IPS The Psychology of Writing IIO Exam's Do's and Don'ts

Do:
Recognize the onus is on the student to convey their knowledge to the exam marker. Not for the marker to assume students know the answers. One of the differences in a class setting is that an instructor may know that John Doe knows his stuff. But an exam marker does not know this. Therefore, this onus is more important on a final exam than for instance, a mid-term exam.
Assume the marker doesn't know much about the subject. If you approach your answer in this fashion, you have a greater chance of providing a well rounded, well thought out answer that will be structured and informative versus one that is short-changed because it assumes the marker knows the acronyms, terms or what you are trying to say.
Structure your answer as best you can. For instance, if a question asks you to design a package policy for a florist, put all your 'property' coverages together, then all the 'business interruption' coverages together, and likewise for 'crime', 'liability' and 'other'. If the answer is all over the place and jumping from building to pollution to employee dishonesty, then back
to stock - it makes it very confusing for the marker to (a) follow your answer; (b) be able to assess your knowledge; and (c) worse, it can sometimes create the environment where the marker has to scrutinize the answer by each component. (This is responding to the psychology of marking exam papers.)
Read the question carefully. On the psychological note, yes, some questions appear to be misleading or not very clear. Rather than get upset and flustered by the unfairness of this, realize that you have to answer it anyway! While it maybe corrected if used again insubsequent exams, at the time of writing, you don't have the ability to change the question. This way you can clear your mind and ask yourself, 'what is the question seeking?'
You feel the question is misleading, no problem! You can control this. Come to terms with what you think it means, and then paraphrase that in your answer. By doing this, you let the marker know where you are coming from and helps put them in the same mindset.
Master the answers of the topics you do know well. If you are not a whiz on the entire subject, you are bound to know some aspects really well. These are the questions you can capitalize your marks from. Then perhaps the objective is to get a pass mark on the questions you haven't mastered. Of course, the corollary to that is to rely on the topics you know well, and concentrate your studying efforts on these areas. Either way, the message from this is that again, you have better control once you have identified your aptitude and knowledge base, and you will be able to better manage your exam.
Support your answers with examples. This is particularly helpful if you feel your answer isn't 'spot on'. This is most appropriate for those questions which test your memory skills. If you can't remember the name of a 'Difference in Conditions' policy, using an example is the best means to relay your understanding of a topic, which is an aspect any marker is looking for.
Use humour. Without trying to be particularly clever, everyone loves a little bit of comic relief--including the marker. And it may help relieve some of the anxiety or tension of writing your answer.
Don't:
Don't use categorical statements such as: 'there is no exposure', 'there is no cover', 'insured is not liable'. As most things in life, there are few definitives. If you must use such prefaces, you will likely need to provide a supporting explanation. To illustrate, a sample question which is a common pitfall: a Standard Fire policy, advise whether theft of a satellite dish would be covered. (3 marks). Answer: not covered; this is both correct and incorrect. While satellite dishes have some cover afforded to them (subject to differing deductibles), theft is not a covered peril. How would you mark this answer? Give one mark? Two marks? Three marks? The student only got one mark, this is technically a failing grade (for that question). This particular question had 10 such scenarios for a total of 30 marks, each of which could not be answered with either a 'covered' or 'not covered' response.
Don't elaborate where not requested. A question paper asked students to list 10 types of business interruption cover. The question was worth 30 marks. Rather than just list 'contingent business interruption - leader/magnet' as one type, it was not uncommon to see students elaborate by using an example (contrary to a point made earlier) by stating something to the effect that 'the insured card store in the Eaton Centre would be covered if Eaton's went bankrupt'. Those familiar with commercial business interruption will know that this is also not wholly correct. Bankruptcy is not an insured peril. Also, the student hasn't
stated what the insured card store would be covered for - which is loss of income. This example also illustrates another point made earlier. A marker is always seeking a student's understanding of the coverage in question. In this case, while the student had the coverage type correct, the corresponding example was not. This again raises the question of what mark to assess. And this question only asked the student to list, not describe.
EXAM TIME--GOOD LUCK!!!