CFA Level 3 Essay Questions: How To Self-Grade Accurately

The CFA Level 3 essay questions, also known as the constructed response section, is often a significant challenge to Level 3 candidates . 

Our research has also estimated that more than 93% of Level 3 candidates performed worse in the essay paper compared to the item-set paper, so improving your essay performance can really help your chances in the CFA exam. The CFA Institute also confirms that the essay scores are materially lower than item set questions scores.

But although we can find constructed response practice questions , how do we grade them properly?

Here’s a clear guide to grading CFA Level 3 essay questions accurately, drawing from our discussions with third party study prep providers and CFA Institute, which you can easily implement when doing mock exams.

Let’s take a look!

2. Guideline answers are (intentionally) overkill

Two principles when grading cfa essay questions.

self grade cfa level 3 essay questions

1. ​Be dispassionate

First and foremost, you must be dispassionate and objective.

Do not take it personally, which is hard to do when evaluating your own work and under exam prep stress.

Instead, put yourself in the position of the grader. The grader is neither your friend nor your enemy. The grader is working from an answer key (which is not released) and evaluates how many of the elements of a correct answer you included. Getting CFA Level 3 partial credit during grading is normal.

Second, realize that the Guideline Answers (GA) you see for old exam questions are not the Grading Key and do not reflect what successful candidates write.

Guideline answers:

  • generally include explanatory information not needed to answer the question.
  • do not exist (in their final form) when your paper is graded – the CFA Institute has made these same disclosures.
  • are generally too long to write under exam conditions.
For time management purposes, consider 1 point to equal 1 minute of time to be spent on that essay vignette. As a rule of thumb, a good CFA Level 3 essay answer can generally be written is less than half the time allotted for the question. The rest of the time is to think.

Two CFA Level 3 essay questions examples and how to grade your answers

idea brainstorm thoughts

What makes a good answer is one that directly answers the specific question that was asked using the relevant case facts and the CFA material. The structure of the question itself directs how to grade it.

Let’s look at this via two examples from a previous CFA Level 3 exam:

​​Question 1C: Determine the most likely effect (decrease, no change, increase) of each change on the fund’s reported Sharpe ratio. Justify each response. Note: Consider each change independently. (6 minutes)

How to grade this question:

  • Six minutes means that a total of 6 points out of the 132 points for the full exam are possible. There were two changes to comment on in this question. To score your answer, break that down as a maximum possible of 3 points related to each comment. 
  • For each comment give 1 point for the correct determination and then 2 points for a correct justification. The guideline answer will tell you if your determination is correct. It will guide you to determine the key issue to include in your justification.  
  • If your determination is wrong, the justification does not count and you get 0 of 3 points. 
  • If the determination is correct but not the justification you get 1 of 3 points.  
  • It is possible that the justification could be partially but not fully correct and you receive 2 of 3 points. That determination is beyond the scope of what we can cover here, but use your best judgement when grading your mock exams. Better yet, write a better answer next time.

Question 1D:  Discuss two weaknesses of using this benchmark to measure the performance of Matterhorn’s hedge fund. (6 points)

  • You can earn 3 points each for two reasons. The Guideline Answer includes four correct items that could be used to answer the question. 
  • Another challenge in self grading is you must know the material and directly apply it to the case specifics. For example there are several other weaknesses discussed in the readings that generically apply to question 1D, but the case facts are written such that they do not apply in this case and receive no credit.

Bonus: CFA Level 3 essay tips

teaching learning class classroom online students

  • Do not try to fool the grader . They have marked thousands of papers and such efforts will demonstrate you do not know the answer. Instead answer only what was asked and do it directly. If the command is for two weaknesses, then only the first two you give will be graded.
  • Don’t hedge . Do not waste time restating what the question was. Directly answer the question. If you do not know the answer, skip it and come back later if there is time. When you come back to the question, remember the question is solvable from the case facts and CFA material. If you are stuck, find another way to look at the issue.
  • Understanding the grading process tells you how to improve . Go back and retake some questions. Give answers that directly respond and are easier to read and follow. Cut out extraneous wording and comments.
  • It is possible that there maybe other answers not shown in the Guideline Answer that also receive credit .  There is no way to know. However if you frequently (more than 10% of the time) diverge from the essence of the Guideline Answer, you are on the wrong track.  
  • Don’t forget multiple choice questions are half the exam value . There will be 44 item set questions worth 3 points each for 132 of the 264 total points on the exam. Focus on a strong multiple choice paper to increase chances of passing.

Hope the above helps your Level 3 essay preparations! Do you have further tips to add that worked for you? Let us know in the comments below.

Meanwhile, here are some related articles of interest:

  • How to be great at answering CFA Level 3 essay questions
  • What is the best CFA Level 3 topic study order?
  • How I passed CFA Level 3 on my first attempt
  • CFA Level 3 tips: Top 10 advice from previous charterholders and candidates
  • CFA Level 3: How to prepare and pass CFA in 18 months

blog1

4 thoughts on “CFA Level 3 Essay Questions: How To Self-Grade Accurately”

I am wondering if I can find an objective third party to grade my essay portion of the mock. Any recommendations?

Hi AM, I’m not aware of any party that does that. I personally just looked through my answers (hopefully they are brief, to the point in bullets) against the marking guidelines, and did not assign any mark per se and moved on. The purpose is really to see if you can do the essay bit on time (which is more important in my opinion), and then if the calculations are correct (this is objective and easy to mark for), and finally are you getting the broad strokes in your subjective answers vs. guidelines. I wouldn’t worry about specific points to award and move on!

I found this article helpful especially these messages 1) guideline answers are overkill – don’t follow it; 2) to allocate half the time allowed to each question to writing the answer.

Glad you found it useful Pope G! I remember checking my answers on the constructed response part years ago and felt stressed, so thought we would remind candidates out there! Hope your L3 exam went well.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Notify me of replies to my comment via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Level III Essay Exam - Tips and Suggestions

Advice for the Level III Essay Exam

The Level III exam is made up of two parts. The first is a structured response (essay) exam and the second, a vignette multiple choice exam. This post focuses on the structured response, which, in my opinion, is the greatest obstacle lying between you and the CFA charter.

Until now, you’ve only been answering multiple choice questions in your CFA exams. At Level I and II, if you had an idea of what the question was about, there was a reasonable chance of you picking the right answer.

Level III is an entirely different story. Suddenly, not only do you need to know your concepts well, but you need to communicate those concepts in a clear and precise manner . Every year approximately 50% of students who have cleared Level II, fail the Level III exam. This is due primarily to insufficient preparation and poor exam-taking approaches.

Know your concepts. There is no excuse for not knowing the core concepts before the exam.

Practice, practice, practice. This includes examples and practice problems. As part of your practice, work through essay exams from 2006 to 2015. The CFA releases past exams yearly. Get your hands on these and go through them thoroughly. If you’re pressed for time, doing the past papers takes precedence over the curriculum exams and practice problems. As you practice, you’ll automatically understand which mistakes to avoid. (Note: the curriculum changes every year so if a question looks unfamiliar check the reading and learning outcome reference in the guideline answers.)

Pre-Exam Tips

Log on to the CFA Institute website > Candidate resources (link at the end of this post), and go through the resources there. These include exam tips, mock and essay exams, documents of LOS command words and acronyms that are common in the CFA exams. It is important that you familiarize yourself with the exam, its structure and its execution.

Though it seems tedious, practice writing . It’s a three-hour exam of just penning down answers on paper, and you don’t want your hand to start cramping or your handwriting to become illegible mid-exam.

During the Exam – Manage your time & follow instructions.

On the first page of the exam, you are told what topic each question is based on, and how many questions there are. Spend the first few minutes jotting down the start time and end time for each question. It sounds inconvenient, but a plan will make you more likely to stay on track and not stress out about how much time is left towards the end of the exam.

You don’t have to do the questions in order, although it is highly recommended.

Exam Questions

Each question typically has two to six parts. Each question will be preceded by a short text explaining the scenario. First, scan the question and understand what is being asked. Then as you read, underline key information that you will need to solve the question.

Each question comes with a footnote telling you how long to spend on the question and where to answer it. It’s a good idea to stick to the time advised by the examination. Another thing to note is that the time allotted tells you how many marks a question is worth. For example, 5 minutes means 5 marks - so allocate your time accordingly.

When answering the questions:

Pay attention to command words. Words such as formulate, calculate, etc., all mean different things, and these words determine how you should answer the questions. The command words document on the CFA Institute website, is a must-read for every student.

Answer everything . Answer all subparts of all questions. Understand what the question is asking and state your answers clearly. Even if you are stuck, don’t skip the question, but write down the best answer you can think of. Best case scenario, you’ll get a few marks for it.

Don’t get hung-up on a question you can’t answer. If your allotted time for that question is over, jot down the best answer you have and move on. If you have time in the end, come back and take another look.

Keep your answers short and to the point. Bullet points are strongly recommended. Avoid irrelevant or tangential information. If the question asks you for 2 points and you write 4, the third and fourth points will be struck out by the examiners.

Within a question your assumptions should be consistent. State important assumptions you make, and avoid contradictory statements.

I have made a video blog of this same post, so be sure watch that too!

