Thoughts on the TECEP Marketing Communications exam

[Levi]

I don't think there is a thread in the Specific Exam Feedback Section for this exam, so I'll just put it here in the General Forum. If the moderators want to create a new thread, that's fine.

Yesterday, I took the TECEP Marketing Communications exam, which consisted of 30 multiple-choice questions and seven essay questions. Each MC question was worth 1 point, and each essay was worth up to 10 points; sixty is the minimum score required to pass.

Fortunately, I had just studied for TECEP Advertising (using Arens' book Contemporary Advertising), so A LOT of the material was overlapping between the two tests. I studied for Marketing Communications over a period of about three weeks, and used the book Advertising, Promotion, and Supplemental Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, by Terence A. Shimp, 4th edition (borrowed from library). I also read through the IC flashcards for CLEP Marketing.

After taking the test yesterday, I feel extremely confident that I passed. There were only one or two MC questions that I had no clue about. After the MC questions, you are instructed to answer seven essay questions of your choice (out of a total of ten options).

Using a #2 pencil to write seven essays gave me a major case of writer's cramp, but I finally finished after 2 hours and 15 minutes (the exam has a 3 hour limit). I had three pencils, but the lead still got pretty dull.

I enjoyed this essay test more than I enjoyed the all multiple-choice Advertising TECEP exam, although my first glance through the essay options made me panic. But taking one question at a time, I feel like I nailed every single essay question. Writing is very relaxing to me, so the test was pretty stress-free.

If you plan to also take CLEP Marketing or TECEP Advertising, I would suggest you take all three of these exams together, since there is so much overlap. I'll update you all on the score when I receive it.

P.S. TESC just updated my eval today, and it shows that I passed TECEP Advertising!

[Levi]

Just to follow up.....Yes, I did pass the TECEP Marketing Communications exam.

It took three months to show up on my evaluation though, because my proctor forgot to mail the completed test to the college! But it all worked out fine.

[tybouff]

Hi Levi,

I am about to start studying for the MC TECEP. TESC recommends two texts to study for the exam. You did not list either of them. Did you feel that the text you used was adequate information? Could you please detail how you studied your text? TESC lists the topics covered in the exam... did you simply look for those topics in the table of contents or did you study the entire text thoroughly? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks and God bless!

[Levi]

Hey Tyler,

It looks like the textbook resources have changed, so that means that this exam might have been updated recently. If I were you, I would get the texts that TESC currently recommends, and study the relevant sections. Look at the exam content breakdown and make sure to cover everything that you know will be on the exam. That may or may not mean that you need to read the entire book. I think I studied my whole book when I was preparing for this exam.

Have you taken TECEP Advertising? As mentioned, that's a big help since there's a lot of overlap.

Hope this helps and best wishes.

[cbosdell]

I took the updated version of the Marketing Communications exam (with 40MC/6 essay questions) a couple weeks ago and passed. I chose "Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications" 8th Edition by Shrimp out of the recommended texts because it was also good for the Advertising TECEP. I spent about fifteen hours studying between the two. Admittedly I was speed reading a lot of the text in the last half of the book. I felt pretty confident on the multiple choice questions but several of the essay questions seemed to come out of nowhere. Some of the topics covered include types of marketing, web marketing and websites, traditional and non-traditional sales methods, and types of marketing.

As far as the Advertising TECEP goes it was much more difficult than I excepted after the Marketing Communications exam and being all multiple choice but I passed. It pretty much follows the test description and material in the textbook to the letter from what I recall.