[Anonymous]

First time not passing despite stronger on MC.

Multiple Choice (50%)

Stronger

Simulation (35%)

Weaker

Written Communication (15%)

Weaker

A: 75
B: 72
F: 78
R: 75

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I think the part you choked on is the WC.

With a 72, I believe you would have passed even with a ‘comparable' on the WC. With the SIMS being only 35% of the grade, and you getting a strong on the MCQ, being weak on the SIMS isn't a big deal.

I did comparable on MCQ, weak on SIMS, and strong on WC and passed with a 79.

There are some really good posts here on A71 on how to format your written responses to ensure maximum points. I did ZERO sims before going into BEC, but practiced hard on my WC to match what was provided on the forums.

All the best, you're almost there!!!!

[Anonymous]

Echo to what @cruz818 said. I tanked on the BEC SIMs too (took last year, in the first window with the new format.) I worked no practice SIMs or WC's. Hammered MCQ and did well on those according to the report, and did well on WC's too. But, I left one (or maybe two?) SIM testlets blank. I had a 62. 72 is almost there, you're an inch away from it.

[Ne’O]

Written Communication is cornerstone to passing this one.
It is easy to rack up points in various ways.

Opening salutation getting name, position, etc. correct.
Acknowledgement of key points.
Closing, with politeness. Signify how they can best contact you for follow up…
Don't get too fancy. Just rack up all the cheap points you can, and then go for a few more if time allows.

***Go to library. Grab any decent book on business correspondence writing. Speed read it 2 or 3 times while in the tub, on the toilet, or waiting for a bus/train.

Newbie CPA Candidate

[Anonymous]

Great advice from Ne'O. The WC's will definitely separate the girls from the women and the boys from the hot studs. Not all CPAs communicate clearly in writing, mind you. I had one boss whose writing skills were an atrocity and he was from the USA, and his first language was English. He had a CPA and a JD. Anyway, the WC's should be easy. If you don't know much about the topic, go with whatever you're thinking and write the best-sounding, best-looking piece of bullshit you can. You will probably get most of the points. I got so lucky on my last BEC attempt. The three WC's were amazingly easy and I banged them out in 10 minutes apiece.

[Anonymous]

I'd love to know exactly what happened because I had dominated MC with 3 stronger, 1 comparable, and 1 weaker, but I'm pretty sure it was either the variance sim where I left 3-4 fields blank, or the WC which I was forced to bang out in only 20 minutes. Really wasted an abominable amount of time on the second MC testlet.

A: 75
B: 72
F: 78
R: 75

[Kat]

Same. I got stronger on MCQ, weaker on SIMS and weaker on WC – Got a 71 overall. Was definitely expecting weaker on SIMS but was not at all expecting weaker on WC. My responses were pretty textbook and definitely in the correct formatting that I've seen universally on most of the review sites. I would love to know how they came up with that grading, but, of course, this test being the way that it is, I will always be left wondering exactly what I did wrong and how I could have improved…

I'm going to get the Gleim TB and practice SIMS. Not too sure how to do better on WC when I thought I did exactly what I was supposed to the first time around.

[Anonymous]

Gleim is good for BEC. If you're using another review course for BEC and it's helping you to fail, try Gleim.

[Author]

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