All the best,

Arif Irfanullah, CFA

Link to the CFA candidates login page: https://goo.gl/lNzSYi

I take time to read the case. I have to read and reread to answer correctly. What do you recommend me to do so that I can read the case faster and understand the main points?

Was thinking to post a question on where to start with essay questions - read question first or go through the entire case; I think I will scan the question first then case and the question again.

CFA essay questiones usually mark in bold some key words like: describe, calculate, discuss… is there any recomendation on how to answer each question depending on how is asked? Looking forward your response,

This is critical advice.

Unfortunately, the command word definitions on the CFA Institute website do not offer a lot of practical advice on how to respond to specific command words. As a supplement to that, I wrote a Survivor’s Guide to the CFA Institute Command Words that discusses how to respond to each command word (or, at least, to each one used on the actual morning exams over the last 20 years).

Not “usually”.

I wrote my Survivor’s Guide to answer exactly that.

helpful and practical answers!))

Study Materials for 2023 CFA®, FRM®, Actuarial, GMAT® and EA® Exams

  • Payment Plans
  • Product List
  • Partnerships

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  • Help & Feedback
  • Register/Log In
  • Study Packages
  • Levels I, II & III Lifetime Package
  • Video Lessons
  • Study Notes
  • Practice Questions
  • Levels II & III Lifetime Package
  • About the Exam
  • About your Instructor
  • Part I Study Packages
  • Part I & Part II Lifetime Package
  • Part II Study Packages
  • Exams P & FM Lifetime Package
  • Quantitative Questions
  • Verbal Questions
  • Data Insight Questions
  • Live Tutoring
  • About your Instructors
  • EA Practice Questions
  • Data Sufficiency Questions
  • Integrated Reasoning Questions

Level III of the CFA® Exam

Study materials and question bank offered by analystprep.

freelancer-image-02

Trusted by thousands of candidates each year

Question bank, unlimited quizzes, our platform.

responsive_transparent_bg

What Should You Expect from Level III of the CFA Exams ?

As you can see, the curriculum from Level III is much different from previous levels:

* The exam weights are subject to change on a year-to-year basis.

Questions Format

Half of the Level III CFA exam will be based on item sets. Just like in level II, you will be given cases followed by six multiple-choice questions.

The other half will be essay-type format, which requires candidates to write down long-form answers to complex questions.

Becoming a CFA Charterholder

The Level III exam is the last exam of the CFA Program conducted by the CFA Institute. Candidates who have relevant 4 years of experience can finally put the three letters next to their name if they are successful in their Level 3 exam. Apart from having the most prestigious and valued qualification in the finance and investment industry, all these efforts put throughout the process to pass the exams ensure candidates are walking a financial encyclopedia which grants them to become more confident in their professional lives and job interviews. Plus, it is nice to meet a CFA charterholder who also follows the same path in the networking events. Global recognition is another benefit. CFA charter is recognized by not only financial institutions globally but also by any corporation which reaches a certain size, required to allocate its sources efficiently. If randomly selected finance job postings are reviewed, it is not unusual to see that a considerable number of them require the CFA designation or at least mention it. Demand for CFA charterholders seems to increase in the future because they continue to contribute to society by adhering to high ethical standards.

landing-image-23

General Information about the Level III CFA Exam

The Level III CFA exam is only offered in June. The afternoon session, similar to the Level II exam, includes item set questions. Each item set has 6 multiple-choice questions, and there are 10 item sets in total.

The unusual part of the Level III exam is the morning session, where candidates have to write answers in essay format. The essay format consists of 8 to 12 questions, and each question has two or more sub-parts.

Unlike other CFA exams, the curriculum for level III focuses mainly on portfolio management and wealth planning. Topics such as Quantitative Methods, Economics, Corporate Finance, Financial Reporting, and Analysis have been removed from the curriculum. Ethics, Alternative Investments, Derivatives, Equity Investments, and Fixed Income topics mostly preserve the weightings assigned in previous exams. Meanwhile, Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning topics’ weightings now comprise 45%-55% of the Level 3 exam.

Answering Essay Format Questions

Knowing how to answer essay type questions is one of the most noteworthy criteria for success in the Level III exam. Rule number one is not answering these questions in essay format. Candidates waste their time if they try to answer these questions by using long sentences and paying too much attention to grammatical choices and vocabulary. Rather, they should give concise answers focusing on what CFA Institute wants to assess. It is important to keep answers understandable, but as CFA Exams do not assess the ability of candidates to master English spelling, candidates should not spend too much time on word choices.

Exam success is directly connected with improving essay performance before walking into the exam hall, for evaluating essay questions is not as easy as for multiple-choice questions. Self-grading comes into play here. To do self-grading correctly, candidates must be objective at first. Only if they do self-grading properly can candidates discover their gaps in knowledge and develop an innate knowledge that is essential to give structured responses.

Partial credit is another point to be considered. Candidates get used to multiple-choice questions, which are evaluated based on marked answers. However, for essay format questions, they should show all their calculations step by step to get partial credit rather than only writing the results of the calculations. Also, it is beneficial for candidates to write their best guesses if they are not sure what the answers are. Because it is harder to make guesses for essay questions than for multiple-choice questions, candidates should still try their best guess without wasting too much time.

medical-clinic-image-01

Level III CFA Exam Results

Besides its disparate topic weightings and newly introduced question format, another variation of the Level 3 exam is the date on which results are issued. Test takers receive their results 90 days after the exam date, whereas Level 1 and Level 2 exam results are issued after 60 days. The reason for the 30-days delay is the essay format questions which require more time for grading.

Analyzing pass rates is also a hot topic among candidates. The level III exam pass rates – above 50% for the past few years – are the highest among all three CFA exams. One reason for that would be that level 3 candidates are the ones who successfully passed the first two exams. As such, they have already mastered the necessary skills to pass CFA exams.

Questions Answered by our Users

Satisfied customers, cfa preparation platform by review websites.

AnalystPrep’s practice packages for Level III of the CFA exam start as low as $249 with a 12-month access.

Level III of the CFA Exam - Practice Package by AnalystPrep

/ 12-month access.

  • Question Bank (Item Sets)
  • Essay-Type Questions
  • Performance Tracking Tools
  • 5 Ask-A-Tutor Questions

Testimonials

“Thanks to your program I passed the first level of the CFA exam, as I got my results today. You guys are the best. I actually finished the exam with 45 minutes left in [the morning session] and 15 minutes left in [the afternoon session]… I couldn’t even finish with more than 10 minutes left in the AnalystPrep mock exams so your exams had the requisite difficulty level for the actual CFA exam.”

Slide Image

“I loved the up-to-date study materials and Question bank. If you wish to increase your chances of CFA exam success on your first attempt, I strongly recommend AnalystPrep.”

Slide Image

“Before I came across this website, I thought I could not manage to take the CFA exam alongside my busy schedule at work. But with the up-to-date study material, there is little to worry about. The Premium package is cheaper and the questions are well answered and explained. The question bank has a wide range of examinable questions extracted from across the whole syllabus. Thank you so much for helping me pass my first CFA exam.”

Slide Image

Brian Masibo

“Good Day! I cleared FRM Part I (May-2018) with 1.1.1.1. Thanks a lot to AnalystPrep and your support. Regards,”

Slide Image

Aadhya Patel

“ @AnalystPrep provided me with the necessary volume of questions to insure I went into test day having in-depth knowledge of every topic I would see on the exams.”

Slide Image

“Great study materials and exam-standard questions. In addition, their customer service is excellent. I couldn’t have found a better CFA exam study partner.”

Slide Image

Joshua Brown

“I bought their FRM Part 1 package and passed the exam. Their customer support answered all of my questions when I had problems with what was written in the curriculum. I’m planning to use them also for the FRM Part 2 exam and Level I of the CFA exam.”

Slide Image

Zubair Jatoi

“I bought the FRM exam premium subscription about 2 weeks ago. Very good learning tool. I contacted support a few times for technical questions and Michael was very helpful.”

Slide Image

Jordan Davis

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

Hit enter to search or ESC to close

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  • Examen P – Probabilités
  • Partenariats
  • CFA ® Niveau 1
  • CFA ® Niveau 2
  • CFA ® Niveau 3
  • FRM Partie 1
  • FRM Partie 2

I Pass the CFA Exam | Pass the CFA Exam & Other Finance Exams

  • You are here:
  • Home »
  • CFA Prep »

CFA Level 3 Essay: Question Format, Grading and Tips

  • By John / Stephanie

The Level 3 CFA Exam has two parts: the structured response (essay) exam in the morning and item-set multiple choice questions in the afternoon.

This post focuses on the CFA Level 3 essay section: the format, grading, preparation tips, and exam strategies for your test day.

CFA Level 3 Essay Format

This 3-hour exam has 10-15 questions, each divided into two or more parts. Points are awarded for each part of each CFA question.

There is no guarantee, but you can expect to see the following subject areas on your Level 3 exam: private wealth, institutional investors, economic analysis, fixed income, and risk management.

Ethics and GIPS will most likely be tested in the item sets.

Grading Your CFA Level 3 Essay

The full mark for your CFA essay is 180. Answers are graded on content only. That is, the CFA essays are not graded for language, style, and certainly not for length.

