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Is it requirement to quote an audit standard verbatim when applying it’s concept in a scenario. I’ve scored 44 on two separate attempts. Yes same mark twice!! And I don’t seem to know where I go wrong. And yes I’ve read many articles too and posts here. Please help!
Fred, why are you wasting time trying to memorise verbatim the IASs? There’s no need to remember / quote neither the title, the number nor even the detailed content – believe me!
Are you writing enough? 16 marks = 16 points = 16 paragraphs
Are you sticking rigidly to time allocation?
Are you stopping answering a 16 mark question after 28.8 minutes (and that includes the planning time of 8 minutes)
Are you answering the question? “State what further procedures ….” is radically different that “State what evidence you should expect to find ….”
Are you addressing the verb used in the requirement – a big difference between “identify” and “explain” (and others too)
Are you planning IN THE ANSWER BOOKLET what points you are going to make in the written answer
Are you spending the appropriate length of time in the planning process? 16 marks = 8 minutes planning
Are you re-reading the question requirement after you’ve finished the planning process to make sure that your plan hasn’t wandered off tangentially and that, if you were to write out fully the points that you have planned, you will be answering the question, the whole question and nothing but the question (shmG)?
Are you? Really? Honestly? Sure?
Your points are an eye opener. I don’t give enough points. I don’t remember giving an equal amount of points for marks. I will work on your comments better. Please what other areas should I look out for. P7 is my last paper and I don’t want to fail again! Help me pass Mike!
Fred – I’m amazed that you’ve got this far without even the most basic exam technique! I have to take my hat off and salute you on this great achievement. Well done
But now for P7
When you’re planning, make the points in bullet form – just one or two words sufficient to remind you what that point is to be. I find that students when planning tend to write out full sentences. NO! DON’T DO THAT
Just one or two words per point
You know that there’s 1.8 minutes per mark – I know that you know that!
Now I’m telling you to take 30 seconds per mark to plan an answer
So for your 16 mark question you start with 28.8 minutes or 1.8 minutes per mark
By the time you have reached the end of you planning time, you’re now down to 20.8 minutes or 1.3 minutes per mark
And each mark is ONE sentence (= ONE paragraph)
Just how much do you think you can write in 1 minute 18 seconds? 5 lines? 6 lines? 10 lines?
Right now, immediately, before you read beyond this and the next paragraph, get a book / magazine / newspaper / circular and a blank sheet of A4 paper, a pen and a stopwatch (better still get your partner to oversee this activity and do the timing)
Now, start the watch and COPY with no thought involved from the book / paper …. and stop after 1 minute 18 seconds
Did you manage to get onto the fourth line?
That’s the MAXIMUM length of a sentence / paragraph in your exam answer and it contains just ONE markable point.
Not more that one! Just ONE
Leave a line between your paragraphs to make your script easy for the marker and away you go – affiliate in February!
Thanks a lot! But timing hasn’t been a problem for me both sittings. I complete! One thing I’m realizing is that I hadn’t raised enough points; and I think that stems from the marking scheme, where two or three marks are given for a valid point,so I felt once my point was valid enough,the quantity will matter less. But what other things?? Like you said, I know how to time myself and I work within my timing limits. And I write an average of 5.5 lines in a minute(without forethought)
5.5 lines? Then you’re the fastest I’ve ever come across!
No, nothing else.
Just remember, Pointz Meanz Marx!
Fred, I’m hoping that you will be out of my life at the end of the first week in February! (In the nicest possible way!)
I’ll not wish you luck in the future just yet because you may wish to post again. But, believe me, in February I shall be so glad to see you go :-))
Hi Mike,
On some day very close to the exam date I came to this topic by accident and found it actually very useful. I did self study through the lecture notes and practiced some questions but had never kept in mind that 1 point = 1 mark = 1 paragraph = 1.8 minutes. After reading this, I practiced again but this time paid attention to giving exactly one point for each sentence equal to one paragraph.
I did not practice much with the new technique, but the surprising thing is I scored 77 for the Dec 2015 exam, which is the highest mark I’ve ever had. If it’s not because of your useful advice then I don’t know what is (although the good lecture note also helped).
So I would like to say thanks, although we have never talked before. I read quite a lot of topics you replied and found them very interesting and sometimes funny (this topic is an example). It’s quite a pity because I completed all papers that you are responsible for, so I won’t have chances to ask you anything. But still I want to thank you, sincerely, for the wonderful job you have been doing for us students. Thank you very much!
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