My L2 Secret: "Command Words"

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cgeorgan

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I’d like to share the single, most important thing that helped me pass the L2 exam, and that was my discovery (40 days into studying) that there existed a list of CFAI “Command Words”.
Here they are, right here:
http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/courseofstudy/Pages/los_command_w...
Like others, I looked through the LOS for each chapter and saw the same things. Here’s an example, from study session 12:
“Discuss factors that require adjustment when estimating the discount rate for private companies.”
Prior to discovering the “Command words,” I would have simply attempted to memorize the formula for arriving at a discount rate for a private company. However, that’s not what we’re being told here.
If the CFAI wanted us to learn the formula, the command word used in the LOS would have been either “calculate,” “compute,” or possibly “demonstrate.” You see - you don’t need to learn anything more about this section other than to discuss the factors. DISCUSS!
I began applying this across the board. Do you realize how many formulas you DO NOT need to learn? How many concepts you simply need to “understand,” and which ones you really do need to be able to “compute?” It was a life saver!
Who knows…maybe this is old news and everybody and their mother out there knows this. However, it was news to me, and radically altered my study plan and my ability to dedicate the amounts of time necessary to the important subjects.
TL;DR: The CFAI tells you when you need to be able to discuss something, compare something, and calculate something. It’s not all formulas and memorization! Read the LOS, know what you’re being asked to do.
 
I do agree that the command word is not emphasized in the CFAI textbooks but it is consistently referred to in my schweiser notes, ie they recognise that formulas/calculations may not be needed for a particular LOS.
However, I do believe it plays a greater importance at level 3.
 
Thank you very much. I think I will remember to use this strategy in my level 3.
 
this is referred to extensively in the schweser l2 videos as well…..hope its there in the l3 vids too :)
 
spaiydz wrote:I do agree that the command word is not emphasized in the CFAI textbooks
This is not true at all; I’m not sure why you would say this. The command words are right there in the Learning Outcome Statements, which are discretely listed at the start of each reading. “Calculate this,” “Discuss that,” “Explain some other thing” is the CFAI’s way of telling you exactly what you need to come away with in the textbooks.
 
What about “safety words”? From my experience, forgetting these words result in bad things.
 
I certainly understand the difference between Calculate and Explain. But terms such Describe, Discuss, Explain and Demonstrate all have very nearly the same meaning to me. Same goes with Contrast, Compare and Distinguish.
 
this is why using schweser is useful - they break it down to LOSs and teach to the LOS.
 
It appears the command word list has been updated and downloadable, which is a good thing.
Still, command words such as Compare, Contrast and Distinguish are very similar.
 
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