Wish I had some more time…..
Ø The
paper was very very lengthy. How can one complete so many questions in three
hours time?
Ø I
knew the answer, wish I had some more time.
Ø This
question was short; I should have attempted this instead of that.
Ø The
paper was easy but was lengthy.
Do any of the above statements
fit your frame of mind when you are out of examination hall after a 3 hours of
battle (as many students feel – CA exams are none less than a war) with the
question paper, especially of a practical paper?
If your answer is yes, then it is
time to rethink at your strategy of attempting the exams. Though attempting the
entire one hundred marks of paper is not required to clear the exams or for
that matter even to get a rank, being not able to answer a question which you
know can be heartbreaking at times. For those who are at the edge, it becomes
much more relevant to attempt all questions they know.
Here are some factors which I feel
might be affecting student’s ability to attempt all questions on time (these
are based on my own experience and experiences of my friends).
Ø Some
students tend to write too long answers. As a rule of thumb, a 4/5/6 mark
question should not exceed a page. Of course, there are exceptions. It may
exceed a page in some case where there is a elaborate question. Some questions
need only a half page answers. You have to write answers for what is asked by
the question. There is no need to tell the examiner that you know everything.
For e.g. in IPCC paper, a question was asked on rights of a retired partner in
profits of the firm. You do not have to write the rights of a partner as
regards to goodwill, capital etc. Similarly for a question asking on amount of
depreciation to be charged, you do not have to prepare Fixed Asset Ledger
Account. Writing extra does not fetch you extra marks. Similarly for a question
asking P&L appropriation account, you do not have to prepare partners
capital account.
Ø Another
common factor is spending too much of time in first couple of questions and
missing out the questions attempted at the last. You may attempt the first
question with perfection by spending about 45 mins to 1 hour but always
remember that only the opening batsman cannot win you the match. Remaining
questions also needs to be attempted reasonably well. Rationalizing the time
spent on each question can help you to attempt all questions. Otherwise, there
may be some regrets of missing out on an easy question which you could have
attempted if you had time.
Ø Choosing
the wrong question – here I mean a question which you are not comfortable with.
Spending too much of time and energy to crack a question which is not getting
solved is another factor. Just skip the question and move on to another
question. You can get back to the question anytime later. Many students feel
that more marks would be given for questions which are fully attempted and
completely correct. However, the institute marking system awards marks for each
step and not just for the final answer. If a question has six steps, each step
would be carrying proportionate marks.
Each of the above areas can be addressed
for a better efficiency and management of the paper against the stipulated 3
hours time. No doubt there is an insurmountable pressure on the candidates, but
this is how professional exams are. The paper
is generally not lengthy but we tend to give lengthy answers and make it
lengthy. Answers are to be given to the point and there is no point in beating
around the bush as in a graduate examination. Always remember that it is not about managing time, it is about managing yourself in the limited time.
Good luck...
