Exam 9 | Study Tips

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Study Tips | Exam 9

Effective study strategies are key to passing CAS Exam 9. Check out our exam specific study tips:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PASS EXAM 9

The journey to passing Exam 9 is one of commitment, dedication, and rigorous practice. It's not just about memorizing facts but understanding the underlying concepts, refining your time management skills, and adapting to the CBT format. The challenge may seem daunting, but with the right approach, resources, and mindset, success is within your grasp.

INTRODUCTION

Exam 9 consists of roughly 650 pages of material, not all of which appears on every exam. There are four larger readings and four short readings but the size of a reading isn't directly proportional to how many points you'll see in the exam. The largest reading is by Mildenhall & Major; most of this reading lends itself to short answer questions or short calculations. However, at the very end there is the potential for some longer, more involved tabular calculations which are well suited to IQ or higher point value questions. As the CAS builds up their question bank, we anticipate exams will shift away from focusing on the Clark/Grossi/Bernegger/Brehm papers and place more emphasis on the Mildenhall & Major reading. Eventually the exam should approximately reflect the syllabus weights.

To help you study efficiently BattleActs has ranked the articles based on our opinion of how likely they are to show up on an exam. Since the material within the readings builds up, we recommend you initially study them from the beginning to the end rather than reading the articles based on their rank. Use the Recommended Reading Order table for your initial first run through the material. After your first (or second) pass through the material, use the ranking table to revisit the material in a way which should maximize your likelihood of seeing the material during your exam.

MATERIAL IS QUITE PRACTICAL

INCORPORATES INTEGRATIVE QUESTIONS

TIME
MANAGEMENT
IS KEY

REQUIRES RAPID EXECUTION OF PROBLEMS

LENDS ITSELF TO SHORT ANSWERS

EXAM QUESTIONS MORE DIFFICULT THAN CONTENT

HOW IS EXAM 9 DIFFERENT?

Most of the material is quite practical and lends itself to short calculations or short answers. Parts of Mildenhall & Major overlap with the Brehm reading and both can be theoretical at first but are usually tested via applications.
The material covered in Exam 9 may seem relatively easy for some but the exam questions can be difficult.
Exam 9 requires less of a deep understanding of the theoretical concepts and more of a focus on rapid/efficient execution of a large number of problem types.
It requires connecting ideas from multiple papers as it is one of three exams which incorporate Integrative Questions (IQs). You will definitely need to do more in-depth studying than what was required for 5 & 6.
Seems like time management is becoming more and more of a factor on exam day. You need to have a deep understanding of the material and have practice and practiced the calculation problems so you can quickly answer questions on exam day.
There may be one or two IQs on any exam. With the recent syllabus changes reducing the volume of material it seems more likely you'll have two. These account for 20% - 25% of the total exam points so you should allow at least an hour for these questions.
IQs usually have a lot of sub-parts which may depend on each other. It's okay to say you made up a (plausible) answer to an earlier part if it means you can make progress on another part. With CBT, it's even easier to update your work if you later solve an earlier part.

STUDYING FOR EXAM 9

Take a little extra time upfront to get organized and you will save yourself a lot of time in the end.

Focus your study time. Use the Exam 9 Readings Ranking Table for this. We've ranked the readings and indicated how much time to spend on each one!! Tip - for Exam 9, as the material from a single source reading can be spread across multiple wiki articles, we recommend you study them from beginning to end first via our Recommended Reading Order and then use the Ranking Table for your second pass through the material.
Not all topics are tested equally, so they don't deserve equal amounts of your attention.
Set up a study schedule. Look at a calendar to see how much time you have until exam day. Use our recommendations on how much time to spend on each article to draw up a study schedule. Leave the last few weeks for review and practice exams.
Start studying. We recommend you do a quick read through of your chosen wiki article, then scan the source article and go back again to the wiki article for in-depth studying. Some people choose to skip reading the source material.
Memorize and practice the fundamentals. Do the quizzes (BattleCards) and calculation problems. Once you have mastered this material, move on to what is less frequently tested.
Test your retention. Remember to practice by writing or typing out the answers and use active studying by explaining the concepts in your own words. Use our BRQ score to provide you with an objective measure of how well you know the material.
Stay motivated. Use the Leaderboard to see how you're progressing versus everyone else. (You can appear anonymously if you wish.)

BattleActs is tailored to help you structure your studies efficiently, ensures deep understanding of content, keeps you motivated and engaged, and provides the best approach to mastering calculation problems.

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