Subject CA3. CMP Upgrade 2014/15. CMP Upgrade

Transcription

1 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Page 1 Subject CA3 CMP Upgrade 2014/15 CMP Upgrade This CMP Upgrade lists all significant changes to the Core Reading and the ActEd material since last year so that you can manually amend your 2014 study material to make it suitable for study for the 2015 exams. It includes replacement pages and additional pages where appropriate. Alternatively, you can buy a full replacement set of up-to-date Course Notes at a significantly reduced price if you have previously bought the full price Course Notes in this subject. Please see our 2015 Student Brochure for more details. This CMP Upgrade contains: all changes to the Syllabus objectives. changes to the ActEd Course Notes and Series X Assignments that will make them suitable for study for the 2015 exams. The Actuarial Education Company IFE: 2015 Examinations

2 Page 2 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 1 Changes to the Syllabus objectives 1.1 Syllabus objectives The section Links to other subjects within the CA3 syllabus has been amended slightly in that it now refers back to the CT subjects, as follows: The examination will be based on material taught in Core Applications Subject CA1 Actuarial Risk Management which, in turn, builds on the principles and tools introduced in subjects CT1 to CT8. There are no other changes have been made to the Syllabus Objectives. IFE: 2015 Examinations The Actuarial Education Company

3 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Page 3 2 Changes to the ActEd Course Notes Section 1.6: The CA3 Exam This section has been updated to reflect recent development of the practical exams. The section now reads as follows: Currently, about 8 weeks before your exam you will be given access to the profession s CA3 Online application. This will given you access to pre-exam material and the online elements of the practical exam. The online exam will consist of two parts: 1. A written piece of communication: eg a draft letter, memo or report. You will be required to create your draft using Microsoft Word. 2. A presentation involving the design of a 5-10 minute presentation (including slides) and its (oral) delivery. You will be required to create your slides using Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel. You will need to draft the written document, create slides and subsequently deliver your presentation under timed conditions. The whole exam is completed online, via a dedicated application provided by the profession. You will need a webcam to record the presentation component of the exam. The Actuarial Education Company IFE: 2015 Examinations

4 Page 4 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Section 9.2: Articles / Leaflets This section has been expanded. It now reads as follows: The general advice we have given earlier is equally appropriate for articles and leaflets. For example: Understand your audience (Who?). What level of detail will they need? Be clear about your purpose (Why?). Use short, sharp sentences. Avoid actuarial language, unless the document is specifically intended for readers who are familiar with such terminology (ie it isn t jargon for them). Structure your document carefully. In terms of the format of an article, you should include elements very similar to a letter or an , ie: a title an introduction (indicating for whom the article is intended, and signposting forward) headings (to help guide the reader through the article) a conclusion/summary section an indication as to the author's name, the capacity in which they are writing and the date of the article. This might be achieved by a final paragraph saying "Peter Smith, the author of this article, is an actuary working in...". Alternatively such information about the author might be included within the introduction. In the exam, it is always best to be cautious over style. For example, if you are asked to write an article about annuities for a consumers magazine, avoid trying to win the confidence of your imagined readers through sly insinuations that annuity rates are poor because of unnecessarily prudent assumptions. Although controversial comments are common in some magazine articles, the examiners expect your writing to do credit to the profession. Therefore, be objective and balanced (all right, dull, if you like!), rather than wacky, emotive or controversial. A creative title can help to attract the readers attention, but don t waste time in the exam trying to think up something clever. IFE: 2015 Examinations The Actuarial Education Company

5 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Page 5 Section 12.2: Tips on good delivery This section has been updated and expanded. It now reads as follows: Delivery style Avoid rushing often a consequence of nerves or a misplaced attempt to be conversational. Conversely, don t try to talk deliberately slowly. Take a natural pace. Pause briefly but deliberately after each key message this has the effect of emphasising the importance of the particular point you are making. Ideally, to make the presentation more interesting, vary your delivery somewhat both in terms of pace and the pitch of your voice. ActEd tips At the start of any presentation it is generally courteous to ask your audience whether they can see and hear you clearly. When presenting to a webcam during the online exam you should still ask such a (rhetorical) question so as to demonstrate that your focus is upon the needs of the audience. (This is in addition to checking that the recording levels are ok by using the practice facility in the online application.) Avoid jokes always disastrous unless you are a natural comedian/comedienne (even then it is best to avoid them in exam situations!). To help you get a feel for some of your personal characteristics, ask colleagues occasionally what they think of your presentation style and/or make a self-assessment by critically appraising a video recording of a presentation you have made. Use the Presentation Feedback form in your pre-exam workbook (within the profession s online application) as a guide. (The feedback form is reproduced in an appendix to these notes.) The Actuarial Education Company IFE: 2015 Examinations

