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How to write theory answers?

Shruti (-) (42 Points)

15 August 2012

CAN SOMONE GUIDE ME ON HOW TO WRITE THEORY ANSWERS.

LIKE I AUDIT ,LAW AND IT

AND ALSO THE THEORY IN ACC,COSTING

This time i had expected around 60 marks in law but i got only 40...same happened in audit

In ipcc do we have to write big answers,or we would get marks by writing the points and explanation of 4-5 sentences (the notes i am referring to have very big answers for Audit ,Law)

How to write the answers?

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9 Replies

S.ASWATH (Manager) (704 Points)
Replied 15 August 2012

THE SAME DOUBT I ALSO HAVE EVEN I REFERED SUGGESTED ANSWERES BUT FOR IT HOW THE SAME WORDINGS AND LINES CAN BE USED

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(Guest)

Hai friends,

For Theory papers no need to reproduce exactly as it is in institute material or suggested answers.

Write your answers in points wise not in paragraphs.

No need to wite big answers,write straight points with little explanation.

For Law refer Munish Bhandari Hand book ,see how the concept presentation in that book.

I think it would help you.

1 Like

(Guest)

----------------devyash--------------------- ANSWERING A CASE-STUDY ORIENTED QUESTION Specially in Company Law, Business Law and Audit & Assurance Hello Dear Friends!!! As we all know that now a days, our papers are based entirely on case studies. We read in almost every message from our president, vice president and chairman of Board of Studies that our exams are going to be more and more practical oriented. In Law, Audit, Taxation, Accountancy so many questions are based on case laws/practical situations. If we answer the case laws in a logical and coherent manner, it’s really easy to get marks. I share my experience with all of you. While preparing for IPCC exams, we must spend a huge amount of time in studying and analyzing Board of Studies publications (Study Materials/Modules, Compilations, Suggested Answers, Revision Test Papers, Practice Manuals and Model Test Papers). In my view, this technique should be followed to answer a case study oriented question:- 1st Paragraph:- When you read the question, try to recall the relevant provisions/sections of law/Act. In the 1st paragraph you have to write those provisions of law on which the question is based. In case of questions based on Accounting Standards, you have to write the relevant extract/matter of the Accounting Standard. And if you can also mention the paragraph number of Accounting Standard, do mention it. It makes a very good impression. Many a times, the question is based on a specific case law E.g. In Contract Act - Balfour vs. Balfour In Companies Act - Saloman vs. Saloman & Co. Ltd. In these kinds of questions, our answer remains incomplete till we don’t write that particular case law. So, in these kinds of questions, you can directly start your answer with a reference to that specific case law provided you remember it. It will show that you have correctly interpreted/understood the question and the examiner will get impressed like anything. Mentioning the correct case law will surely fetch you high marks. 2 Your answer should start like this if you remember that particular case law. The very first line should be” The question is based on the case law____” Your answer should start like this if you remember the section number “As per Sec.___of _____Act, ___ (year) “ And your answer should start like this in case you do not remember the section number “As per the provisions of ____Act, ___ (year)” Never write wrong section number and never mention a fake/imaginary case law case law because the examiner is not a fool. If you do this, he/she may get angry and you can be the victim. Case laws and section numbers should form part of your answer but only when you are confident about them. Be very careful about it. 2nd Paragraph:- In the 2nd paragraph, write the facts and circumstances of the given case. Write, what is given in the question. Your wordings can be- “In the present case” or “In the given case” 3rd Paragraph:- Now you have to arrive at a decision by comparing 1st paragraph and 2nd paragraph i.e. what is written in law and what is the present case. This is the most important part of the answer. You should make a right decision. Support your decision with a case law, if any. This is crucial. Quoting an appropriate case law strengthens the quality of answer and makes the answer complete and elegant. Mentioning a relevant case law also justifies the reached decision. So this is the manner in which a professional examination question must be answered. If you follow it, you will definitely score high. SOME GOOD TIPS 1. Quoting section numbers and case laws are absolutely necessary to secure full marks. Don’t think that it’s not required at IPCC/PCC/PE-II/Intermediate level. You can see the suggested answers/compilation. They do quote section numbers and case laws in almost all answers. 