p; P3 past questions as the archive develops. There is no substitute
for working through such questions including relevant ones from
the old paper 3.5, and possibly the odd question from the old 3.4
from the exam resources archive. Students should pay particular
attention to highlighting what they think are the relevant pieces of
information using a marker or highlighter pen. It is then possible
to use that information to help to make points and to support reasoning.
Note that published answers to questions may not include some
other valid approaches to answering past paper questions, or all
the valid points that could be made by candidates.
My second tip is to manage and allocate time effectively in the
exam itself. I suggest that students should take approximately 25
minutes to read Q1 and make notes. They should then allow 70
minutes to answer that question. In Section B I would recommend
allocating 10 minutes to reading and deciding which question to
answer, and then 35 minutes per question for writing time.
My third tip is to make sure that students strictly apply any
information, including making use of any financial information or
other data provided, in a relevant way, according to the precise
requirements of the question.
Interviewer: What do you believe to be the main potential pitfalls in preparing
for, and taking, the P3 exam?
Examiner: Well at the moment we only have one sitting to go on. However,
three main pitfalls emerged from that sitting:
The first pitfall is a general lack of preparedness for the exam by
many candidates. In December 2007, students hadn’t adequately
prepared for project management, and were unprepared to discuss
quality aspects sufficiently such as Six Sigma in Q4(b).
The second main pitfall is poor time allocation within questions,
and answering some questions too comprehensively such as in Q1
a) and b) in the December 2007 exam. Remember that only one
mark can be awarded per relevant point and no more marks can be
awarded than are available for any single part of a question.
The third main pitfall is poor or inadequate use of data. Many
candidates either fail to use data given in the scenario, such as
financial information, to answer the questions, or they take a
scattergun approach to answering certain questions through the
indiscriminate use of models or theories that they are aware of, in
a complicated and unapplied fashion.
Interviewer: It is clearly important to follow the above tips and avoid any
common pitfalls in exam revision and performance. What further
information about student performance would you give which
might help students prepare for exams?
Examiner: After each examination session, all ACCA examiners are required to
produce an exam report. These reports highlight key issues arising
in the last exam and focus on where students performed
particularly well or badly. These are published in February and
August and can be found under paper resources for each paper
which can be accessed through the website.
In addition, after each exam session has been completed, the exam
review board meets. This is a board consisting of ACCA internal
Education staff and six representative members of the approved
learning partner community. Minutes from this board summarise
the comments made by tuition provider representatives, report
survey results about the exams from student questionnaires and
detail the responses. Again, the minutes from the exam review
board are available on the website.
Interviewer: And finally, what would be your concluding advice about the P3
examination paper?
Examiner: Firstly, students must always read the question as carefully as they
can; identifying clearly the instructional verbs contained within each requirement.
Second, it is important to properly understand the requirements,
assessing how much the examiner is really looking for in each
question part. Students should also be fully aware of the marks
available for each requirement.
And finally, don’t forget that answers given should relate to the
question actually asked, not the one that a candidate would have
liked to answer!
Interviewer: Thank you very much for sharing your insight into this exam paper.
I’m sure it has given students and tutors lots of useful information.
Examiner: Thank you.
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