The examiners will indicate the number of factors in each question. For example, if three factors are required, you don’t need to list more than three. Any further points, no matter how good they are, will be considered irrelevant and not graded.

Also, if you list four factors, and the second one is incorrect, the examiners will count the first three and ignore the 4th, even if it is correct.

On a similar note, no points are awarded for general knowledge that is not a direct response to the question.

Tips for CFA Essays from a Former Grader

Here is an interesting note from JoeyDVivre , a (former) board member of Analystforum and a former CFA exam grader:

Before your essays are graded, there is an official answer that is distributed to all the graders that will be grading your question (graders each grade one question repeatedly for a week). Then the head grader and a couple of his deputies search through the answers and find examples of various classes of mistakes, plausible but different answers, better answers, etc.. These are then assembled into a packet and given to each grader. The graders then assemble in a room and spend a day going through the packet. A discussion is held about each answer and the graders try to reach consensus about how that answer should be graded. The head grader decides when each discussion is over and declares the result. These are compiled into a set of standards that each grader is supposed to abide by. There are a series of random checks while the grading is going on in which the head grader and his depuites review your grading and determine how well you are doing in abiding by the standards. They can change your grade but rarely do. I don’t know what happens to that set of standards after the grading is done, but it probably goes into a folder that collects dust. Some months later, an official answer comes out. I also don’t know who writes that but it is an answer that would be perfect according to the graders discussions. There are many, many ways of earning complete credit on an essay answer without being nearly as neat and organized and complete as the offical answer. The offical answer is not the kind of answer that someone comes up with on a timed exam and is always the result of group discussion and careful rewrites. Do not judge your own efforts against that answer. Many of those answers are even too complete so they would just take too much time to do on the exam. I think the best score I have ever seen on a CFA essay exam is in the 80’s. Such an exam is a joy to behold and is a really, really fine piece of work. You are not shooting for 100% on these and you shouldn’t write essay answers as if you were (it will take too much time).

How to Prepare for Your Level 3 AM Session

The essay section is a headache for many CFA candidates, but pretty doable for the prepared.

1. Practice using (free) past CFA papers

The best and simplest way is to write out the answers of past essay questions.

Some may be tempted to read the standard answers without working through the questions. Big mistake. You need lots of practice to get the hang of it.

There are past papers from CFAI website for free download. Answer them to the best of your abilities. Then, check your answers against the guideline. It helps to track how your performance improves from essay to essay.

2. Keep your answers short, clean and concise

Often times, the official answer from the guideline is much shorter than candidates’ version. Again, this can be learned through practice. Answer the questions directly and not try to show off how much you know. It takes practice to tune into this style of writing.

3. Pay attention to command words

Words (e.g. formulate, calculate) mean different things. They are called “command words” and they determine how you should answer the questions. Make sure you check them out (need CFA login) on the CFAI website.

4. Write in bullet points

Bullet points are great ways to present your ideas in the CFA essay exam.

The examiner will tell you how many factors (e.g. examples/reasons) they are looking for in each question. You can present them each with a bullet point.

5. Time your session

It’s a good habit to practice on time management. Having said that, if you type at average speed, time shouldn’t be a factor.

How to Ace Your CFA Essay Section on Exam Day

Here are additional tips on test taking:

1. Understand command words and answer directly

Formulate a direct response to the command words. It is important to answer to the point.

2. Make sure your assumptions are consistent

It helps the grader if you state the assumptions and make your point clear. Common mistakes include:

  • Answer a question they wish they had been asked instead of the question that was asked
  • Contradictory statements
  • Statements with wrong casual relationships (e.g. recommended A, but justified B)

3. Answer all questions

Even if you aren’t sure, take your best guess and go for it. There will be partial credits even if you aren’t completely on.

We recommend working on questions in order unless you have a particular weak area. By taking questions in sequence, you won’t accidentally miss a part of the question. You also gain confidence as you progress.

4. Think before you write

It is true that graders only look for content. As long as the writing is legible, it’s fine. You are also allowed to cross things out.

While you shouldn’t sacrifice speed for calligraphy, a paragraph that is crossed out, rewritten and recrossed out etc confuses the grader.

Therefore, we suggest spending a few seconds in formulating the framework of your answer. Keep things organized and neat in order for the grader to understand your train of thoughts and award you the necessary points.

5. Don’t be a perfectionist

At the same time, don’t keep writing just because you know the concepts well. If the examiners ask for 3 factors, use the least number of words to present such three factors. No points will be given for further elaboration.

Don’t fall in the trap of spending too much time on your strong area, and leaving too little time for weaker areas.

CFA Questions from Readers

1. should i use pen or pencil for the l3 essay.

We discuss this in our e-newsletter. Officially, CFAI is fine with either pen or pencil provided they are HB or No. 2 pencil, or a blue or black ink pen.

2. How do we approach calculation questions?

Show the steps in the calculation. You can get partial credits even if you get the wrong answers. Although it doesn’t hurt, you don’t need to list out the formula.

3. It’s the last 10 days before the exam and I am running out of prep time. Should I focus on essays or more multiple choice questions?

If you haven’t worked on the mock exam, that would be the priority.

If it is strictly exercises on essay vs EOC questions, I would go for the essay. EOC questions tend to test on the details covered in each study session. In the actual exam, such level of detail is not necessary.

Also, answering questions in the form of essays refresh concepts in a different perspective, which indirectly helps the item-set section. The reverse is less true in our opinion.

Do You Have Other Questions about the CFA Exam?

Feel free to drop a note in the comment section below. We’d love to help!

For Your Further Reading

  • CFA Level III overview
  • CFA mock exams

Related Posts

AnalystPrep CFA Study Material

Best CFA Study Material [Compare 2024 Courses] & CFA Discounts

Wiley CFA 2024 (Elan Guides) + Wiley CFA Discount

Leave a Comment:

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

CFA ® Exam Sample Questions

Sample CFA exam questions

CFA ®  exam sample questions might be just what you need if you are trying to get a sense of what the exam is like. In this article, we explain the question formats for each level and provide examples (and answers!) from past exams. For the sake of continuity, and to give you an idea of how the questions change at each level, all of them relate to the fixed income exam topic.

Get a CFA exam question delivered to your inbox every day. Sign up for Schweser’s Questions of the Day.

Try Today's CFA Question

Level I CFA ®  Exam Questions

The Level I exam consists of multiple-choice questions with three answers to choose from. The questions vary from open-ended statements to evaluating data and information. CFA Institute provides more details about the format on  its website . You can also learn more about the CFA Level I exam in  this article . Here are some fixed-income Level I question examples.

Question Examples

Question 1: If the market yield does not change, the price of a Treasury bill:

A. Will increase as the bill approaches maturity. B. Will decrease as the bill approaches maturity. C. Stay the same as the bill approaches maturity.

Question 2: Which of the following is closest to the percentage price change of a bond for a 20 basis point increase in the yield if the bond’s duration is 8.54 and the convexity is 58.66? A. –1.696%. B. –1.708%. C. –1.720%.

Question 3: The following details are gathered from Treasury securities:

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

Which of the following is the best estimate of the one-year implied forward rate three years from now?

A. 2.91% B. 3.12% C. 3.20%

Question 4: Evaluate the following statements. Statement 1: “A putable bond exhibits negative convexity at low yields and positive convexity at high yields.” Statement 2: “Effective duration measures the sensitivity of a bond’s price to changes in its yield to maturity.”

A. Both statements are correct. B. Exactly one statement is correct. C. None of the statements are correct.

Level I Answers

The answer to question 1 is A, the answer to question 2 is A, the answer to question 3 is A, and the answer to question 4 is C.

Level I Answer Explanations

Treasury bills are discount instruments. As the bond approaches maturity, the price would increase.

Percentage price change in the bond price:

The one year rate three years from now

Statement 1 is incorrect. The statement is describing a callable bond not a putable bond. Statement 2 is incorrect. Effective duration measures the sensitivity of a bond’s price to changes in the benchmark yield curve, not its yield to maturity.

CFA Level I Exam Quiz

Answer these five questions to test readiness for the Level I Exam

Assess your baseline knowledge of the Level I CFA Program curriculum with a free CFA diagnostic exam

Level ii cfa exam questions.

Level II of the CFA exam introduces vignettes. A vignette describes a business scenario in several paragraphs using a mix of text, tables, financial statements, and so on. (You can get more information about the Level II exam  here .) As part of preparing for Level II, you must develop the ability to quickly scan through a vignette and pick out the pieces of data needed to answer a particular question. Let’s look at a sample vignette and its questions.

Level II Vignette: Holly Jameson, CFA

Holly Jameson has recently started a new role as a bond analyst at Holt Investment Management, LLC, based in Farland. Her team leader has provided her with up-to-date but incomplete data on the term structure of interest rates, summarized in Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 1: Farland Treasury Bond Rates

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

Holly has been asked to assess whether a specific treasury bond that Holt is considering recommending to its clients is fairly priced. The bond pays a 6% annual coupon, matures in three years’ time, and is trading at $108.30.

In a discussion in the staff dining room shortly after she joined the firm, Holly’s colleague, Doug Ross, made a confident assertion, “I really don’t know how some people find bond trading difficult. For each specific maturity, spot rates are always lower than forward rates, and forward rates are always lower than YTM. So, you can always achieve a higher return by riding the yield curve. I’ve been doing that since my first day on the job.”

