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Dear tutor,
I haven’t been in contact with you on a regular basis with relation to my exam in dec 2010, as I have been for other tutors, but the main reason for that was I assumed p3 was an easy paper. I have a good solid background for theory papers like this and I thought I had it all covered. Because I didn’t take regular classes, I took a “crash course” for revision and to assure my chances of a pass. On the day of exam, I had a decent enough paper to get me a pass according to myself, because I thought I covered the major parts with a good understanding. I did screw up on the ‘strategic management/change’ question (question 1) but I messed up in 1 part and I think that was of 25 marks but even if I didn’t write a single word on it (which was not the case and I should have written 2 or 3 valid points ATLEAST) I should have managed to pass. However , I got a score of 41 on the paper,which is my least ever score on any paper I have ever attempted in my life. I just can’t believe it. I need your help regarding :1) can you suggest me ways and areas where I might have lacked . I am very strong with theory papers. I had good enough knowledge of p3 overall (apart from strategic change) and I have good writing skills. Time management was poor for me for this paper. Although I remember I didn’t mark some of the questions on a few pages like it is asked.. Could that be the reason for this result?
2) I have picked p4 and 7 for options. I wish to continue studying that. Is it OK to give p3 along with these 2 since the concepts are fresh. I think I can manage that. I also have to repeat p2, is it better to attempt p2 again with 4 and 7 . I am not a full time student I work as an independent part time tutor and I do not wish to take classes for either p2 or 3 again.
Assuming that you have good theoretical knowledge in P3 then it should be possible to do two more P level papers in one sitting also, but you seem to propose tackling 4 papers, which is a lot. Why not spread it out to be safe – say one retake and one new one.
It’s difficult to know why you didn’t score enough marks without seeing your paper. My only suggestions for self-analysis are:
1 Did you address the scenarios sufficiently rather then simply write theoretical answers? This is a very common fault.
2 Did you write enough? I usually advise that for a 25 mark question ( = 45 minutes) you should aim to write 3 sides. Much less than that and you probably don’t give enough detail.
HTH
I did write enough on several questions, and like I said the questions didn’t seem to trouble me alot other that One part of question 1.. I read clearly in the marking schemes that a mark will be awarded for every valid point! Is that a little vague? Do you believe there can be a scanning error?
ACCA is very careful in its exam script handling (it’s really a critical success factor for them). If you request a review they don’t remark, but you will be told how you did (Pass/fail) on each question. The review costs £52 and only you can decide whether it’s worth paying that – if only to allow you to progress without feeling injustice.
hi sir ive some queries regarding p3 first of all i am doing p3 on self study and i find alot of models in it so what is the best way to tackle it and are there any parts in p3 in which we can do rote learning,and some tips for self study ..and iam also following your notes and ftc book. thaknz
All models mentioned in the syllabus or study guide are important, but some are more important than others insofar as they can be applied to many scenarios. The most important are:
PESTEL
Porter’s 5 forces
SWOT
Resources (sometimes known as 9Ms)
Generic strategies
Ansoff’s matrix
Harmon’s process/strategy matrix
Balogun and Hope Hailey
6Is of e-business
4 or 7 Ps of marketingRote learning is of limited use in P3. Of course you have to know models, but you tend not to have to describe them. It is much more common for you to be required to apply them.
As for approach to the paper, question practice is very important. So, learn the theory, then pick a question (some revision kits have an index by topic) that applies that theory.
HTH
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Dear Tutor,
Same as Rafay Ali i have failed the December 2010 exams. I got a score of 31, i was very surprised as i thought that i’ve attempted all questions well. Moreover, i have been able to use the appropriate models where required.
Some of my friends told me that they were sure to fail as they didn’t make use of models at all but when the results came they got 50.
PLEASE EXPLAIN what could have been the problem for me!?!?!
(think I’ve answered the questions in a rote manner 🙁Anyway, I will attend this paper again in June and i would be grateful if you could give me the adequate way of revising. I don’t want to fail again.. i really appreciate this paper but the problem is that i don’t know how to learn properly…
PLEASE NEED HELP…
thanks…First assess whether you knew the factual material. For example in the Dec exam there was a question on portfolio managers, synergy managers and parental developers. Also, I think, one on competitive strengths of nations.
If the technical stuff was ok then the problem was probably not answering with enough reference to the scenarios. There is material on the OT site that takes you through scenario questions.
HTH
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OK thanks 🙂
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