3 2. A good command over English is also a pre requisite for writing a quality answer. 3. Go through the Suggested Answers/Compilation to become familiar with this kind of writing style. 4. In Law, it is the writing style that matters the most and helps in fetching marks. Almost all students know the answer but they don’t know how to present the answer. If we are asked to answer a question in terms of yes/no, we can easily answer. But elaborating that same answer, using the phrases/words of statute/law, drafting the answer in a nice order are the areas where students are lacking. So fine tune your writing style. 5. Law has got its own language. We can’t write the answer in our language. Most of the students think that even if they write the answer in general language, they will get marks but it is not so. Language of statute differs significantly from general English in certain circumstances/cases. Law has certain phrases, certain words, we need to learn them and reproduce them in our answers. Try to learn the language of law. Otherwise it becomes a bit difficult to score high. 6. Make a habit of referring to the bare Acts. It will facilitate better understanding. 7. Please read the examiners’ comments on students’ performance (given at the end of suggested answers) to get an insight about what the examiners want us to write, what they are expecting from us and what are the mistakes which students generally commit. And then avoid doing those mistakes and try to improve on those areas. 8. Law is a scoring paper. And it becomes easier to score when the paper is case study oriented. Because we can’t remember the complete section but we can recall a part of the section and reproduce the same in our answer. If the question paper has flat questions which simply require writing a complete section in the answer, we can’t score as high as we can in case studies oriented paper. So don’t think that it is tough to score when the paper is case study based. 4 9. Even if your answer is wrong i.e. the decision at which you have arrived is not right, you won’t get zero marks. You will be given due credit if you have written the correct provisions and facts of the case. 10. In Auditing, there are certain words/group of words which are used quite frequently like” Sufficient Appropriate Audit Evidence”, “Nature, Time and Extent of Audit Procedures to be performed”. So these words have to be mugged up. In Auditing there are three leading case laws: a) In Re Kingston Cotton Mills (Responsibility of Auditors) b) London and General Bank (Responsibility of Auditors) c) Chantry Martyn vs. Martyn (Ownership of Working Papers) Keep these case laws in mind and write them if something comes on the above topics. If possible, read Company Audit from the bare Act because in the module and other reference books the topic is given in a very scattered manner. If you read bare Act once and then read the module/reference book, you will be able to grasp it pretty quickly and since company audit holds a great significance in terms of marks, I strongly recommend you to refer to the original Act. You need to read only 6-7 pages of the bare Act to finish Company Audit and I think you should go for it. 11. You can follow this technique for Taxation, Audit and Accounting Standards also. 12. Take time to read the question. Understand it properly. Law is all about interpreting, analyzing and then applying the mind judiciously to handle practical situations. So understand the law properly. I hope it will help you. I sincerely request everyone to give their valuable suggestions and thoughts. Please let me know me if I have missed out something. IPCC Students - Always feel free to contact me if you have any kind of problem in any subject. If I am able to solve that problem I’ll definitely try. HAPPY STUDYING AND ALL THE VERY BEST FOR YOUR EXAMS!!! Bye…Take Care… Cheers!!! Be Happy & Keep Smiling!!!   devyash

3 Like

siddarth R (Coimbatore) (27 Points)
Replied 15 August 2012

The same problem i too have. expected around 60.. got exactly 40. i have been using M.P.Vijayakumar's law compilations.. Is that enough or i have to go for munish bandari ?

pankaj mehta (article assistent) (21 Points)
Replied 15 August 2012

For all CA student it is quite difficult to face theory paper as comparable to practicle based paper. When i face theory paper then one things will be kept in mind that in theory paper we don't write the same language as given in our study material.

So, better way to face theory paper is we try to understand overall aspect and write in own language with related refernce and examples.

