more than lack of knowledge, so i'd focus on trying to improve in those areas if I were you. You have 15 mins reading time, so you should use this to plan your time - then stick to the plan!

 

I agree with most points...even if you write only a few lines on some questions you can gain marks.

Think where your time has been eaten away. Is it on questions where there is loads of info to read? What ever it is, you may need to use the reading time on these types of question.

Pay attention to descriptive words in questions as these are often things that get discussed in answers eg New v established provider etc. Before you write anything, think how it is relevant. If it isn't don't say it.

If you've never done one, a revision course or mock may be very helpful