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An Unexpected Complication: CMA Exam Multiple Choice Questions

cma exam multiple choiceHeather is one of our CMA exam bloggers. She shares her story every Monday.

Does anyone like multiple choice questions??? I know I don’t.

When I studied for the CPA exam, I would write down the question and write down why each answer was right or wrong.  This seemed effective at the time, but after 1 session of this, it felt like I wasn’t retaining material. So I hit the internet and went in search of a better way to study and use multiple choice questions.

I found some really great information, and something I found the most helpful was how multiple choice questions are structured.

For instance, each question has a stem that contains the details you need to answer the question.  There is also information you do not need. You have to pick through the information to determine what is needed.

Each question also contains incorrect answer choices, known as distractors. Each question will also contain the correct answer. Sometimes there is more than one correct answer, and you need to pick the best answer or the answer that covers everything.

There should be a standard that is used to determine what the correct answer is. This can be anything, but usually, some sort of guiding code is best.

You should avoid choices with absolute modifiers, like always, never, only, none, and every. There are exceptions, but these are rare in professional exams.

A strategy I have employed to answer the CMA exam multiple choice questions are to read the last sentence of the question first. This tells you what data to look for in the stem. It helps you decide what is important. Jot the answer choice letters on a note card, and when you are sure it’s wrong, cross it out.

Then read the rest of the question and note the information you need.

Answer the question. Do the calculations on scrap paper so you can double-check them easily.

Review and get rid of incorrect answers.

This has helped me understand the questions so much better.

Any multiple choice tips out there????

From Stephanie

Heather, your analysis is strikingly similar to this recent article I wrote on the new sister site for the CIA exam (actually, this particular post is for the CISA exam for IT auditors).

The CISA exam is very technical and, according to my friend who took it, unreasonably complex in terms of how they phrase a question. This reminds me of some of those questions I saw in Part 1 of the CMA exam.

For questions that may have more than one correct answer and we need to pick the best one, identify the “stem” and the “distractor.” Then cross out 1-2 answers by elimination. Basically, what you described above.

Computational questions are much easier for me since the answer is black-and-white.

If readers have other suggestions, please share!

About the Author Heather N

Heather is an MBA, CPA, and Accounting professor in Pennsylvania. She is restarting her CMA journey after putting the exam on hold for a few months.

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