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Rahul Bansal (Finalist) (35929 Points)
Replied 15 August 2012

click

How To Attempt In Exams

How to prepare for upcoming exams right from beginning

S.Vinothbabu (CS Student) (69 Points)
Replied 16 August 2012

write important points and secure full marks easily.. that is just a small matter.. you should keep important points while preparing to examination.. take your reading habit seriously with remembering important points in mind..

Vinothbabu.S

Rohan Deshmukh (Tax analyst) (638 Points)
Replied 27 February 2020

Many students believe that they can secure good marks only by writing the language used in the bare act. It is a myth. Many students believe that unless they write the same language as given in the publications of ICAI (viz. study materials, practice manuals, Revision test papers, mock test papers and suggested answers), they would not be able to score good marks. It is also a myth. A student who writes the answers in his own language would also score good marks if his answer is proper. The answers would be proper, if- Answers are written in proper format specially case laws answers. Correct section numbers/rule numbers are quoted. Relevant sections/rules are properly explained. Write your answer point-to-point and do not write irrelevant things. Keywords, as used in the bare act are used( a student can study from books other than ICAI’s book but make sure that the other book has the same keywords as mentioned in the bare act.) The answers are written in points, and not in long paragraph. The name of the case law, if any, is quoted along with brief facts, the judgment and the reason of the judgments. In case of case study/practical problems, the given case is compared with the provisions contained in the act, the given case study/practical problems are analyzed, and the answer ends with the correct conclusion. Answers were written in proper legible language. It may not be beautiful but the examiner should at least understand it. If a student obtains the certified copies from ICAI after the results are declared, he would get to know that good marks have been awarded to him in all such answers where he has written the “proper answer” as explained above, even though the language used is not of the bare act and not of any ICAI publication. You will only be able to write a proper answer in exam only if you practice a lot by way of writing. Merely going through the books will not help you fetch good marks. Practicing mock test papers will surely help you to do so. Which test series to choose? ICAI’s mock test or other test series provider? I would suggest Prepca test series as their answer-wise detailed assessment report helps a lot to know the proper way of writing the answers. Their counselling sessions are also great as they help to solve your personal doubts.

Rohan Deshmukh (Tax analyst) (638 Points)
Replied 09 April 2020

Writing good answers in CA exam is most crucial part of the exam. Presenting answers around the bush will not fetch you good marks and the examiner will be forced to give you less marks. These are the few tips which will help you to write answers in a very good manner.

Be precise

While writing your answers, make sure you don’t write around the bush. Just be precise. Write according to the marks assigned to the question and refrain writing unnecessary facts. The way you write answers is definitely going to be judged by the examiner. Still struggling to write precise answers!

Presentation skills matter a lot

What examiner is expecting is the technical words which most of the answers written by the students are lacking. Please note, marks are given for the steps and the workings and not for the final answers. Writing all the necessary steps, showing all the calculations and working notes will definitely fetch you good marks.

Time Management

In the exam, it is very important that you evenly distribute your time across the entire paper. If you miss one or two questions, chances of passing may dwindle largely. So you have to time yourself in such a way that you are able to complete your paper in 3 hours.

Practice ample number of mock test papers.

Solving ample number of test series and writing mock test will surely take your confidence to a next level. Mock test are very important to improve your presentation skills as well as time management. Mock test series will equip you with the best way to write a particular answer in less time and you can use that extra time on a tricky question. For test series, many test series provider are there in the market which are giving you mock test at a very cheaper price but they are lacking the quality. Prepca is one of the most premier test series provider which will provide you with answer wise detailed assessment report (ADAR) which is a very big asset in improving your writing skills.

Read the question carefully and revise before submitting the paper

Plan the 3 hours in such a manner that you read the question carefully and keep some minutes for the revision of the paper.

After exam precaution

After writing your exam, don’t discuss the paper with your friends as it will put down your morale if you attempted a question wrong and you will not be able to channelize your energy for the preparation of the next paper.

Hope this helps!