OK so maybe I'm being a bit moany (is that a word?) but I have come across a few examples of poorly worded questions and I'm after some general advice.
Take S08 Q6 parts (iv) & (v). It's the block before these last two parts and it says:
"the investor... takes out a 3-month call option on the stock at a price which is 5% below...50p"
Which price are they referring to??? Options have a strike price and an actual-price price (ct). The question doesn't say it's either. I first thought they meant the strike but then thought 'they haven't said it's the strike price they've said "a price" so it must be the option price. Yes and in part (v) they ask you to talk about the movement of the option price which is sort of a Black-Scholes question' But they meant strike! Why can't they just say that?
My solution didn't actually differ that much because even without knowledge of the strike price you arrive at the same conclusion (sort of) and I assume if I'd made it clear what I was doing in the exam I would have got credit (I assume!). It just made it harder to get my head round.
But sometimes it won't work out, what if we get an ambiguous question in the next paper, what do we do?
OK we can write "assuming you mean this..." but what if we don't get credit for it? I want to make sure I get the marks but I don't think it's entirely fair that the exmainers aren't actually asking the question properly.
Mostly venting, but actual suggestions welcome...