[Sir Study Alot]

Hello,

For those who have taken BEC how much time should a person allocate for the written portion of the exam? Since it only counts for 15% of the exam the mathmatical answer should be 27 minutes(180 minutes * 15%).

Would I feel rushed if I tried to allocate 45 minutes? It sounds tough to write anything presentable in 15 minutes(per task)?

Passed all 4 exams in 2014!

[Anonymous]

45 minutes should be fine.

They aren't graded for technical accuracy, which is nice; however, like any important business communication, they should be reviewed for grammar, spelling and to make sure they are tailored to their intended audience.

[Ineedsomesun]

I left an hour and still struggled to write more than 7 sentences for each. I don't think I'm a terrible writer or anything but it takes me time to gather my thoughts when writing. I've seen people write a whole page in 5 to 10 minutes and it'll take me 30 minutes to write 4 sentences. I think how much time you need depends on how fast you can write.

FAR - 78, FEB2014,
REG - 82, MAY2014
BEC - 79, JULY2014
AUD - 68, 86, MAY2015 (ALL DONE!!!)

[Goldenbearcpa]

@billbrasskey

You say that they don't grade for technical accuracy… I am reading this to mean that they won't take off points if a few (or even more than a few…?) facts are outright incorrect, for example, if they asked for an explanation of process costing and I gave them an answer that corresponded to job costing or ABC… I have a hard time believing that I would still receive credit in that kind of scenario. Are they really only testing on your ability to communicate in a written business format?

Thanks for any input.

REG: 84 on 4/18/14
AUD: 93 on 5/29/14
FAR: 90 on 8/8/14
BEC: 91 on 8/31/14

DONE!

[raven]

I gave myself an hour to write the memos. I think I should have left myself more time.

A- pass
F- pass
R- pass
B - August 2014 - pass - YAY!!!!

[Anonymous]

I had about 1 hour and 25 minutes left around for my WC, I finished with about 10 minutes left.

[Anonymous]

I gave myself an hour and it seemed to be plenty of time for me. I reread all of them a few times and left with some time on the clock.

Golden Bear: My understanding is that they don't grade on technical accuracy, but your writing has to remain relevant. For instance, if they asked about process costing and your answer was not technically proper, I don't think it would hurt you. However, if your answer read “I am writing in response to your inquiry regarding job costing…” then they are going to take off a lot of points. I think you can basically just use the key words in the prompt, state the obvious, and add in a little bit of filler to make it look reasonable. Don't forget to close with an invitation for the user to follow up with you if they have further concerns.

[rzrbkfaith]

I left myself an hour and used every second of it. My session timed out right after I finished my third one.

AUD - 99
BEC - 97
REG - 91
FAR - 1/8/16

[Uhartsoccer21]

Practice writing three memo's and time yourself.. honestly that's all you have to do. The only thing that will change on the exam from your practice material is the topic and who your writing to. To add what Brasskey was saying, they check for key terms that relate to the question. If you are asked about Aggregate demand and say increased gov spending dec GDP (it inc GDP) you will get points for using key words such as “government spending” and do not get points off for being technically incorrect.

A - 89 10/23/2014
R - 90 2/27/2014
F - 75 5/25/2014
B - 83 8/28/2014

[jbisdamon]

Honestly, I spent 30 minutes on these. Only because one of mine was random and I couldn't figure out how to word what I was wanting to say. I was done with the test in less than two hours. Which don't get me wrong, I didn't do great on the test, but a pass is a pass in my book. Don't let them freak you out. Even if you have no clue what the right answer is, just write on topic and have good grammar and you'll do fine on this part. I've heard of people writing about 4 sentences on each and still passing. Not that I would advise it.

BEC - 76 7/22/14
AUD - 84 8/30/14
REG - 75 10/16/14
FAR - 87 11/24/14

[Juliemiddle]

I was left with 18 min. for the Written Communication. That was NOT enough time, although I passed and I was “comparable” to other candidates in the written portion. I'd say give yourself 45 minutes, so you're not absolutely panicked (like I was). But, if you are down to the wire:

->Remember to have correct sentence structure

->Correct essay structure (intro, body, conclusion) Even if it's ONE sentence 🙂

->Spelling & grammar

->Try to throw in definitions

The first 3 are most of the battle. I had no clue on the correct technical responses for the prompts (b/c I was absolutely panicked, I couldn't think straight)…just gotta fake it 'til you make it.

AUD: 84 - Oct. 2013
BEC: 83 - Feb. 2014
REG: 91 - May, 2014
FAR: 68, 96 - Oct. 2014...DONE

CPAExcel, Ninja Audio (all sections)

[h0wdyus]

Just got back from BEC. More info is in BEC study thread. Regarding WC. I allocated 15 mins per WC. 2 to 3 minutes to decide the middle portion of the communication. Then about 10 to 12 minutes of typing. Cindy ( Yaeger) had suggested 5 minutes planning and 10 minutes typing is spot on target. You have to have 45 mins for the WC.

FAR - 81 29th Aug 2013
AUD - 84
REG - 82
BEC - 89 29th Aug 2014
Using Yager

FROM NJ

[JamesBJames]

I had somewhere between 50-55 minutes left for the WCs and used every second.

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[Anonymous]

I left myself 45 minutes and wished I allocated more time. Its true that the memos aren't graded for technical accuracy, but they do grade for relevance. (Don't mention leases if you're supposed to write about pensions)

Also, it depends on how well you write. Everyone is different. If you struggle in writing then allocate 1 hour+ accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Leave yourself 45-60 minutes and you should be fine. I think I used about 50 minutes, but I took my jolly time as I quite literally had more time than I would ever need available to me.

[mystical guy]

Allocate the least amount to that portion making sure you really do your best with the MCQs. So long as you can think and write fast, you'll be fine, but there's absolutely no way of bullshitting the MCQs section, with all those calculations

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[Author]

Replies