[Anonymous]

I have my test tomorrow and WC is not my strong point, although I got comparable the second time and weaker the first. I use Roger and he said to make sure to include an intro, middle, ending paragraphs, and write with no grammatical errors. He also said to restate the question in the intro paragraph. The problem is when I am at the test, I blank out and forget to include the meat (specific keywords). I am not good at BSing a topic. I just wrote this WC in 10 minutes, let me know if it will pass during the test?

QUESTION

The CEO of Urton Corp., George Jones, is preparing for a strategic planning session with the corporation’s board of directors. The company has pursued a product differentiation strategy in the past but is having difficulty maintaining margins due to significant competition from domestic and foreign competitors. Write a memorandum describing the product differentiation strategy and another strategy that might be pursued if product differentiation is not working.

ANSWER

As I understand, your company is preparing for a strategic planning session with the corporation’s board of directors. As requested, this memorandum will describe the product differentiation strategy and another strategy that might be pursued if product differentiation is not working.

Product differentiation is a key strategy in strategic leadership. It helps your company stand out amongst its competitors. For example, your company may change perceived brand differences by increasing the quality of the product.

Another strategy is cost leadership. This will help your company have an edge over your competitors. In lowering the cost of your product, you can compete in price. The public could choose your product over competitors because of the cost difference.

As you can see, both product differentiation and cost leadership strategies are vital in strategic planning. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

[I'm, Ron Burgundy?]

Just a quick piece of advice when it comes to the W.C. portion.

1. Leave yourself a full hour to do these. Give them more time than other testlets. I failed BEC a second time and I attribute the 3 missed points between pass and fail completely to the W.C. portion and my failure of time management.

2. Each formatting is going to be the same for all three. Therefore, I would recommend jumping between each three in the beginning knocking out the intro and conclusion/signature paragraphs. At least get those in there to get yourself a couple points. Nothing will be worse than trying to complete the 3rd W.C. with less than 3 minutes, been there, done that, it sucks. In any case get the first and last paragraphs done in each as they are pretty much going to be the same wording, just different topics.

3. When you are done with the first and last paragraphs then start getting to the meat of the body. Do the ones that you know first. If one of the W.C.'s covers an unfamiliar topic chances are you are going to b.s. your way through them anyhow by peppering them with keywords. Therefore, get some solid points on the W.C.'s that you know.

This was my approach on my third, and passing attempt, and I know it worked for me.

Oh, and don't forget to sign it with:

Respectfully,

Your name

Good luck to you with it. BEC is a b!t(h.

"If you're going through hell, keep going"
- Winston Churchill

"I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed, over and over and over again in my life. And that is why, I succeed."
- Michael Jordan

BEC: (54), (72), 80 (losing credit on 02/02/15 - nervous)
AUD: 78
REG: (74), 91
FAR: (71)

[I'm, Ron Burgundy?]

Just a quick piece of advice when it comes to the W.C. portion.

1. Leave yourself a full hour to do these. Give them more time than other testlets. I failed BEC a second time and I attribute the 3 missed points between pass and fail completely to the W.C. portion and my failure of time management.

2. Each formatting is going to be the same for all three. Therefore, I would recommend jumping between each three in the beginning knocking out the intro and conclusion/signature paragraphs. At least get those in there to get yourself a couple points. Nothing will be worse than trying to complete the 3rd W.C. with less than 3 minutes, been there, done that, it sucks. In any case get the first and last paragraphs done in each as they are pretty much going to be the same wording, just different topics.

3. When you are done with the first and last paragraphs then start getting to the meat of the body. Do the ones that you know first. If one of the W.C.'s covers an unfamiliar topic chances are you are going to b.s. your way through them anyhow by peppering them with keywords. Therefore, get some solid points on the W.C.'s that you know.

This was my approach on my third, and passing attempt, and I know it worked for me.

Oh, and don't forget to sign it with:

Respectfully,

Your name

Good luck to you with it. BEC is a b!t(h.

"If you're going through hell, keep going"
- Winston Churchill

"I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed, over and over and over again in my life. And that is why, I succeed."
- Michael Jordan

BEC: (54), (72), 80 (losing credit on 02/02/15 - nervous)
AUD: 78
REG: (74), 91
FAR: (71)

[Anonymous]

Why would you want to give yourself more time on the Written Communications when they're only worth 15% of your grade? It all really depends on how well you can write your answers, but I left myself with about 40 minutes for the WC and found that was just the right amount of time. 40 minutes is still a little bit more proportionately than the WC is worth, but any less and I would have probably ran out of time.

[Anonymous]

Why would you want to give yourself more time on the Written Communications when they're only worth 15% of your grade? It all really depends on how well you can write your answers, but I left myself with about 40 minutes for the WC and found that was just the right amount of time. 40 minutes is still a little bit more proportionately than the WC is worth, but any less and I would have probably ran out of time.

