templates - go back and rewrite answer?

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suidafrika

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1) There are templates in the morning session that you have to write on; sometimes I have inadvertently not realised there was a template and wrote on the alternate paper. What happens in the exam if I do this? Will CFA markers accept the alternate paper that I wrote the solution on or will they give me 0 for not writing on the template? Should I repeat my answer on the template? This takes time and not ideal but others must have gone through the same thing, so what would you advise?
2) In the morning session, for questions where you have to calculate something from a formula, do you advise to write the formula first or can I just plug in numbers and get the same amount of marks?
 
(1) I think you already know the answer to your question… But if you’d like to read a recent case study, search for a post by “bucky” from 2013.
(2) Yes, you should also write out the formula in case you inadvertently get a brain fart and accidentally plug in the wrong number somewhere (i.e., you might earn partial credit with a correct formula, even if your written answer is wrong).
 
Here’s a quick tip. As soon as the exam starts spend 90 seconds flipping through the exam to see which questions have templates and which don’t. Put a “T” or some shorthand next to the questions that have a template. Once you finish the question put a checkmark next to the question in the table of contents. This will cost you 3 minutes of time during the exam, but it’s time well spent in my opinion. You don’t want to fail the exam because you couldn’t follow directions and write in the templates.
If you haven’t looked at a past AM exam, the title page/table of contents lists all of the questions and each question’s point weighting.
 
As far as writing formulas is concerned, I don’t even know the notations for certain fornulas, but I apply them right by plugging in the data and get the right answers. Eg I never knew the notation for micro performance attribution but I apply it right. Do you folks still think writing formula is a must because the notations also vary from where you studied the material eg curriculum and schweser have different notations.
 
Please realize that since 2013 onwards they inform you ahead of the question that you have to answer the question on a template on Page x….
 
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