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Question Interpretation

R

Rebecca.Thomas

Member
Hi all!

My sticking point seems to be question interpretation - being sure what the examiner wants vs what they asked

Also the level of detail required (e.g. sometimes solutions explain how to assess/allow for something, sometimes they don't!)

Does anyone have any tips on this please?

One of my most recent frustrations is the question "explain the impact of aggregate insurance risk on a capital model" which is looking for correlations within insurance risk rather than, as I read it, correlations between insurance risk and other elements/risks of the capital model!

I fear it's probably too late for this sitting (having previously thought I was getting there), but any advice and tips will be taken on board for future sittings.
 
My comment would be something along the lines of a recent post in another forum on here:

the actuarial profession harps on about 'communication' and being clear about what you're saying but very often gives vague questions in exams which could easily be interpreted differently. This is evidenced by examiners reports with comments such as "many students interpreted the question as... this was not intended"; if many people mis-interpreted it, then it was a poorly worded question.
 
I would recommend that if you haven't done so already that you look at the "Command verbs used in IFoA Associate and Fellowship written examinations" guidance which has been issued by IFoA and is available on their website.

It is intended to give you some guidance as to the level of detail to go into in your answer depending on the command verb used in the question. It won't clear up all of the misunderstandings (like the one mentioned below) but it should help you to gauge the level of detail required.
 
Thanks Darren - I'll take a look. I think the next step for me (if I'm unsuccessful in this exam) would be exam counselling ... I'm just trying to do what I can ahead of this sitting first!

Shillington - I completely agree! I have had these types of thoughts frequently and I often find the examiners to be patronising with an air of "can do no wrong" even including comments such as 'there was an error in this question which student did not pick up on' ... However, this just serves to make me feel as though the exams have an element of pot luck that I'm struggling to get on the favourable side of.
 
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