[Anonymous]

Your essay seems pretty choppy especially at the end and forced. Gleim taught me to throw as many relevant things into your essay as possible which is what you didn't do. There is stuff in one chapter about narrow product differentiation and focused low cost leadership, you should expand on your ideas more that will make it not sound so robotic.

Also an hour seems better then 40 minuts. 40 minutes is 13 minutes an essay that's very little time.

[Anonymous]

Your essay seems pretty choppy especially at the end and forced. Gleim taught me to throw as many relevant things into your essay as possible which is what you didn't do. There is stuff in one chapter about narrow product differentiation and focused low cost leadership, you should expand on your ideas more that will make it not sound so robotic.

Also an hour seems better then 40 minuts. 40 minutes is 13 minutes an essay that's very little time.

[futureCPA12]

This is pretty much how I tackled the WC on my BEC exam. I think it's acceptable. Short and simple is the way to go.

AUD - 92
BEC - 81
FAR - 76
REG - 89

Never give up!

[futureCPA12]

This is pretty much how I tackled the WC on my BEC exam. I think it's acceptable. Short and simple is the way to go.

AUD - 92
BEC - 81
FAR - 76
REG - 89

Never give up!

[Gerg, CPA]

jeff has a video someone that should give a pretty idea of what to write. i followed his advice and passed BEC on my first try

FAR - 1/26/2012 - PASSED (78, but Lost credit), re-do 11/27/2013 - PASSED (87)!
AUD - EPIC FAIL, 71, 69; 68; 5/25/2013 - PASSED (85)!
REG - 10/1/2012 - 72; 7/1/2013 - 73 UGH, 10/1/2013 - PASSED (85)!
BEC - 2/28/2013 - PASSED (82)!
Licensed CPA!

Used Becker self-study materials (just this for FAR original & REG #1), WileyTestBank, NINJA notes/audio, and Roger cram course for AUD #5, REG #3 & FAR reboot. CPA!

[Gerg, CPA]

jeff has a video someone that should give a pretty idea of what to write. i followed his advice and passed BEC on my first try

FAR - 1/26/2012 - PASSED (78, but Lost credit), re-do 11/27/2013 - PASSED (87)!
AUD - EPIC FAIL, 71, 69; 68; 5/25/2013 - PASSED (85)!
REG - 10/1/2012 - 72; 7/1/2013 - 73 UGH, 10/1/2013 - PASSED (85)!
BEC - 2/28/2013 - PASSED (82)!
Licensed CPA!

Used Becker self-study materials (just this for FAR original & REG #1), WileyTestBank, NINJA notes/audio, and Roger cram course for AUD #5, REG #3 & FAR reboot. CPA!

[acamp]

Those who start writing right away usually get Cs

Those who ponder for a few minutes and start writing usually get Bs

Those who write an outline to use as a map for their response usually get As

Or something like that… I heard from a teacher once upon a time in regards to in-class essays, I wrote very quick (2-3 minute) outline for each, significantly helps the flow

Self proclaimed: Highest ratio of Replies to Others v. Posts Created on A71

California CPA - Big4 Aud Manager Alum - Private Accounting at Startups

FAR, REG and BEC with Ninja Notes + WTB Only

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[acamp]

Those who start writing right away usually get Cs

Those who ponder for a few minutes and start writing usually get Bs

Those who write an outline to use as a map for their response usually get As

Or something like that… I heard from a teacher once upon a time in regards to in-class essays, I wrote very quick (2-3 minute) outline for each, significantly helps the flow

Self proclaimed: Highest ratio of Replies to Others v. Posts Created on A71

California CPA - Big4 Aud Manager Alum - Private Accounting at Startups

FAR, REG and BEC with Ninja Notes + WTB Only

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the input. I write taxability letters every day for work, but when I am in a time crunch, I freak out and blank out. I like the outline idea of jotting down points.

@Gerg – where can I view the video by Jeff for WC? I bought the NINJA videos but they only contain the study materials.

The last 2 times I allowed 45 minutes for WC and needed every second of it.

Any small edge I can get is worth it to me. I would hate to get another 74 the 3rd freaking time!

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the input. I write taxability letters every day for work, but when I am in a time crunch, I freak out and blank out. I like the outline idea of jotting down points.

@Gerg – where can I view the video by Jeff for WC? I bought the NINJA videos but they only contain the study materials.

The last 2 times I allowed 45 minutes for WC and needed every second of it.

Any small edge I can get is worth it to me. I would hate to get another 74 the 3rd freaking time!

[W_HAMILTON]

I'm not one to talk since I usually write very complicated sentences, but I would recommend being more straight forward and “direct” in your opening. Instead of what you wrote, I'd go with:

“I understand that your company is preparing for a strategic planning session with the corporation’s board of directors. This memorandum will describe the product differentiation strategy and another strategy that might be pursued if product differentiation is not working.”

REG - 93 (7/30/13)
BEC - 90 (8/19/13)
AUD - 98 (8/31/13)
FAR - 84 (10/19/13)

[Author]

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