Tips for passing CFA® Program Level III exam
Level III of the CFA® Program is tough – and as you already know, it’s a very different challenge to the previous levels. But even when you have not been successful, a few insights from our graders into useful techniques for avoiding common mistakes can help give you the best chance of success the next time around.
Since you already know a lot about how Level III is different to Levels I and II, you’ll start with an advantage. Now it’s just about identifying a few ways to up your game.
What to do and what mistakes to avoid – tips from our graders
Below, our graders provide a few pieces of advice and ways to avoid common mistakes as you prepare to take another run at the Level III exam.
1. Follow the commands
In Level III it’s more important than ever to make sure you follow the “command word”, the bolded word in an exam question that is intended to guide to you as to how to approach your answer.
Even if you have already studied it before, it’s worth revising your knowledge of the complete list of command words that CFA Institute publishes online, as it includes descriptions of exactly how candidates are expected to formulate their answers in response to them.
It’s critically important that you understand the meanings of the command words – and that you pay attention to them in the exam. Failing to do this is one of the most common mistakes made by candidates. Even if you know the information that the question is looking for, if you don’t formulate your answer appropriately for the command word, you might not get credit.
“Compare”, for example, is asking you to state the similarities and differences between two things. It is different to “contrast”, which is only looking for the differences. Pay attention to these nuances.
Sometimes individual command words carry the meaning of other command words within them. “Compare” also encompasses “describe” and “explain”, for example. Again, the online guide will help you get familiar with all this.
Grader tip 1:
Make sure you know the command words – and be sure to follow them in the exam.
2. Be selective
Another common pitfall is writing too much – a real risk in Level III’s essay-style questions where you have an empty box in which to write your answer. It’s tempting to think that giving more information could never work against you, but it can when it shows you have not clearly understood what is being asked for.
While the longer answer format is sometimes referred to as an “essay”, a few short sentences is usually all that is required for full credit – assuming they have the correct information. But candidates will sometimes throw everything they can think of into their answer, in the hope of hitting the mark somewhere.
Not only will this not earn you any extra credit, it may even harm your chances. Remember: if a question asks you for two reasons, then give just two reasons, not four or five. Contrary to what you might think, the graders will not simply take the two best ones out of the selection you have provided.
Grader tip 2:
There are no extra points for irrelevant information – don’t talk yourself out of marks!
3. Think about structure
Another danger is writing in a confusing way. Graders like to see each part of an answer deal with one distinct concept, rather than everything being bundled together. Remember, graders are looking to identify specific pieces of information that they can match up with the correct answer for a question. If you confuse the issue by lumping one answer with another, you do not help yourself.
If a question asks for two answers, present them in separate sentences or separate paragraphs, rather than merging them. Sometimes the question itself will be structured in this way, for example with one part labelled as “i” and another as “ii”. You should aim to mirror how the question is formulated, and if it contains two distinct points, don’t combine them in your answer.
Grader tip 3:
When structuring your answer, take your lead from the structure of the question.
4. Give yourself an edge
As with the other levels of the CFA Program, in Level III you should make sure that you take full advantage of the practice materials that are on offer.
All Level III candidates get two mock exams when they register, but the optional practice pack gives you another two mock exams plus 300 multiple-choice questions to help you test your knowledge as part of your revision process.
And beginning with the 2026 exam cycle, there is even more reason to spend time taking mock exams. In the past, these papers gave you an explanation of the answer and the context behind it, but from now on they will also provide a scoring rubric detailing how many points are available for each question, meaning that candidates can give themselves an actual score for their mock exam rather than simply having access to correct answers.
Grader tip 4:
Use all the practice materials – today they are more useful than ever.
5. Leave no blanks
And finally – answer all the questions! There is absolutely nothing to be gained in leaving an answer blank, even if you don’t think you know the answer.
Write something, and you might be right. Write nothing, and you can only be wrong.
Good luck!
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