[Bear-Bear]

So, I see that BEC has MCQs worth 85% of the score, and a writing portion worth 15%. It seems like the logical strategy would be to hammer practice MCQs and try to make sure you crush that section, with the writing part being not nearly as important. Essentially, if you do well on the MCQs, you’ll pass.

However, nothing is ever what it seems…so what is the catch? Or is it really that straightforward?

[jessica8926]

I actually looked this up on the AICPA and NASBA website. Of course they say you should not bomb on the writing portion. They want you to still focus on it because getting an amazing score on the MCQ to where you would pass if you bomb the writing is very difficult. I see the writing portion as 15 free points so why not practice that part as well??

AUD - 69, 77
REG - 74, 81
FAR - 75!
BEC - 71, 82

IL candidate!

Finally done (5/24/16)!! Yahooooooo!

[hasy]

I believe that strategy is sound, if you studied hard for MCQs, then you can easily pass the exam. But I don't see how you couldn't spend maybe 2 hours at least to read examples for the WC. I think I spent a total of not more than 3 hours to read WC examples, just to see what they're looking for. They're like extra easy points. If you can write a beginning, middle, and end, and your grammar is decent, then the WC would be a breeze for you.

I think the catch is BEC has a LOT of formulas to memorize and incorporate into one another. You could crush the MCQs, but they have some tricky questions. I was relying on some easy points from WC to pass.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved - Helen Keller

-

BEC 80 (10/23/15)
FAR 72 (4/2/15); 83 (7/11/16)
REG 52 (4/28/15)
AUD (9/9/16)

Roger + NINJA MCQ + WTB

[A]

The WC isn't difficult, but don't blow it off.

I'm a decent off-the-cuff writer so I didn't bother practicing the WC SIMS. I skipped the WCs in my Ninja MCQ and just breezed through the 5-6 assessment questions for each SIM – but I think I got lucky on the actual exam.

I put out one strong response and two weaker ones (very brief answers) on my exam. I even had extra time left but didn't bother expanding on those weaker responses for fear of writing an answer that was too “fluffy.”

I passed with a 77 but I endured the dreaded BEC bubble for 48 hours. If I had to take a guess, I'd say one of my weaker responses was ungraded.

Do yourself a favor and spend 2 or 3 study hours reading through the WC SIMS so you have an idea of what topics to review. And, if writing doesn't come easily for you, definitely hammer out some practice responses.

B - 77 (2.27.16)
A - 81 (4.18.16)
R -
F -

Roger Review + Ninja MCQs

[Bear-Bear]

Jessica8926 – Oh, I'm definitely going to practice the writing portion until I'm confident. I was just curious if the 85% was somehow not what it seemed at face value.

[Biff-1955-Tannen]

Bear-Bear there isn't really a way to practice WCs. The content you will be writing about will be learned through doing MCQ. The only thing you need to know for the WCs is how to format the memo. Just search the forum for the formatting and you will be fine.

AUD 93 Jan 16
BEC 83 Feb 16
FAR 83 Apr 16
REG 84 May 16

99% Ninja MCQ only

[cwlanders]

@Bear-Bear I don't think there is really a catch. Like hasy I only spent a few hours practicing the WC section, I probably actually wrote out 4 responses during my practice then just read the other example questions and example responses. You just need to make sure you are able to put together a well written response (also mentioned by hasy) and the content will most likely be from topics you are already studying for during your MCQ studying. I think 2 of the 3 questions I took were from topics I covered studying and the final one had enough information in the question to write a well written response. I would suggest focusing the most on the MCQ's and hope that information will also help you on your WC section.

BEC - 91 (2/29/16)
AUD- 74, 74

[cookies]

There's no catch- that's exactly it. I didn't really study for the WC. I watched the Becker video on it (40 min) and wrote out 3 memos when I did a practice run the night before, so I could get a feel for writing a good response within the time constraint. I wouldn't spend more than a day preparing for it if your writing skills are strong.
Studying for the MC will get you familiar with the topics you will be asked to write about, so as long as you have some key words to throw in, and a basic understanding of sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation, you should be fine.
Remember to repeat the question, hit all the points they asked for, and give some sort of generic “feel free to contact me if you have questions” closing statement.

That's it! Don't stress this section. Spend your time on MC.

[BRITTANY.CAMP]

I took BEC 4 times. The written portion got me the first three times. This time I studied most of the simulations on ninja. Two of them were on the exam and I had memorized those answers. Think it paid off! Got a 78.

[Anonymous]

Congratulations, Brittany! It must be a good feeling.

I've taken BEC three times and scored miserably (53, 67, and 55). It was not that I underestimated this section, but actually I am very much intimidated by BEC because English is my second language. The time I scored 67, I prepared for it for two solid weeks only without a full-time job (did 1,000-MCQs). But those two scores in the 50's, I was working full-time so I didn't have the luxury of time to work more on MCQs.

I hope you don't mind if I ask, what were your scores during the first three attempts?

Thanks.

[BRITTANY.CAMP]

71, 67, and I don't remember the other. Maybe 70.

[smazthespaz]

You really shouldn't have to prepare for the WC portion. You should have enough knowledge from the multiple choice review to be able to formulate an answer. However, make sure you give yourself enough time (I had about an hour left), because you want your piece to come across as well developed. From what I can tell, that plus the key words are where you get the points.

I literally just watched part of the Becker video on WC the day before the exam just to get a feel for the structure.

REG - 83 11/24/14
AUD - 94 2/17/15
FAR - 93 5/26/15
BEC - 90 8/10/15

[alafount02]

My issue was terminology. Being able to write my response and recall the appropriate terminology to express myself. I had a reasonable understanding of the concepts and can explain them to other people but I can't recall the appropriate terminology. This time around I am going to try and know the concepts cold. I have already started going back through my book and notice there are little things I didn't 100% understand that are much more clear. So, after all that I think the essay is important at least it was for me. I am positive that is what cost me the exam.

AUD: 5/2/15-79
FAR: 8/31/15-80
REG: 11/15/15 -79
BEC: Feb-20-16-71 April 16-77 DONE!

[BRITTANY.CAMP]

I will say another thing about reading through the ninja simulations several times. I developed a better understanding of the concepts and was able to answer a few MCQ correctly on the exam.

[Author]

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