Holt offers both domestic and international bonds to its clients to enable them to benefit from risk reduction through diversification. Holly has carried out some preliminary research on the Farland bond market and has found that the yield curve has an unexpected shape and does not seem to be driven by interest rate expectations.

She asks her team leader for advice, who tells her, “Things are strange in Farland. Rates are influenced simply by the supply and demand of bonds of specific maturities. Different types of investors want particular maturity bonds, and they never seem to deviate from their preferences. High demand for 5-year bonds has pushed prices up and yields down.”

Alex Allan, a bond analyst colleague of Holly, started another discussion with the group by stating, “I’m more interested in what happens to bond prices when the yield curve changes. I need to estimate how much prices will change when short-term yields increase but long-term yields stay constant.”

Question 1: The BBB-rated corporate bond being assessed by Holly is most likely:

A. Undervalued by $2.34. B. Overvalued by $3.75. C. Overvalued by $3.70.

Question 2: The comments made by Doug Ross are most likely: A. Inaccurate in respect to the statement about spot rates, forward rates, and yields-to-maturity. B. Inaccurate in respect to the statement about riding the yield curve. C. Inaccurate in both respects.

Question 3: Holly’s team leader’s comments about interest rates in Farland most likely supports which theory of the term structure of interest rates?

A. Liquidity preference theory. B. Segmented markets theory. C. Local expectations theory.

Question 4: The most appropriate measure for Alex Allan to assess bond price sensitivity is:

A. Key rate duration. B. Effective duration. C. Macaulay duration.

Level II Answers

The answer to question 1 is C, the answer to question 2 is C, the answer to question 3 is B, and the answer to question 4 is A.

Level II Answer Explanations

Holly must first bootstrap spot rates for years 2 and 3 from the given par yields-to-maturity. A bond trading at par must have the same coupon rate as the yield-to-maturity. Using a hypothetical 2-year par bond, the 2-year spot rate can be derived as follows:

CFA Level 2 Answer Explanation Equations Part 1

Likewise, the 3-year spot rate:

CFA Level 2 Answer Explanation Equations Part 2

Having derived the relevant spot rates, Holly can now value the BBB-rated corporate bond, discounting the future cash flows using the spot rates:

CFA Level 2 Answer Explanation Equations Part 3

The bond is trading at $108.30 and is therefore overvalued by $3.70.

Doug’s comments about the relative values of spots, forwards, and yields-to-maturity apply only when the yield curve is upward-sloping. If the yield curve is downward-sloping, spots will be higher than forwards, and forwards will be higher than yields.

The segmented markets theory states that the shape of the yield curve is determined by varying levels of supply and demand for bonds of specific maturities, and investors only deal in bonds with their preferred maturities, regardless of yields on bonds of different maturity.

Assuming an upward-sloping yield curve as a starting point, if short-term yields increase, but long-term yields remain constant, then the yield curve will flatten. This is a non-parallel shift in the yield curve, which makes effective duration an inappropriate measure of bond price sensitivity. Key rate duration is the preferred measure for non-parallel shifts in the yield curve.

CFA Level II Exam Quiz

Answer these five questions to test readiness for the Level II Exam

Level III Exam Questions

The CFA Level III exam introduces a type of essay question called constructed response to test your ability to apply judgment and also contains item set vignettes (you can learn more about the exam format and more here ). These constructed response questions are open-ended. You must write your own answer; there are no options to choose from. Here is an example of a constructed response question related to fixed income.

Level III Constructed Response

Algonquin Enterprises is a US company that recently raised a substantial quantity of cash from the sale of a redundant factory site and would like to use this cash to retire a set of debt liabilities. Summary statistics for the liabilities, which range in maturity from five to eight years, are given in Exhibit 1-1:

Exhibit 1-1: Debt liabilities to be retired

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

Algonquin’s treasury department is considering three possible methods that could be used: a bond tender offer, whereby the liabilities are repurchased on the open market, which they hope will lead to an upgrade from the company’s current A- rating to AA. However, the tender offer would need to be at a price reflecting the improvement in rating; cash flow matching using government bonds, which would allow for defeasement of the assets and liabilities; or duration matching using high-quality corporate bonds.

A. Identify and explain one advantage and one disadvantage of the duration matching approach compared to the cash flow matching approach.

Three different portfolios of investment-grade corporate bonds, ranging in maturity from 3 years to 10 years, have been proposed for the duration matching approach. Each portfolio has a market value of $650 million, which will be adequate for the funding of the liabilities. Exhibit 1-2 shows relevant information for these portfolios:

Exhibit 1-2: Portfolios for Duration Matching Strategy

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

B. Identify and justify with two reasons which of the three portfolios (P, Q, or R) should be chosen if the duration matching strategy is adopted.

Algonquin is currently pursuing a contingent immunization strategy with another set of liabilities. These liabilities have a current market value of $78.96 million and a BPV of $36,374. The associated T-Note portfolio has a market value of $83.15 million and a BPV of $41,458. Additionally, 140 contracts of the five-year T-Note futures have been sold. The futures have a par value of $100,000 and an estimated BPV of $51.0745.

C. Assuming that any remaining duration gap is intentional, state with justification the likely view held by Algonquin’s treasury department on the future five-year T-Note interest rate.

Level III Answers

Level iii answers and explanation.

This is a position that will benefit from a rise in the five-year interest rate (assets will fall by less than liabilities, and the surplus will increase).

CFA Level III Exam Quiz

Answer these five questions to test readiness for the Level III Exam

What’s Next?

Now that you have insight into the kinds of questions that are on the three levels of the CFA exam, you might be wondering how you can learn to answer them. Browsing our CFA study materials  is a great place to start.

sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

Take a free diagnostic exam

Feeling Ready For The Exam?

Before You Decide to Sit for the CFA Exam

Free eBook: Before You Decide to Sit for the CFA ® Exam

CFA Fundamentals eBook

Free eBook: CFA® Program Fundamentals, 2nd Edition

Ready to pass the cfa ® exam, industry insights.

Understand how the CFA exam is scored and the grading process

  • CA Intermediate
  • CA Foundation
  • CS Executive
  • CS Professional
  • Difference between CA and CS
  • Difference between CA and CMA
  • CA Full form
  • CMA Full form
  • CS Full form
  • Free Ebooks
  • Free Sample Papers
  • CA Salary In India

Top Courses & Careers

  • Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com)
  • Master of Commerce (M.Com)
  • Company Secretary
  • Cost Accountant
  • Charted Accountant
  • Credit Manager
  • Financial Advisor
  • Top Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top Government Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top Private Commerce Colleges in India
  • Top M.Com Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top B.Com Colleges in India
  • JEE Main 2024
  • JEE Advanced 2024
  • BITSAT 2024
  • View All Engineering Exams
  • Colleges Accepting B.Tech Applications
  • Top Engineering Colleges in India
  • Engineering Colleges in India
  • Engineering Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • Engineering Colleges Accepting JEE Main
  • Top IITs in India
  • Top NITs in India
  • Top IIITs in India
  • JEE Main College Predictor
  • JEE Main Rank Predictor
  • MHT CET College Predictor
  • AP EAMCET College Predictor
  • GATE College Predictor
  • KCET College Predictor
  • JEE Advanced College Predictor
  • View All College Predictors
  • JEE Main Question Paper
  • JEE Main Mock Test
  • JEE Main Registration
  • JEE Main Syllabus
  • Download E-Books and Sample Papers
  • Compare Colleges
  • B.Tech College Applications
  • GATE 2024 Result
  • MAH MBA CET Exam
  • View All Management Exams

Colleges & Courses

  • MBA College Admissions
  • MBA Colleges in India
  • Top IIMs Colleges in India
  • Top Online MBA Colleges in India
  • MBA Colleges Accepting XAT Score
  • BBA Colleges in India
  • XAT College Predictor 2024
  • SNAP College Predictor
  • NMAT College Predictor
  • MAT College Predictor 2024
  • CMAT College Predictor 2024
  • CAT Percentile Predictor 2023
  • CAT 2023 College Predictor
  • CMAT 2024 Registration
  • TS ICET 2024 Registration
  • CMAT Exam Date 2024
  • MAH MBA CET Cutoff 2024
  • Download Helpful Ebooks
  • List of Popular Branches
  • QnA - Get answers to your doubts
  • IIM Fees Structure
  • AIIMS Nursing
  • Top Medical Colleges in India
  • Top Medical Colleges in India accepting NEET Score
  • Medical Colleges accepting NEET
  • List of Medical Colleges in India
  • List of AIIMS Colleges In India
  • Medical Colleges in Maharashtra
  • Medical Colleges in India Accepting NEET PG
  • NEET College Predictor
  • NEET PG College Predictor
  • NEET MDS College Predictor
  • DNB CET College Predictor
  • DNB PDCET College Predictor
  • NEET Application Form 2024
  • NEET PG Application Form 2024
  • NEET Cut off
  • NEET Online Preparation
  • Download Helpful E-books
  • LSAT India 2024
  • Colleges Accepting Admissions
  • Top Law Colleges in India
  • Law College Accepting CLAT Score
  • List of Law Colleges in India
  • Top Law Colleges in Delhi
  • Top Law Collages in Indore
  • Top Law Colleges in Chandigarh
  • Top Law Collages in Lucknow

