Mid-Term Exam Format and Contact Information
This sheet is intended to assist in the preparation for the Mid-term exam scheduled for July 12 . This exam will be in two parts, a closed-book non-quantitative part and an open-book quantitative part. Students will complete the closed-book non-quantitative part of the exam, return it to the instructor and then take the open-book quantitative part of the exam. Students may bring any written material only to the open-book portion of the exam. Students will also be permitted to bring a non-programmable calculator to the exam (Calculators that permit rudimentary keystroke programming such as the HP-12-C or basic graphing calculators are acceptable). No computers with DOS or Windows operating systems or alphabet keys will be permitted for either part. The two-hour time limit applies to both parts, there are no other time limits on the individual two parts. All questions on the exam will be drawn from material or based on material covered in the instructor's lectures and/or from the Coursepack. Material from other readings are likely to be useful in preparing for the exam, but many students will not need to spend large amounts of time covering these extra readings. I suggest that you read it, at least parts of this additional material, particularly if you are experiencing difficulties with material covered in the coursepack or the lectures.

One should not assume that exam questions will involve simple duplication of material in the handouts, textbook, course pack or notes or other material. Some ingenuity and analytical skills may be required to answer certain questions. In addition, it will be useful for students' grasp of the material to be strong enough to answer questions quickly, as time will be limited. This point is key; you must know the material well enough to be able to work fast. Be certain to understand derivations where applicable (such as geometric expansions) and be able to perform computations for all problem types. The practice version of the exam is intended to be representative of the style of actual examination questions and structures; actual exam coverage will extend to all material covered as of the class meeting immediately prior to the exam. Each exam, either practice version or actual version should be considered to only cover a limited "randomly selected" range of course material. Be certain to cover all required material in your preparations. Also note that many students feel that their actual exams are more difficult than the practice versions. This seems particularly true when solutions sheets are viewed along with the practice exams or when the practice versions of exams are not taken under actual exam conditions.

Material covered by the exam will pertain to all lectures prior to and including the class meeting immediately prior. This will include all of the readings from Chapters 1 through 4 from the Coursepack subject to certain restrictions outlined below and subject to change as the term progresses and as actual course coverage varies from anticipated course coverage. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Work through all appropriate problems (particularly in the Coursepack), being certain not to view solutions until you have completed your work. Wait until you have made your final preparations for the exam before attempting the practice exams which may be found at the sample exam page . Allow 3 hours for the sample exam, both parts.

The mid-term exam will be less quantitative than the final exam. Nevertheless, given the type of material presented thus far in the course, its structure will be rather typical. The material for the mid-term exam covers more institutional and regulatory details than will the final. However, there is a sort of logic to the organization of material's presentation in the Coursepack. For example, material introducing market structures is broken up into primary (e.g., IPO) and secondary (e.g., exchange) markets. The two most significant pieces of securities legislation is similarly directed at the two markets, the Securities Act of 1933 at the primary markets and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 at the secondary markets. It's possible to piece together provisions of each act without remembering them by just knowing which markets rules violations will affect. When preparing for the mid-term exam, don't attempt to memorize details as you might have memorized state capitals in 3rd grade. First, do not bother to try to remember useless details (unless for some reason this helps you) author names and dates (e.g., Smith [1990]). Do not memorize any equations or formal mathematical statements (such as the equation in the introduction to market efficiency in Chapter 2). But, do be able to express concisely and completely what constitutes a perfectly efficient market and what its characteristics are. Instead, start by considering "bigger picture" types of issues. For example, consider the following questions: How do economists use utility and game theories to traditionally model investor behavior and how do behavioral approaches differ from these approaches? Why might open outcry markets be better for investors than electronic markets? Details should fall into place as you consider such issues. Do not memorize formulas, in part, because the quantitative part of the exam is "open book." To some extent, preparing for the non-quantitative part of this exam might be similar to preparing for exams in business law, accounting or marketing. Of course, the final exam will have a different sort of orientation. But, more on that later.

My office telephone number is 212-998-0300. I can also be reached at my home telephone number: 1-203-344-1128; a fax machine might pick up if I don't. Feel free to send a fax to this number if you like. You can call either number anytime, though I am frequently away or otherwise occupied. Of course, I can be e-mailed at jteall@stern.nyu.edu .
 

     Some additional material can be linked to from the Additional Readings page . This page provides a detailed description of materials and suggestions for its use. After studying the Coursepack, use this page. Also make use of this page if you are experiencing difficulties with the Coursepack.

    The content of the exam may well differ from the material given above as exact course coverage and exam timing cannot be predicted early in the term. Since the exam will be based on course lectures, and the Coursepack material closely parallels lecture material, first make certain that you are comfortable with lecture notes and Coursepack readings. This includes completing all relevant problems. If you are either encountering substantial difficulty with the material listed above or would benefit from working through additional material (as should be the case for most students), I suggest the material below.

Web Site and Other Handout Material
    The Elementary Mathematics Review and the Readings and Coursepack sites will provide useful material for students experiencing difficulty with the lectures and the text book. Material in the Readings and Coursepack page will also provide numerous solved exercises. First, students experiencing substantial difficulty with course material should cover any sections with which they may be uncomfortable in the two chapters of the Elementary Mathematics Review . This includes working through all exercises.

All relevant end-of-chapter problems may be helpful as well. These listings may change as the exam approaches due to actual coverage in the lectures. Make certain that you have a look at the Sample Exams . It is probably best to do this after you have completed all other exam preparations.

Final Exam Format and Contact Information
This sheet is intended to assist in the preparation for the final exam scheduled for Thursday August 2. This exam will be in two parts, a closed-book non-quantitative part and an open-book quantitative part. Students will complete the closed-book non-quantitative part of the exam, return it to the instructor and then take the open-book quantitative part of the exam. Students may bring any written material only to the open-book portion of the exam. Students will also be permitted to bring a non-programmable calculator to the exam. No computers with DOS or Windows operating systems or alphabet keys will be permitted for either part. All questions on the exam will be drawn from material covered in the instructor's lectures and/or from the Coursepack. Material from other readings are likely to be most useful in preparing for the exam. I suggest that you read it, at least part of it, particularly if you are experiencing difficulties with material covered in the course.

One should not assume that exam questions will involve simple duplication of material in the handouts, textbook, course pack or notes or other material. Some ingenuity and analytical skills may be required to answer certain questions. In addition, it will be useful for students' grasp of the material to be strong enough to answer questions quickly, as time will be limited. This point is key; you must know the material well enough to be able to work fast. Be certain to understand derivations where applicable (such as geometric expansions) and be able to perform computations for all problem types. The practice version of the exam is intended to be representative of the style of actual examination questions and structures; actual exam coverage will extend to all material covered as of the end of the term. Each exam, either practice version or actual version should be considered to only cover a limited "randomly selected" range of course material. Be certain to cover all required material in your preparations. Also note that many students feel that their actual exams are more difficult than the practice versions. This seems particularly true when solutions sheets are viewed along with the practice exams or when the practice versions of exams are not taken under actual exam conditions.

Material covered by the exam will pertain to all lectures from July 17 to and including July 31. This will include all of the readings from Chapters 5 to 8 of the Coursepack subject to certain restrictions outlined below and subject to change as actual course coverage varies from anticipated course coverage. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Work through all appropriate problems (particularly in the coursepack), being certain not to view solutions until you have completed your work. Wait until you have made your final preparations for the exam before attempting the practice exams which may be found at the sample exam page. Be certain to check the course syllabus and material below here so that you do not waste time reading material that will not be covered on the exam. Allow 3 hours for the sample exam .