E1 traditionally has one of the best pass rate among all CIMA papers. In the November 2011 exam, the UK pass rate is 67% (highest) and the global pass rate is 56% (2nd equal). However for those who come from a typical accounting background, this paper may not be your favourite as there is no calculation involved. Now with just over a month to go until the resits in late Feb, what should you do to prepare yourself?
The examiner has pointed out in the latest Post exam guide that many students score heavily on MCQ in Section A, moderately in short questions in Section B but poorly in the scenario questions in Section C. This means that the key to success is how to prepare Section C well. In fact, if you can do Section C well, you will find the later papers such as E2 and E3 relatively easy.
One very common problem with failing students is that they don't write enough. Although it is quality not quantity that matters, it is hard for examiner to award you marks if the content is simply not enough. The examiner has commented that, "some answers were nothing more than outline notes when the question had more substantial requirements." Usually, for a 10 marks question I will try to write about 1-1.5 A4 page (with normal size hand writing).
Another common issue in this paper is poor time management. The examiner points out that some students did not spend enough time on Section C, thus scoring poorly. In general, you should stick to the rule of 1.8 mins per mark available. Therefore, you can have 45 mins to complete a 25 question. Given there are 10 MCQ in Section A and these can be comlpeted fairly quickily, you may be able to "gain" some extra time for Section C. You may want to refer to the examiner's guide on passing E1 for some tips on Time Management.
Finally, don't forget to check out the articles archives which have many useful articles such as this one: Model answer - An exam room approach to answer E1 questions.
Hi all,
I appeared for my E1 exams this Nov'2011 and i scored 74 marks. To me the secret of this mark is going through the previous CIMA exams papers. It you go thru the past exam papers from 2006 till date, i guess you can easily get thru this paper. Also refer to the CIMA official study text.
All the best for the exams!!!
There has to be something more to passing then that. I failed E1 for a 2nd time in Nov 11. I had all the MCQ questions done in the reading time (getting 9 out of 10 right) leaving plenty of time for the rest of the exam. For the two 25 mark questions I spent time planning my answer getting my outline notes together, re-reading the requirement, highlighting the important points in the scenario and then writing. (about 3 pages per question) Yet still only manages to scrape 8 and 10 marks respectively. I just don't understanding what I'm doing wrong and how I can improve to pass this exam and the rest going up the levels. It's very disheartening. I've only just passed my Degree without failing a single exam (in night school as well, working full time)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Sheena,
It sounds to me as if you know the material your problem appears to be to do with conversion of that to answering the question.
You need to make sure that the answer you give matches the requirement. One technique that I recommend for students who have a tendancy to have difficulty with this is to ask them to rewrite the question in their own words and then to see what if anything you've missed whether it is part of the requirement (look out for 'and'!) or application to a particular aspect of the scenario.
Your plan should focus on thinking about the structure of your answer, rather than just the theory that you think is relevant. You also need to apply your answer to the scenario, for example don't just say that PEST is useful for environmental scanning but why it would be useful for this particular company to do environmental scanning.
Without having seen your answer style I can't be more specific but I would recommend you show a practice answer to your tutor and ask for their feedback.
Thank you for your reply.
I felt when writing my answer that is what I did constantly tying it back to the scenario etc. I spent my time truly digesting what I thought I understood of the requirement but still ended up way off the mark. Oh well, I'll just have to try again in Feb and hope for the best.
Hi Sheena,
In that case I think my advice to show a practice answer to your tutor is really important. If you are resitting at the end of Feb I assume you are booked on a resit course. I'm sure you will have the opportunity to do so if that's the case,
Rachel
Balaji and Rachel: Many thanks for your comment and advice. Balaji, 74 is indeed a very good mark. Well done!
Sheena: It seems that you have done many things right. May be you can try asking your friend or even better a tutor to mark your mock paper, using PEG as marking scheme. Sometimes we may feel that we have fulfiled all the requirements but examiner may think differently. Hopefully this may help you to close the gap.
Hi Sheena,
Do not lose your confidence. Just ensure you revise the past exam papers and you will definitely clear this time.
All the best.
Hi Folks,
With just a week left for the E1 resit, would it help if I go through only the previous year question papers !!
This is my third attempt..
Thanks!
Hi Tarun,
The more practice the better, however given the limited time you have now, I will suggest you go focus on the long questions in section C. This is the section where students usually perform badly. Make sure you have tried some past questions under exam condition. You may also use this "past exam questions by learning outcomes" log to help you to focus on certain area.
Good luck!
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