Predictors & E-Books

  • CLAT College Predictor
  • MHCET Law ( 5 Year L.L.B) College Predictor
  • AILET College Predictor
  • Sample Papers
  • Compare Law Collages
  • Careers360 Youtube Channel
  • CLAT Syllabus 2025
  • CLAT Previous Year Question Paper
  • AIBE 18 Result 2023
  • NID DAT Exam
  • Pearl Academy Exam

Animation Courses

  • Animation Courses in India
  • Animation Courses in Bangalore
  • Animation Courses in Mumbai
  • Animation Courses in Pune
  • Animation Courses in Chennai
  • Animation Courses in Hyderabad
  • Design Colleges in India
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Bangalore
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Mumbai
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Pune
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Delhi
  • Fashion Design Colleges in Hyderabad
  • Fashion Design Colleges in India
  • Top Design Colleges in India
  • Free Design E-books
  • List of Branches
  • Careers360 Youtube channel
  • NIFT College Predictor
  • UCEED College Predictor
  • NID DAT College Predictor
  • IPU CET BJMC
  • JMI Mass Communication Entrance Exam
  • IIMC Entrance Exam
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Delhi
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Bangalore
  • Media & Journalism colleges in Mumbai
  • List of Media & Journalism Colleges in India
  • IT Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • IT Colleges in Uttar Pradesh
  • MCA Colleges in India
  • BCA Colleges in India

Quick Links

  • Information Technology Courses
  • Programming Courses
  • Web Development Courses
  • Data Analytics Courses
  • Big Data Analytics Courses
  • RUHS Pharmacy Admission Test
  • Top Pharmacy Colleges in India
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Pune
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Mumbai
  • Colleges Accepting GPAT Score
  • Pharmacy Colleges in Lucknow
  • List of Pharmacy Colleges in Nagpur
  • GPAT Result
  • GPAT 2024 Admit Card
  • GPAT Question Papers
  • NCHMCT JEE 2024
  • Mah BHMCT CET
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Delhi
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Hyderabad
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Mumbai
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Tamil Nadu
  • Top Hotel Management Colleges in Maharashtra
  • B.Sc Hotel Management
  • Hotel Management
  • Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology

Diploma Colleges

  • Top Diploma Colleges in Maharashtra
  • UPSC IAS 2024
  • SSC CGL 2024
  • IBPS RRB 2024
  • Previous Year Sample Papers
  • Free Competition E-books
  • Sarkari Result
  • QnA- Get your doubts answered
  • UPSC Previous Year Sample Papers
  • CTET Previous Year Sample Papers
  • SBI Clerk Previous Year Sample Papers
  • NDA Previous Year Sample Papers

Upcoming Events

  • NDA Application Form 2024
  • UPSC IAS Application Form 2024
  • CDS Application Form 2024
  • CTET Admit card 2024
  • HP TET Result 2023
  • SSC GD Constable Admit Card 2024
  • UPTET Notification 2024
  • SBI Clerk Result 2024

Other Exams

  • SSC CHSL 2024
  • UP PCS 2024
  • UGC NET 2024
  • RRB NTPC 2024
  • IBPS PO 2024
  • IBPS Clerk 2024
  • IBPS SO 2024
  • CBSE Class 10th
  • CBSE Class 12th
  • UP Board 10th
  • UP Board 12th
  • Bihar Board 10th
  • Bihar Board 12th
  • Top Schools in India
  • Top Schools in Delhi
  • Top Schools in Mumbai
  • Top Schools in Chennai
  • Top Schools in Hyderabad
  • Top Schools in Kolkata
  • Top Schools in Pune
  • Top Schools in Bangalore

Products & Resources

  • JEE Main Knockout April
  • NCERT Notes
  • NCERT Syllabus
  • NCERT Books
  • RD Sharma Solutions
  • Navodaya Vidyalaya Admission 2024-25
  • NCERT Solutions
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 12
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 11
  • NCERT solutions for Class 10
  • NCERT solutions for Class 9
  • NCERT solutions for Class 8
  • NCERT Solutions for Class 7
  • Top University in USA
  • Top University in Canada
  • Top University in Ireland
  • Top Universities in UK
  • Top Universities in Australia
  • Best MBA Colleges in Abroad
  • Business Management Studies Colleges

Top Countries

  • Study in USA
  • Study in UK
  • Study in Canada
  • Study in Australia
  • Study in Ireland
  • Study in Germany
  • Study in China
  • Study in Europe

Student Visas

  • Student Visa Canada
  • Student Visa UK
  • Student Visa USA
  • Student Visa Australia
  • Student Visa Germany
  • Student Visa New Zealand
  • Student Visa Ireland
  • CUET PG 2024
  • IGNOU B.Ed Admission 2024
  • DU Admission
  • UP B.Ed JEE 2024
  • DDU Entrance Exam
  • IIT JAM 2024
  • IGNOU Online Admission 2024
  • Universities in India
  • Top Universities in India 2024
  • Top Colleges in India
  • Top Universities in Uttar Pradesh 2024
  • Top Universities in Bihar
  • Top Universities in Madhya Pradesh 2024
  • Top Universities in Tamil Nadu 2024
  • Central Universities in India
  • CUET PG Admit Card 2024
  • IGNOU Date Sheet
  • CUET Mock Test 2024
  • CUET Application Form 2024
  • CUET PG Syllabus 2024
  • CUET Participating Universities 2024
  • CUET Previous Year Question Paper
  • CUET Syllabus 2024 for Science Students
  • E-Books and Sample Papers
  • CUET Exam Pattern 2024
  • CUET Exam Date 2024
  • CUET Syllabus 2024
  • IGNOU Exam Form 2024
  • IGNOU Result
  • CUET PG Courses 2024

Engineering Preparation

  • Knockout JEE Main 2024
  • Test Series JEE Main 2024
  • JEE Main 2024 Rank Booster

Medical Preparation

  • Knockout NEET 2024
  • Test Series NEET 2024
  • Rank Booster NEET 2024

Online Courses

  • JEE Main One Month Course
  • NEET One Month Course
  • IBSAT Free Mock Tests
  • IIT JEE Foundation Course
  • Knockout BITSAT 2024
  • Career Guidance Tool

Top Streams

  • IT & Software Certification Courses
  • Engineering and Architecture Certification Courses
  • Programming And Development Certification Courses
  • Business and Management Certification Courses
  • Marketing Certification Courses
  • Health and Fitness Certification Courses
  • Design Certification Courses
  • Specializations
  • Digital Marketing Certification Courses
  • Cyber Security Certification Courses
  • Artificial Intelligence Certification Courses
  • Business Analytics Certification Courses
  • Data Science Certification Courses
  • Cloud Computing Certification Courses
  • Machine Learning Certification Courses
  • View All Certification Courses
  • UG Degree Courses
  • PG Degree Courses
  • Short Term Courses
  • Free Courses
  • Online Degrees and Diplomas
  • Compare Courses

Top Providers

  • Coursera Courses
  • Udemy Courses
  • Edx Courses
  • Swayam Courses
  • upGrad Courses
  • Simplilearn Courses
  • Great Learning Courses

Access premium articles, webinars, resources to make the best decisions for career, course, exams, scholarships, study abroad and much more with

Plan, Prepare & Make the Best Career Choices

CFA® Level 3 Past Papers, Mock test - Download Past Exam Papers PDF

  • Preparation Tips
  • Application

The CFA level 3 question pattern consists of two types of questions- CFA level 3 essay questions and item set questions. The item set question consists of 4-6 multiple-choice questions per item set. The essay type of questions require two types of responses - word-based and calculation-based responses. It is recommended to go through the past papers for CFA level 3 2024 and the CFA® level 3 curriculum to prepare well for the exam and be aware of the exam format.

New:  CFA Level 1 & 2 Nov 2024 registration open

Latest:  CFA complete guide

Sample paper pdf for CFA level 3 2024

Cfa® level 3 question type, cfa® level 3 exam pattern, cfa® level 3 mock exam 2024, cfa level 3 essay questions, cfa 2024 level 3 essay questions format and scoring:, how to be great at answering cfa level 3 essay questions - cfa level 3 essay tips:.

Solving the CFA level 3 2024 past papers will help the students understand the CFA® level 3 exam format, marking scheme, and difficulty level of the CFA level 3 essay questions 2024. To know more about CFA level 3 past papers 2024, CFA® level 3 exam pattern , type of questions and CFA level 3 curriculum, please check the complete article.

The CFA website has examples of CFA level 3 essay questions as well as examples of Level III item set questions with their guideline answers. The past papers for CFA® level 3 2024 will be similar to the main exam in terms of structure and difficulty level.

CFA sample papers PDF Link CFA level 3 essay questions Click here for pdf CFA Level 3 item set questions CFA Level 3 essay guidelines

The CFA® level 3 exam consists of two types of questions- item set questions and essay type questions. Each item set question will have a paragraph and multiple-choice questions based on the given paragraph. Each item set will have 4-6 MCQ based on it. The essay type questions are based on word-based or calculator based responses. The students have to give detailed answers to the essay type of questions. Candidates can attempt each type of question in the Level 3 past papers for CFA® 2024.

