You must be aware that the ICAI has introduced MCQs in CA Final worth 30 marks in the 3 papers of Audit, Law and Indirect Tax. While this may sound daunting, it is not very easy to score full 30 marks in these MCQs. But if you still want to prepare yourself for a shot at the magical 30/30, please continue reading...
MCQs - boon or bane
MCQs are a double-edged sword. Personally, I have given a lot of MCQ exams and touchwood, have performed decently well (distinctions include being the All India Topper and getting a seat at IIMA). But I cannot extrapolate these results to the other students. The reason being that it is not an easy game to negotiate the MCQs. Every question has the potential to become a Brett Lee bouncer or a Wasim Akram yorker, and if your day is not going right, the question might even seem to be Shane Warne googly on a Day 5 wicket. (Sorry for the comparison with cricket if you are not a cricket fan... Comes naturally to me :p)
How to counter the threat?
It is very easy to become over-confident with MCQs during the preparation stage, because it all depends upon the level of questions you are solving at that time. If the questions are below the level of difficulty you might expect to face in the exam, it is of no use to practice such questions beyond Round 1 of your preparations. The best way to prepare for such exams is to face the pace of Shoaib Akhtar in the nets itself, using the bowling machine, instead of limping away for cover on the field. So the main thing is not just PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE... But also the right kind of questions to practice.
How do I ready myself for the challenge?
There are a few important things to be kept in mind when it comes to MCQs in CA exams. Here they are:
ICAI study modules have all of a sudden become very important now. In the pre- MCQs era, you could have become a CA without even opening the cover of the study material (yeah, this was an exaggeration :p). This isn’t feasible anymore as ICAI is giving MCQs from the most unsuspicious corners of their study materials. Just imagine, the ICAI has even been asking penalties in the garb of MCQs !!
Studying thoroughly becomes important. A superficial understanding of the subjects now would not be able to take the students too far in their exams. Most MCQs are being designed to test the application rather than just the knowledge.
Time management during the exams becomes more critical now. Ideally, one would want to believe that MCQs should be quicker because you don’t have to write paragraphs and pages on descriptive answers. But trust me, you are wrong to believe this. MCQs can take more time because it is either you know it, or you try to guess it, but in vain. There is no place for beating around the bush and trying to build on the concepts. This means you need to ride your luck (and your preparation!) to manage more than 25 correct answers from the 30 MCQs.
MCQs in DT will take a lot more time than you would have factored in. A little extra effort in double-checking the calculations or taking that extra second to try and remember provisions could end up with a nice 10 mins being shaved off from the total time left to complete the paper.
For those who find it difficult to write long and descriptive answers, it is a blessing in disguise (but only if you make it count!). Pick up ~25 marks from the MCQs alone and suddenly you are staring at a very comfortable score of 50+ in the paper.
For those who find it easier to write long and descriptive answers, it is more painful now… They are now asking the same old 8 marker questions for 6 marks now, meaning you need to write the same content now for lesser marks. This also means that the remaining 70 marks of the paper would feel unduly long if your time management goes for a toss within the first half an hour of the exam.
And now the most threatening of all impacts – students now can leave any particular topic of the syllabus only at their own risk. Even for merely passing the paper, one would have to study the entire syllabus in the MCQs era.
Remember that there would be a whole lot of pre-formalities – writing your roll number and credentials on both the booklets, putting up stickers, etc – meaning that there is going to be loss of time for everyone at the start of the exam. Only underlines the importance of time management during the exam.
Conclusion
It is not impossible to absolutely nail the MCQs in the exams. I have seen non-Rankholders getting 25+ from the MCQs. So the notion that only the Rankholders can manage 25+ from the MCQs is baseless. But can you solely focus on strengthening your game here? The answer is NO. The focus still needs to be on grasping the concepts well while studying the subjective part. You never know the source of the MCQs, and there is absolutely no planning possible to try and forecast the source. So the best possible thing is to cover 100% of the syllabus and prepare it well.
If you have any questions, observations, feedback or suggestions, please feel free to contact me on the social media handles of CA Exam Strategies or write directly to me in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading :)
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