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Tips for Taking the Level III Essay Exams

 

The Level III essay exam is given in the morning session and has a maximum score of 180 points. The essay exam typically has 10–15 questions, and questions may have multiple parts. The points for each question and each question part are given in the exam.

 

The following are some general tips for Level III candidates on the essay exam:

 

  • The published guideline answers on past essay exams are more complete and better written than actual exam answers that receive full credit.
  • The published guideline answers may not reflect all alternative approaches to the question that received full or partial credit.
  • Answers are graded only on content. They are not graded for language and style.
  • Use short phrases and bullet points to save time, but be sure your meaning is clear.
  • Handwriting is rarely so poor that the answer cannot be graded.
  • Points are awarded for direct answers to a question.
  • No points are awarded for general knowledge that is not responsive to the question.
  • Do not spend too much time writing an answer. This is particularly tempting when you know the topic well. Formulate a direct response to the command words, and use the amount of time allotted.

  • You should expect to encounter questions that you will not be able to answer correctly. There is a great deal of material to master and exam questions are challenging. Standard setters and the Board of Governors (at all three levels) take account of exam difficulty in setting Minimum Passing Scores. For a full description of how the MPS is established, see The CFA Program: Our 5th decade (PDF).

 

The following are common reasons that graders give for poor candidate performance on the essay portion of the Level III:

 

  • Not responsive to command word list (list, define, etc.)
  • Answered a question they wish they had been asked instead of the question that was asked.
  • No work shown on a calculation question and the answer is incorrect.
  • Hedged on questions that asked for a recommendation and justification (e.g., recommended A, but justified B).
  • Neglected to answer part of the question (especially if a several part question). Note that you can still answer part E, even if you do not know the answer to part D.
  • Content area experts spent too much time on their area of expertise, leaving too little time for weak areas.
  • Providing more items or responses than requested. If a question asks for three factors, only the first three that you list will be graded.