Selecting Content for CP3 Exam

Dear Acted Tutor and All,

In my past exams, I have mostly lost marks because of information that I write in the exam. Comparing the Exam Solutions, I always notice that this information is something that I know but I seem to have not written them and therefore lost the necessary marks.

Can someone help me with this as to how to select the necessary information and what to include? What tools to be used and how to present the information. I seem to usually understand that I miss out details assuming that it is Communications exam as I mostly believe it is too technical or not necessary.

Looking forward to your responses.

Thanks!

 

Hi Falak,

In the CP3 exam, do include the technical concepts but in simple layman terms. That's what is paper is all about. Graphs and charts are also important but needed only when necessary, like when explaining trends, or comparing data, or likewise. Also, you can include tables, but do not spend a lot of time on tables and charts. Keep it quick, and simple. Time is a very crucial part of this paper. Also see if you are losing marks in technical jargon, if you may be using them. Avoid words even as simple as 'parameters', 'mean', 'median', etc.

I hope this helps!
Shdh

 

Thank you Shdh. That is insightful. However, my query is more focused on plucking out necessary information. I understand that this information would be more available and subject to case at hand but I generally tend to miss out on the necessary information that requires to be communicated.

Any help with selecting and drafting the necessary ifnormation to provide would be helpful. I am curious what tools are used to select this information?

 

Hi Falak,
Identifying the content required in your answer is probably the hardest part of the exam. Filtering data is a skill that was added to the syllabus when CA3 became CP3, so you will always be given more information than you need. That means you will always have to work out what’s needed in your answer and what you can leave out. You might find that in the real exam it’s a little more obvious, though you will still need to think about what information is relevant. I suggest you work your way through all the CP3 past papers and map out a rough structure for your answer (even if you don’t have time to draft the answer neatly). That will give you a good idea of how the examiners write the questions and where you might find hints to what you should include in your answer. In general, the exam is ‘positively marked’, so you will earn marks for including relevant information and explaining it clearly. You can also lose marks for irrelevant content, but you will only lose a few marks at most so including a bit too much is better than not including enough. I would say that if you find yourself going into lots of detail on one point though, or needing to use a lot of figures, then you’re probably going further than you need to. Beyond that, it’s tricky to give much guidance on the ‘content’ marks because there have only been a few CP3 exam sittings since the subject was introduced and each has been quite different. The examiners aren’t trying to catch you out though, so look for key points in the question that guide you to what is needed in your answer. Hopefully, that will lead you to about three or four sections for your answer.
I have used X Series Assignments marking, which really helped me out given I was struggling too in the content marks. For X1, it was a fail and with time X2 and X3, it was a pass and i passed the CP3 exam on the first attempt. Maybe, if you want to have realistic feedback, have a shot at the X Series Marking or even a Mock Exam marking?
Hope this helps.

 

Dear Darshan,

Thanks for your detailed explanation. It certainly helps. I have purchased the Mock Exam marking as well as the Assignment Xs. But your counsel above is certainly helpful.

Thanks.