Also Read: CFA Level 3 Result 2024

There are multiple-choice questions in the exam pattern of CFA Level 3. There is no negative marking in the CFA® level 3 exam. The marks for the essay questions vary but the item set question carries 3 marks for each MCQ.

Exam pattern Type of questions Multiple-choice questions Marking scheme No negative marking Duration of exam 4 hours 24 minutes Sessions Morning and afternoon session Medium of exam English

The CFA Institute provides practice questions and mock exams in order to help candidates get the exam experience and understand their level of preparedness. Mock exams or CFA® level 3 question bank can be accessed through the Learning ecosystem page of the website. The registered candidates can attempt multiple mock exams to practice each topic for the exam.

The mock exams come along with feedback for each answer and a detailed explanation for the answers.

The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute uses items sets and essay format for CFA level 3 exam. Each essay question in the CFA level 3 question bank consists of an essay with 2 or more related items that will require a written response. There are mainly 2 categories of CFA level 3 essay questions 2024. One is the word-based responses and the other is the calculation-based responses. The essay questions for CFA level 3 2024 are written exactly based on the CFA curriculum.

Since the CFA Level 3 February 2024 session, item sets and constructed response (essay) sets will be mixed within each of the two exam sessions, so each session will have either 6 item sets and 5 essay sets or 5 item sets and 6 essay sets. Previously, the first session was all essay sets and the second session was all item sets. Level III overall will not change: 11 essay sets and 11 item sets, for 12 points each . As candidates have consistently had difficulty finishing the essay session but often finished the item set session early, this change should improve candidates’ ability to finish each session in the allowed time.

The CFA Level 3 essay question will be scored based on their length and complexity. Candidates should answer the essay questions for CFA level 3 2024 in a detail and concise manner. They should answer the essay questions using bullet points and correct calculations. Candidates are advised to go through the CFA level 3 sample questions to understand the exam format better and to study accordingly. For more information on the CFA 2024 Level 3 Essay Questions, their format, scoring, CFA level 3 past papers, refer to the complete article.

The CFA Level III exam consists of essay questions and item set based questions. All the questions are created directly from the curriculum. There is no negative marking for wrong answers. The essay questions for CFA level 3 2024 are either word-based or calculation-based. The longer essays will have more weight in terms of scoring.

In calculation based questions, the candidates can either answer directly or choose to show their calculations as part of their response. An overview of the essay questions format and duration is given below:

Level III Exam Format

Candidates are advised to follow certain study tips to appear for the CFA Level 3 exam. The study tips that will help the students in scoring well are given below:

1) Understand the two types of CFA level 3 essay questions 2024. One is the constructed responses type or word-based responses type questions and the other involves calculations.

2) In calculation based questions, candidates should show the steps that allowed them to reach their calculations as they will get partial points for doing correct steps even if their actual answer was wrong.

3) Candidates should write to the point as that will help them save time. They are also advised to present their answers well using bullet points.

4) Read carefully as essay questions will require the candidate to process lot of case information to solve the question. With focused reading, the candidate can find what they are looking for.

5) Be careful of the time spent on answering a question. When practising with sample CFA level 3 essay questions and answers prepare a plan on allocation of time for each answer.

6) If a candidate is finding it difficult to find the answer then they should know when to leave the question and move on. Don't remain stuck with one question, instead explore your chances with other questions.

CFA Level 3 Mock Test and Practice Questions:

To help candidates prepare for the exam, CFA Institute offers different types of practice, including practice questions and a mock exam, through their Learning Ecosystem to all registered candidates. Candidates can practise with several CFA Level 3 essay question examples. These practice questions will help in assessing level of confidence and accuracy along the way. Then, in advance of the exam, take a mock exam, which mimics the exam-day experience as closely as possible

Other Related Links

CFA Level 3 Exam Pattern 2024

CFA Level 3 Test Centres 2024

CFA Level 3 Result 2024

CFA Level 3 Sample Papers 2024

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

Yes, candidates can retake the exam by re-registering for the exam and paying the registration fee again within a period of 6 months.

The past papers for CFA® level 3 2024 help in understanding the exam format, type of questions and difficulty level of the exam.

The CFA Level III exams will be conducted in February and August sessions during a particular year.

No, the exam date cannot change but the students have an option to postpone their own appointment to the next term.

  • Latest Articles

Upcoming Finance Exams

Application Date : 10 April,2024 - 10 April,2024

CA Final Exam

Exam Date : 02 May,2024 - 02 May,2024

CA Intermediate Exam

Exam Date : 03 May,2024 - 03 May,2024

CS Executive Exam

Exam Date : 02 June,2024 - 02 June,2024

CS Professional Exam

Certifications by top providers.

  • Most Viewed

Explore Top Universities Across Globe

  • Universities
  • Popular Articles

Popular Courses and Specializations

Popular degrees, popular branches.

  • Financial Management

Related E-books & Sample Papers

All about cfa.

586 + Downloads

Explore Career Options (By Industry)

  • Construction
  • Entertainment
  • Manufacturing
  • Information Technology

Bio Medical Engineer

The field of biomedical engineering opens up a universe of expert chances. An Individual in the biomedical engineering career path work in the field of engineering as well as medicine, in order to find out solutions to common problems of the two fields. The biomedical engineering job opportunities are to collaborate with doctors and researchers to develop medical systems, equipment, or devices that can solve clinical problems. Here we will be discussing jobs after biomedical engineering, how to get a job in biomedical engineering, biomedical engineering scope, and salary. 

Data Administrator

Database professionals use software to store and organise data such as financial information, and customer shipping records. Individuals who opt for a career as data administrators ensure that data is available for users and secured from unauthorised sales. DB administrators may work in various types of industries. It may involve computer systems design, service firms, insurance companies, banks and hospitals.

Ethical Hacker

A career as ethical hacker involves various challenges and provides lucrative opportunities in the digital era where every giant business and startup owns its cyberspace on the world wide web. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path try to find the vulnerabilities in the cyber system to get its authority. If he or she succeeds in it then he or she gets its illegal authority. Individuals in the ethical hacker career path then steal information or delete the file that could affect the business, functioning, or services of the organization.

Data Analyst

The invention of the database has given fresh breath to the people involved in the data analytics career path. Analysis refers to splitting up a whole into its individual components for individual analysis. Data analysis is a method through which raw data are processed and transformed into information that would be beneficial for user strategic thinking.

Data are collected and examined to respond to questions, evaluate hypotheses or contradict theories. It is a tool for analyzing, transforming, modeling, and arranging data with useful knowledge, to assist in decision-making and methods, encompassing various strategies, and is used in different fields of business, research, and social science.

Geothermal Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as geothermal engineers are the professionals involved in the processing of geothermal energy. The responsibilities of geothermal engineers may vary depending on the workplace location. Those who work in fields design facilities to process and distribute geothermal energy. They oversee the functioning of machinery used in the field.

Remote Sensing Technician

Individuals who opt for a career as a remote sensing technician possess unique personalities. Remote sensing analysts seem to be rational human beings, they are strong, independent, persistent, sincere, realistic and resourceful. Some of them are analytical as well, which means they are intelligent, introspective and inquisitive. 

Remote sensing scientists use remote sensing technology to support scientists in fields such as community planning, flight planning or the management of natural resources. Analysing data collected from aircraft, satellites or ground-based platforms using statistical analysis software, image analysis software or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a significant part of their work. Do you want to learn how to become remote sensing technician? There's no need to be concerned; we've devised a simple remote sensing technician career path for you. Scroll through the pages and read.

Geotechnical engineer

The role of geotechnical engineer starts with reviewing the projects needed to define the required material properties. The work responsibilities are followed by a site investigation of rock, soil, fault distribution and bedrock properties on and below an area of interest. The investigation is aimed to improve the ground engineering design and determine their engineering properties that include how they will interact with, on or in a proposed construction. 

The role of geotechnical engineer in mining includes designing and determining the type of foundations, earthworks, and or pavement subgrades required for the intended man-made structures to be made. Geotechnical engineering jobs are involved in earthen and concrete dam construction projects, working under a range of normal and extreme loading conditions. 

Cartographer

How fascinating it is to represent the whole world on just a piece of paper or a sphere. With the help of maps, we are able to represent the real world on a much smaller scale. Individuals who opt for a career as a cartographer are those who make maps. But, cartography is not just limited to maps, it is about a mixture of art , science , and technology. As a cartographer, not only you will create maps but use various geodetic surveys and remote sensing systems to measure, analyse, and create different maps for political, cultural or educational purposes.

Budget Analyst

Budget analysis, in a nutshell, entails thoroughly analyzing the details of a financial budget. The budget analysis aims to better understand and manage revenue. Budget analysts assist in the achievement of financial targets, the preservation of profitability, and the pursuit of long-term growth for a business. Budget analysts generally have a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or a closely related field. Knowledge of Financial Management is of prime importance in this career.

Product Manager

A Product Manager is a professional responsible for product planning and marketing. He or she manages the product throughout the Product Life Cycle, gathering and prioritising the product. A product manager job description includes defining the product vision and working closely with team members of other departments to deliver winning products.  

