There are a few Series 86 test taking tips that are sure to add several points to your exam. In today’s post, we discussed some of these helpful hints.
Series 86 Test Taking Tips: Don’t Add to the Question
On the Series 86 Exam, questions are often quite confusing. Based on student feedback, we constantly hear that they are often overly vague. Our general experience with commentary like this is that the student doesn’t know exactly how to interpret the question.
Of course, that’s no fault of their own other than just a lack of familiarity with the logic of the exam.
One tip that often helps students clarify their thinking, involves not adding assumptions that are very specific yet unsaid in the question.
In other words, don’t add insights to a question where the insights were never mentioned.
Specific Question Needs a Specific Answer
Another important tip to consider is that questions that are specific in addressing a subject, should be equally specific in their answer.
For example, consider the following question:
Which of the following is most likely to result in an increase in the stock price of a healthcare software company?
A. A bill in Congress that, if passed, would provide tax credits for pharmaceutical companies to purchase more healthcare software.
B. The company is a finalist in the bidding for a major project that could double its revenue while only slightly increasing costs.
C. A competitor announces a new software product with similar features at a lower price.
D. The company announces an increase in executive salaries without any change in performance.
In the question above, you should note that the question is about a specific company, and NOT an industry. Answer choice A, would lead to a benefit for the entire industry of healthcare software, but does not address one specific company.
Answer choice B, addresses the company specifically. Despite both answer choices, not being definitive outcomes and still appearing in process, answer choice B is more applicable to the question.
The above are quick tips on some of the more qualitative sections of the exam. Given recent feedback, we believe the exam is still likely to be heavily qualitative, and therefore a good amount of time should be dedicated to understanding the logic of the exam. If you need any further help, feel free to reach out. Good luck!