Industry Members

As the Professional Designation Examination (PDE) is an open book examination, candidates are evaluated on their practical understanding of the study (and any other relevant) material rather than on mere recall and memorisation. Candidates are expected to be able to apply the material to actual workplace, as well as novel and more innovative, situations, analyse elements and relationships, synthesise, structure, compare and evaluate. Candidates should always provide valid evidence for any assertions that are made and should strive to avoid duplicating the study material, providing trite answers or making unsubstantiated deductions. Candidates, therefore, should NOT underestimate the intense preparation that is required to succeed in an open book examination. Time during the examination is limited so the key to success is adequate preparation and organisation so that candidates can quickly locate data, quotes, examples and/or arguments to be used in answering the questions.

• Preparation tips
  • Carefully study the relevant material ahead of time and don't expect to simply find quick answers during the examination.
  • Know where to find everything by, for example, creating an index. Observe headings and sub-headings and make your own outlines. Doing do will reinforce the structure of the material in your mind. Mark all important terms with sticky notes and flags. Mark your texts wherever you notice important concepts and terms. Using underlining always helps.
  • Keep current on readings and assignments.
  • Prepare brief notes on relevant ideas and concepts. Make your own notes and write down important equations, formulas or concepts.
  • Carefully select what you intend to bring with you to the examination and make sure that you bring everything that you will need for the examination.
  • Including your own commentary on the information frequently provides fuel for your arguments and demonstrates that you have thought your answers through.
  • Anticipate the examination by using model questions but not model answers. Ensure that you have read, understood and can answer any practical activities or case studies that might be contained in the study material. Challenge yourself with how you would answer questions and what options and resources you may need to do so.
     
• Organise your reference materials - your "open book"
  • Make your reference materials as user-friendly as possible so that you don't lose time locating what you need.
  • Familiarise yourself with the format, layout and structure of your text books and source materials.
  • Organise these with your own notes for speedy retrieval and index ideas and concepts with pointers and/or page numbers in the source material. (Develop a system of tabs/sticky notes, colour coding, draft diagrams, etc., to mark important summaries, headings and sections)
  • Write short and manageable summaries of content for each grouping.
  • List equations, data and formulas separately for easy access.

During the open book examination

• The first thing candidates need to do is evaluate each question to ascertain whether the question is asking for facts or an interpretation.
• Candidates should read the questions carefully and ensure that they clearly understand what is expected of them.
• Candidates must make good use of available time. It is always useful to quickly review the number of questions and to note how much time each question will probably take to answer. It is also sensible to first answer the questions that candidates feel more confident of and/or which need less time to research.
• More complex and/or difficult questions should be left for later.
• Questions seeking facts are often easier and faster to answer. These questions will generally start with expressions such as:
  
  "List five reasons … ?"
  "What events led up to … ?"
   
• Candidates should avoid over-answering questions. They should, rather, aim for concise, accurate, thoughtful and meaningful answers that are based on available evidence.
• Candidates should never waffle and hope, by so doing, that they may provide the required answer. Waffling will not qualify candidates for marks regardless of the length of the answer.
• Candidates should never repeat the content of the study guide, or any other material, verbatim. This is a professional designation examination and candidates are required to apply themselves using current knowledge, practical experience and material that has been learned and studied. Although the study guide will generally provide valuable information, if the question requires application based on knowledge and the content of the study guide candidates who simply repeat the content of the study guide are unlikely to earn any marks.
• It is important to remember that application means that some answers to the questions may not always be found directly in the study guides. In such instances candidates must indicate, from their practical experience, how they would tackle the situation at the workplace.
• It is to be emphasised that candidates must ensure that they understand the question and what it requires before attempting to answer it. This can only be done by reading the question thoroughly and making sure that it is correctly understood.

Some of the typical mistakes that were made by examination candidates in the PDE written on 18 August 2011 are:
 

Examination candidates who failed to provide even one of the required answers and, instead, engaged in waffle, unfounded conjecture and obfuscation did not, of course, earn any marks for their efforts.

• Rules and Regulations at the examination venue
  • Examinations are conducted in the morning to enable candidates to arrive and depart on the day of the examination without having to stay overnight.
  • Examinations commence promptly at 09:00. Candidates must, however, be seated by no later than 08:30.
  • Candidates who arrive more than 30 minutes after the commencement of the examination will be refused admission to the examination.
  • Candidates must bring the EAAB registration letter with them to the examination venue and must provide positive proof of identity. An identity document, passport or valid driver's licence will suffice for this purpose.
  • While there will probably be a wall clock at each examination, candidates should have their own watch to help them pace themselves during the examination.
  • Smoking and/or eating is not permitted during the examination.
  • Candidates writing open book examination are permitted to take books or papers of any kind into the examination room.
  • No electronic devices of any nature, including cellular telephones, are permitted at the examination venues

GOOD LUCK!

From the EAAB Education and Training Team