Technical Writing. Friday: 5:30 - 9:30 P.M.
SUBJECT: CPA Essay Writing Formula
TO: Alexander Luther, CPA candidate
FROM: Azim Jivani, CPA
DATE: February 18, 2011
It has been brought to my attention that the current CPA exam has gone through some changes primarily in the writing section. “To earn points for a written communications question, candidates must read a description of a situation or scenario, and must write a document that relates or responds to that scenario” (CPA). There is almost a formula that which CPA candidates can use in order to successfully pass the written portion of the CPA exam. There are also a couple of helpful tips for what and what not to do in your writing responses on the exam. One of the most important …show more content…

| 5. Responsiveness to the requirements of the question | Answers should address the requirements of the question directly and demonstrate the candidate’s awareness of the purpose of the writing task. Responses should not be broad expositions on the general subject matter. | 6. Appropriateness for the reader | Some essay questions may ask candidates to prepare a document for a certain reader, such as an engagement memorandum for a CPA’s client. When the intended reader is not specified, the candidate should assume the reader is a knowledgeable CPA. |

“Remember that you don't have to be right, you just have to be on topic. Written communications are still mostly machine-graded (though some are pulled and reviewed by human eyes) so it doesn't even matter if you are right, you just have to stay on topic. Use topic keywords in your essay, but be careful not to copy the text of the question word-for-word or you may lose points” (Study). “Practice writing and critiquing. As you practice your question answering technique on essay questions, you will be practicing your writing skills (Writing).
You only need to disguise yourself as a competent professional. The essay response will be rightfully graded if you don’t have many technical errors or run-on sentences. Your writing needs to have a well-organized form, demonstrate knowledge of the subject, and demonstrate a command of standard professional English. As long as you can follow these specific