Underwriter

An underwriter is a person who assesses and evaluates the risk of insurance in his or her field like mortgage, loan, health policy, investment, and so on and so forth. The underwriter career path does involve risks as analysing the risks means finding out if there is a way for the insurance underwriter jobs to recover the money from its clients. If the risk turns out to be too much for the company then in the future it is an underwriter who will be held accountable for it. Therefore, one must carry out his or her job with a lot of attention and diligence.

Finance Executive

Operations manager.

Individuals in the operations manager jobs are responsible for ensuring the efficiency of each department to acquire its optimal goal. They plan the use of resources and distribution of materials. The operations manager's job description includes managing budgets, negotiating contracts, and performing administrative tasks.

Bank Probationary Officer (PO)

Investment director.

An investment director is a person who helps corporations and individuals manage their finances. They can help them develop a strategy to achieve their goals, including paying off debts and investing in the future. In addition, he or she can help individuals make informed decisions.

Welding Engineer

Welding Engineer Job Description: A Welding Engineer work involves managing welding projects and supervising welding teams. He or she is responsible for reviewing welding procedures, processes and documentation. A career as Welding Engineer involves conducting failure analyses and causes on welding issues. 

Transportation Planner

A career as Transportation Planner requires technical application of science and technology in engineering, particularly the concepts, equipment and technologies involved in the production of products and services. In fields like land use, infrastructure review, ecological standards and street design, he or she considers issues of health, environment and performance. A Transportation Planner assigns resources for implementing and designing programmes. He or she is responsible for assessing needs, preparing plans and forecasts and compliance with regulations.

An expert in plumbing is aware of building regulations and safety standards and works to make sure these standards are upheld. Testing pipes for leakage using air pressure and other gauges, and also the ability to construct new pipe systems by cutting, fitting, measuring and threading pipes are some of the other more involved aspects of plumbing. Individuals in the plumber career path are self-employed or work for a small business employing less than ten people, though some might find working for larger entities or the government more desirable.

Construction Manager

Individuals who opt for a career as construction managers have a senior-level management role offered in construction firms. Responsibilities in the construction management career path are assigning tasks to workers, inspecting their work, and coordinating with other professionals including architects, subcontractors, and building services engineers.

Urban Planner

Urban Planning careers revolve around the idea of developing a plan to use the land optimally, without affecting the environment. Urban planning jobs are offered to those candidates who are skilled in making the right use of land to distribute the growing population, to create various communities. 

Urban planning careers come with the opportunity to make changes to the existing cities and towns. They identify various community needs and make short and long-term plans accordingly.

Highway Engineer

Highway Engineer Job Description:  A Highway Engineer is a civil engineer who specialises in planning and building thousands of miles of roads that support connectivity and allow transportation across the country. He or she ensures that traffic management schemes are effectively planned concerning economic sustainability and successful implementation.

Environmental Engineer

Individuals who opt for a career as an environmental engineer are construction professionals who utilise the skills and knowledge of biology, soil science, chemistry and the concept of engineering to design and develop projects that serve as solutions to various environmental problems. 

Naval Architect

A Naval Architect is a professional who designs, produces and repairs safe and sea-worthy surfaces or underwater structures. A Naval Architect stays involved in creating and designing ships, ferries, submarines and yachts with implementation of various principles such as gravity, ideal hull form, buoyancy and stability. 

Orthotist and Prosthetist

Orthotists and Prosthetists are professionals who provide aid to patients with disabilities. They fix them to artificial limbs (prosthetics) and help them to regain stability. There are times when people lose their limbs in an accident. In some other occasions, they are born without a limb or orthopaedic impairment. Orthotists and prosthetists play a crucial role in their lives with fixing them to assistive devices and provide mobility.

Veterinary Doctor

Pathologist.

A career in pathology in India is filled with several responsibilities as it is a medical branch and affects human lives. The demand for pathologists has been increasing over the past few years as people are getting more aware of different diseases. Not only that, but an increase in population and lifestyle changes have also contributed to the increase in a pathologist’s demand. The pathology careers provide an extremely huge number of opportunities and if you want to be a part of the medical field you can consider being a pathologist. If you want to know more about a career in pathology in India then continue reading this article.

Speech Therapist

Gynaecologist.

Gynaecology can be defined as the study of the female body. The job outlook for gynaecology is excellent since there is evergreen demand for one because of their responsibility of dealing with not only women’s health but also fertility and pregnancy issues. Although most women prefer to have a women obstetrician gynaecologist as their doctor, men also explore a career as a gynaecologist and there are ample amounts of male doctors in the field who are gynaecologists and aid women during delivery and childbirth. 

An oncologist is a specialised doctor responsible for providing medical care to patients diagnosed with cancer. He or she uses several therapies to control the cancer and its effect on the human body such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and biopsy. An oncologist designs a treatment plan based on a pathology report after diagnosing the type of cancer and where it is spreading inside the body.

Audiologist

The audiologist career involves audiology professionals who are responsible to treat hearing loss and proactively preventing the relevant damage. Individuals who opt for a career as an audiologist use various testing strategies with the aim to determine if someone has a normal sensitivity to sounds or not. After the identification of hearing loss, a hearing doctor is required to determine which sections of the hearing are affected, to what extent they are affected, and where the wound causing the hearing loss is found. As soon as the hearing loss is identified, the patients are provided with recommendations for interventions and rehabilitation such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and appropriate medical referrals. While audiology is a branch of science that studies and researches hearing, balance, and related disorders.

Hospital Administrator

The hospital Administrator is in charge of organising and supervising the daily operations of medical services and facilities. This organising includes managing of organisation’s staff and its members in service, budgets, service reports, departmental reporting and taking reminders of patient care and services.

For an individual who opts for a career as an actor, the primary responsibility is to completely speak to the character he or she is playing and to persuade the crowd that the character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. Here in this article, we will discuss how to become an actor in India, actor exams, actor salary in India, and actor jobs. 

Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats create and direct original routines for themselves, in addition to developing interpretations of existing routines. The work of circus acrobats can be seen in a variety of performance settings, including circus, reality shows, sports events like the Olympics, movies and commercials. Individuals who opt for a career as acrobats must be prepared to face rejections and intermittent periods of work. The creativity of acrobats may extend to other aspects of the performance. For example, acrobats in the circus may work with gym trainers, celebrities or collaborate with other professionals to enhance such performance elements as costume and or maybe at the teaching end of the career.

Video Game Designer

Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.

Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.

Radio Jockey

Radio Jockey is an exciting, promising career and a great challenge for music lovers. If you are really interested in a career as radio jockey, then it is very important for an RJ to have an automatic, fun, and friendly personality. If you want to get a job done in this field, a strong command of the language and a good voice are always good things. Apart from this, in order to be a good radio jockey, you will also listen to good radio jockeys so that you can understand their style and later make your own by practicing.

A career as radio jockey has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. If you want to know more about a career as radio jockey, and how to become a radio jockey then continue reading the article.

Choreographer

The word “choreography" actually comes from Greek words that mean “dance writing." Individuals who opt for a career as a choreographer create and direct original dances, in addition to developing interpretations of existing dances. A Choreographer dances and utilises his or her creativity in other aspects of dance performance. For example, he or she may work with the music director to select music or collaborate with other famous choreographers to enhance such performance elements as lighting, costume and set design.

Videographer

Multimedia specialist.

A multimedia specialist is a media professional who creates, audio, videos, graphic image files, computer animations for multimedia applications. He or she is responsible for planning, producing, and maintaining websites and applications. 

Social Media Manager

A career as social media manager involves implementing the company’s or brand’s marketing plan across all social media channels. Social media managers help in building or improving a brand’s or a company’s website traffic, build brand awareness, create and implement marketing and brand strategy. Social media managers are key to important social communication as well.

Copy Writer

In a career as a copywriter, one has to consult with the client and understand the brief well. A career as a copywriter has a lot to offer to deserving candidates. Several new mediums of advertising are opening therefore making it a lucrative career choice. Students can pursue various copywriter courses such as Journalism , Advertising , Marketing Management . Here, we have discussed how to become a freelance copywriter, copywriter career path, how to become a copywriter in India, and copywriting career outlook. 

Careers in journalism are filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. One cannot afford to miss out on the details. As it is the small details that provide insights into a story. Depending on those insights a journalist goes about writing a news article. A journalism career can be stressful at times but if you are someone who is passionate about it then it is the right choice for you. If you want to know more about the media field and journalist career then continue reading this article.

For publishing books, newspapers, magazines and digital material, editorial and commercial strategies are set by publishers. Individuals in publishing career paths make choices about the markets their businesses will reach and the type of content that their audience will be served. Individuals in book publisher careers collaborate with editorial staff, designers, authors, and freelance contributors who develop and manage the creation of content.

In a career as a vlogger, one generally works for himself or herself. However, once an individual has gained viewership there are several brands and companies that approach them for paid collaboration. It is one of those fields where an individual can earn well while following his or her passion. 

Ever since internet costs got reduced the viewership for these types of content has increased on a large scale. Therefore, a career as a vlogger has a lot to offer. If you want to know more about the Vlogger eligibility, roles and responsibilities then continue reading the article. 

