Is writing speed important in CA exams?

180 minutes hain tumhare paas... Shayad yeh tumhari zindagi ke sab se khaas 180 minute... You would definitely remember the Chak De India 70 minute dialogue. Same is the case here. But is writing speed an important aspect of the CA exam game? Let's find out...

Whether writing speed is important in CA exams is a subjective question and can have diverse views. I'll try to present both the views here but would advise the middle path.

View 1: Writing speed is NOT IMPORTANT

The proponents of this view say that CA exams can never be about just the writing speed. It is about the quality of the writing. If you are well prepared, you will anyway be able complete the paper within the stipulated time of 3 hours. The most important thing which matters in CA exams is the presentation of answers. The believers of this view are mostly those who feel that a student would typically be in either of the 2 situations:

1. Well prepared to finish off the entire paper of 100 marks within 3 hours, or

2. Moderately prepared - and would be able to attempt only 70-80% of the paper. So he should try to maximize his marks by working on the presentation instead of worrying on the writing speed.

View 2: Writing speed is IMPORTANT

This view is based on the belief that the number of questions you attempt and your writing speed are directly proportional. Imagine a situation where you are so well prepared that you know the answers to questions worth 85 marks. Obviously, you would want to maximize each and every mark. But would you be able to do that if your writing speed is a hindrance? No, right? This is why writing speed is considered important.

My View: The Middle Path

This is my personal view - something which I have followed throughout my student life.

I am a bit skewed towards those who subscribe to View 2. But you cannot maximize your marks if you choose to ignore View 1 completely. So the middle path is - to maintain good writing speed with good presentation and quality of answers. This is the key to success in CA exams.

Imagine you have a good writing speed and are able to complete 75 marks of the paper in 2 and a half hours. Now with half an hour remaining, what will you do? Will you go on polishing and perfecting those 75 marks or try to attempt whatever you can from the remaining 25 marks? I would go with the latter. You never know you may end up getting at least some marks from those 25 marks. At least you have nothing to lose there.

So that's the verdict - the best way is to follow the middle path of maintaining a good writing speed with good presentation and quality of answers. The best way to try this strategy is through a sufficient number of mock tests before the exams. For the theory subjects like Law, Audit, SM, EIS, etc. this strategy would be quite useful in allowing you to have a good shot at completing more than 80 marks of the paper in 3 hours.

I hope this helps. Thanks for reading:)