6 Page 6 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Delivery mechanics Make sure you are very familiar with the format of the examination well in advance of your exam day by using the rehearsal facility within the profession s CA3 Online application. Ensure your webcam is positioned so that it picks up your upper torso (not just your head). This is so that the examiner can see your hand gestures clearly. The examiners will not penalise you if this means that you must move forward briefly every time you need to click to the next slide. Use your hands to emphasise points (perhaps simply by gesturing towards yourself or the webcam) but don t indulge in too much hand waving as this can be distracting. If you have any problems with the online application during the examination then telephone the profession and ask for help immediately. Your examination instructions will contain the appropriate contact details. ActEd tips Look at the webcam as much as possible, but don t fixate on it, as your audience might find such staring unnatural or intimidating. It is good to flick your eyes away from the webcam on occasion (eg so as to refer to notes or cue-cards). However, it is best stop speaking if you need to do so for any length of time, as otherwise it looks like you are reading a script and the examiners will penalise you for a lack of engagement with your audience. People can, over time, develop irritating habits (mine is unknowingly to click the top of a pen on and off, other people say umm or OK a lot during presentations). Know what these are and practise so as to eliminate them. (I ve stopped holding pens when making presentations!). IFE: 2015 Examinations The Actuarial Education Company

7 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Page 7 Section 14.3: Pictures and graphics The ActEd tips in this section have been updated. They now reads as follows: ActEd tips CA3 is fundamentally about being a good communicator it isn t about being a graphic artist or entertainer! Don t get distracted from your main tasks that of identifying the key messages and getting them across to your audience efficiently and in a professional manner. However, it is worth becoming familiar with the process of inserting simple clip-art or graphics into presentation slides using Microsoft PowerPoint. This will give you the option of doing so in the actual exam. Note that: in the CA3 exam you must not use any online resources, and so you will be limited to the simple clip-art library that comes as standard with PowerPoint animated clip art won t work in the profession s CA3 Online Application, and so it shouldn t be used. The Actuarial Education Company IFE: 2015 Examinations

8 Page 8 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 3 Changes to the X assignments Where calendar years are referenced in assignments X3.1, X4.1 and X5.2 they have been rolled forward by one year. The marking schedules for the assignments have been updated to make it clearer that these schedules are consistent with guidance published by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. If you are having your assignments marked you will be told how to obtain a copy of these new marking schedules when you receive your marked script. There are no other material changes to the X assignments. IFE: 2015 Examinations The Actuarial Education Company

9 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 Page 9 4 Other tuition services In addition to this CMP Upgrade you might find the following services helpful with your study. 4.1 Study material We offer the following study material in Subject CA3: ActEd solutions with exam technique (ASET) Mock Exam A Mock Exams B and C in the Additional Mock Pack (AMP). For further details on ActEd s study materials, please refer to the 2015 Student Brochure, which is available from the ActEd website at Tutorial, Online Classroom and Mock Exam We offer the following in Subject CA3: a Preparation Day (1-day tutorial) the Online Classroom a Mock Exam Day. For further details on the above, please refer to our latest Tuition Bulletin, which is available from the ActEd website at Marking You can have your attempts at any of our assignments or mock exams marked by ActEd. When marking your scripts, we aim to provide specific advice to improve your chances of success in the exam and to return your scripts as quickly as possible. For further details on ActEd s marking services, please refer to our Student Brochure, which is available from the ActEd website at The Actuarial Education Company IFE: 2015 Examinations

10 Page 10 CA3: CMP Upgrade 2014/15 5 Feedback on the study material ActEd is always pleased to get feedback from students about any aspect of our study programmes. Please let us know if you have any specific comments (eg about certain sections of the notes or particular questions) or general suggestions about how we can improve the study material. We will incorporate as many of your suggestions as we can when we update the course material each year. If you have any comments on this course please send them by to CA3@bpp.com or by fax to IFE: 2015 Examinations The Actuarial Education Company