Individuals in the editor career path is an unsung hero of the news industry who polishes the language of the news stories provided by stringers, reporters, copywriters and content writers and also news agencies. Individuals who opt for a career as an editor make it more persuasive, concise and clear for readers. In this article, we will discuss the details of the editor's career path such as how to become an editor in India, editor salary in India and editor skills and qualities.

Linguistic meaning is related to language or Linguistics which is the study of languages. A career as a linguistic meaning, a profession that is based on the scientific study of language, and it's a very broad field with many specialities. Famous linguists work in academia, researching and teaching different areas of language, such as phonetics (sounds), syntax (word order) and semantics (meaning). 

Other researchers focus on specialities like computational linguistics, which seeks to better match human and computer language capacities, or applied linguistics, which is concerned with improving language education. Still, others work as language experts for the government, advertising companies, dictionary publishers and various other private enterprises. Some might work from home as freelance linguists. Philologist, phonologist, and dialectician are some of Linguist synonym. Linguists can study French , German , Italian . 

Public Relation Executive

Travel journalist.

The career of a travel journalist is full of passion, excitement and responsibility. Journalism as a career could be challenging at times, but if you're someone who has been genuinely enthusiastic about all this, then it is the best decision for you. Travel journalism jobs are all about insightful, artfully written, informative narratives designed to cover the travel industry. Travel Journalist is someone who explores, gathers and presents information as a news article.

Quality Controller

A quality controller plays a crucial role in an organisation. He or she is responsible for performing quality checks on manufactured products. He or she identifies the defects in a product and rejects the product. 

A quality controller records detailed information about products with defects and sends it to the supervisor or plant manager to take necessary actions to improve the production process.

Production Manager

Merchandiser.

A QA Lead is in charge of the QA Team. The role of QA Lead comes with the responsibility of assessing services and products in order to determine that he or she meets the quality standards. He or she develops, implements and manages test plans. 

Metallurgical Engineer

A metallurgical engineer is a professional who studies and produces materials that bring power to our world. He or she extracts metals from ores and rocks and transforms them into alloys, high-purity metals and other materials used in developing infrastructure, transportation and healthcare equipment. 

Azure Administrator

An Azure Administrator is a professional responsible for implementing, monitoring, and maintaining Azure Solutions. He or she manages cloud infrastructure service instances and various cloud servers as well as sets up public and private cloud systems. 

AWS Solution Architect

An AWS Solution Architect is someone who specializes in developing and implementing cloud computing systems. He or she has a good understanding of the various aspects of cloud computing and can confidently deploy and manage their systems. He or she troubleshoots the issues and evaluates the risk from the third party. 

Computer Programmer

Careers in computer programming primarily refer to the systematic act of writing code and moreover include wider computer science areas. The word 'programmer' or 'coder' has entered into practice with the growing number of newly self-taught tech enthusiasts. Computer programming careers involve the use of designs created by software developers and engineers and transforming them into commands that can be implemented by computers. These commands result in regular usage of social media sites, word-processing applications and browsers.

ITSM Manager

Information security manager.

Individuals in the information security manager career path involves in overseeing and controlling all aspects of computer security. The IT security manager job description includes planning and carrying out security measures to protect the business data and information from corruption, theft, unauthorised access, and deliberate attack 

Business Intelligence Developer

Stay up-to date with cfa exam news, everything about education.

Latest updates, Exclusive Content, Webinars and more.

Download Careers360 App's

Regular exam updates, QnA, Predictors, College Applications & E-books now on your Mobile

student

Cetifications

student

We Appeared in

Economic Times

lord of the flies character essay

IMAGES

  1. Cfa level 3 essay questions 2018

    sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  2. [SOLVED] HOW TO ANSWER CFA LEVEL 3 ESSAY QUESTIONS?

    sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  3. Ways of answering essay question

    sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  4. CFA Level 3 Study Guide: Top Tips From Candidates

    sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  5. How To Be Great At Answering CFA Level 3 Essay Questions

    sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

  6. Level III CFA: Essay Exam Grading Service

    sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

VIDEO

  1. CFA Exam Scholarship

  2. All about my CFA Journey

  3. CFA Access Scholarship 2023: New Deadline!

  4. investment foundation chapter 3| أساسيات الاستثمار الفصل الثالث

  5. The Behavioral Biases of Individuals (2023 Level III CFA® Exam

  6. CFA Program Level III Exam: IFT Videos and Notes

COMMENTS

  1. CFA Level 3 Essay Questions: How To Self-Grade Accurately

    The CFA Level 3 essay questions, also known as the constructed response section, is often a significant challenge to Level 3 candidates.. Our research has also estimated that more than 93% of Level 3 candidates performed worse in the essay paper compared to the item-set paper, so improving your essay performance can really help your chances in the CFA exam.

  2. Level III Essay Exam

    The Level III exam is made up of two parts. The first is a structured response (essay) exam and the second, a vignette multiple choice exam. This post focuses on the structured response, which, in my opinion, is the greatest obstacle lying between you and the CFA charter. Until now, you've only been answering multiple choice questions in your ...

  3. CFA Level 3 Question Bank

    The Level III CFA exam is only offered in June. The afternoon session, similar to the Level II exam, includes item set questions. Each item set has 6 multiple-choice questions, and there are 10 item sets in total. The unusual part of the Level III exam is the morning session, where candidates have to write answers in essay format.

  4. CFA Level 3 Essay: Question Format, Grading and Tips

    CFA Level 3 Essay Format. This 3-hour exam has 10-15 questions, each divided into two or more parts. Points are awarded for each part of each CFA question. There is no guarantee, but you can expect to see the following subject areas on your Level 3 exam: private wealth, institutional investors, economic analysis, fixed income, and risk management.

  5. CFA Level 3 Essay Questions 2024

    CFA 2024 Level 3 Essay Questions Format and Scoring: The CFA Level III exam consists of essay questions and item set based questions. All the questions are created directly from the curriculum. There is no negative marking for wrong answers. The essay questions for CFA level 3 2024 are either word-based or calculation-based.

  6. CFA Exam Sample Questions: All Levels

    A. 2.91%. B. 3.12%. C. 3.20%. Question 4: Evaluate the following statements. Statement 1: "A putable bond exhibits negative convexity at low yields and positive convexity at high yields.". Statement 2: "Effective duration measures the sensitivity of a bond's price to changes in its yield to maturity.". A.

  7. CFA Level 3 Question Bank With 180+ Practice Questions

    180+ Exam-Like CFA Level 3 Practice Questions. 110 multiple choice practice questions. 70+ constructed response questions the exam's vignette format. Covers all Level 3 LOS (learning outcome statements) Routinely updated by our in-house CFA charterholders.

  8. Major Tip How To Answer CFA Level 3 Essay Questions

    Meet Nathan Ronen, CFA, Lead Instructor and Co-Founder of Chalk & Board. In this video, Nathan provides some advice about how to answer CFA Level III essay q...

  9. CFA® Level 3 Mock Exam for 2024

    Practice with essay and item-set questions written by charterholders to meet or exceed exam-level difficulty. It's one thing to know your stuff, but another to express it clearly under exam conditions. ... The explanations on answers are incredibly detailed, unlike the official curriculum. ... Sample CFA Level 3 Mock Questions. Quality speaks ...

  10. CFA Level 3 Essay Answer Point Maximizing Advice

    Meet Nathan Ronen, CFA, Lead Instructor and Co-Founder of Chalk & Board. In this video, Nathan provides his time-tested advice about how to maximize your CFA...

  11. Tips for essay answers in L3 from November 2021 candidates

    Passed November Level 3. Yes, I absolutely used bullet points. often with incomplete sentences. this is not an English writing exam. also, I wrote a couple formulas so id be comfortable doing that on the qwerty keyboard. from a strategy standpoint, most important thing in AM is to NOT GET BOGGED DOWN ON ONE QUESTION. if you think you'll want/need more time on a problem or just dont want to do ...

  12. CFA Level III

    In my mock exams I give you two sets of answers along with a marking rubric. One set of answers is along the lines of the EOC answers: full explanations that are far too long to write for the exam. The other set is minimal answers: the least you need to write to earn full marks. Those should be your target answers, although no candidate will ...

  13. How to Write Your CFA® Scholarship Essay?

    The final tip for writing a successful scholarship essay is to take the time to proofread and edit it for errors and clarity. You should proofread the essay at least once and possibly multiple times, depending on the time available. Be sure to review the essay's content, flow, grammar, and spelling. As a helpful tip, reading the essay aloud ...

  14. CFA® Level 3 Past Papers, Mock test

    Sample paper pdf for CFA level 3 2024. The CFA website has examples of CFA level 3 essay questions as well as examples of Level III item set questions with their guideline answers. The past papers for CFA® level 3 2024 will be similar to the main exam in terms of structure and difficulty level. CFA sample papers. PDF Link.

  15. sample cfa level 3 essay questions and answers

    This means that each CFA Level 3 exam session has either 6 item sets and 5 essay sets, or 5 item sets and 6 essay sets. · Read the question... Candidates should answer the essay questions for CFA® level 3 2023 in a detail and concise manner. They should answer the essay questions using bullet points... Overall the Level III exam will still ...