How to Pass ExAC Section 1: Programming, Pre-Design, and Site Analysis Strategies

Take a breath: ExAC Section 1 is broad, but the shape is knowable and the workflow that passes it is repeatable. Section 1 (Design and Analysis) is the closed-book, multiple-choice section that covers programming, site and environmental analysis, coordinating engineering systems, cost management, schematic design, and design development. To pass it, read CHOP Chapters 5, 6, and 7 closely, read CHING for site, MEP, and structural fundamentals, and start timed practice questions in Week 2, not Week 6. In our years of working with Intern Architects through every sitting, our team at Examitect, an independent ExAC prep platform unaffiliated with the CACB, has seen that the candidates who pass Section 1 first try treat breadth as a scheduling problem, not a memory problem. Study smart, not exhaustive, and the score follows.

Key Takeaways

The seven things that decide whether you pass ExAC Section 1 on the first sitting.

  • Section 1 is closed book and multiple choice across six topic categories. Programming, site and environmental analysis, engineering coordination, cost management, schematic design, and design development. Browse the Section 1 overview for the full category list and study cards.
  • CHOP and CHING are the two primaries you read cover to cover. The official Prep Guide lists CHOP, IAP, NBC 2020, and NECB 2020 as the four primaries; Examitect swaps the IAP for CHING because it is primary across most Section 1 categories and the CHOP chapters carry the pre-design backbone.
  • Programming is a process, not a vocabulary test. CHOP Chapter 6 defines the deliverables; Section 1 questions test whether you can identify missing information, calculate net-to-gross factors, and pick the next pre-design step. Drill the workflow on the Programming topic page.
  • Site analysis questions reward data triage, not site visits. Read a scenario, name what data is missing, name who confirms it, and tie the constraint back to footprint, orientation, or massing. The Site and Environmental Analysis topic page walks through the recurring question shapes.
  • Do not memorise Yardsticks dollar values. Where Section 1 needs cost data, the booklet supplies it. Drill the cost workflow (Class C, location factors, escalation, soft costs) on the Cost Management topic page and pull worked examples from Yardsticks for Costing and RSMeans.
  • Engineering coordination is breadth, not depth. You need to know what each consultant delivers, when they join the team, and which information they need from architecture, not how to size a beam. The Coordinating Engineering Systems topic page is the recall anchor.
  • Start timed practice questions in Week 2 and finish with one full Section 1 mock. Reading builds recognition; timed questions build retrieval. The mock is the diagnostic that tells you which of the six categories still needs work before exam day.

Overview

At a glance

SectionExAC Section 1: Design and Analysis
FormatClosed book, multiple choice
CategoriesProgramming, site and environmental analysis, engineering coordination, cost management, schematic design, design development
Primary referencesCHOP Chapters 5, 6, 7; CHING Building Construction Illustrated 7th ed.
Cost referencesYardsticks for Costing 2014, RSMeans 2012 (methodology, not memorisation)
Study runway60 to 90 active hours across 6 to 8 weeks
Practice questions250 to 400 Section 1 questions, plus one full Section 1 mock
Pass standardCompetency-based cut score, set per sitting; you must pass each section independently
Best forIntern Architects sitting Section 1 alone or paired with Section 2

What Section 1 actually tests

ExAC Section 1 is the breadth section of the exam. It runs as a closed-book, multiple-choice section that covers the pre-design and design phases of a project: programming, site and environmental analysis, coordinating engineering systems, cost management, schematic design, and design development. Section 1 sits before Section 2 (Codes) on the order of the day for a four-section sitting; see the ExAC 2026 exam guide for the full schedule shape.

The honest read is that Section 1 catches working Intern Architects in two ways. First, by breadth: six topic categories is more ground than any single project usually covers, so a candidate who spent the last two years on construction administration has to rebuild fluency in programming and cost reasoning. Second, by closed-book recall: Section 1 does not permit any references in the room, so the workflow you can describe at your desk has to be the workflow you can reproduce under a clock without notes.

The Examitect approach, refined from post-exam debriefs our team runs with candidates after every sitting, is to treat Section 1 as a scheduling problem. You do not need to be deeply expert in any one of the six categories. You need a reliable workflow for each one, anchored in the right pages of CHOP and CHING, and you need enough timed practice questions to make that workflow fast.

The Section 1 reference stack

The 2026 ExAC Preparation Guide names CHOP, the IAP, NBC 2020, and NECB 2020 as the four official primaries for the exam overall. For Section 1, Examitect uses a different stack at the desk: CHOP and CHING are read cover to cover, Yardsticks and RSMeans are practised for methodology, and the IAP is skipped. The reasoning lives in the Examitect study plan source matrix; CHING is primary across most Section 1 categories, and the IAP appears only once across the entire exam, as a supplementary reference under Section 4 project management.

Reference Read it like this Active hours
CHOP Read Chapters 5 (pre-design and site), 6 (programming), and 7 (schematic design) closely. Skim the rest of the early chapters. Closed-book recall, not open-book lookup. 20 to 30 hours
CHING Cover to cover with sketch-recall on diagrams. Site, MEP, structure, and assembly fundamentals are all Section 1 fuel before they become Section 3 fuel. 25 to 40 hours
Yardsticks for Costing Read the methodology pages, not the dollar tables. Drill scenario questions that ask you to apply a Class C estimate, a location factor, escalation, and a design contingency. 3 to 5 hours
RSMeans Pair with Yardsticks for cost-question practice. Learn the line-item structure; do not memorise the line items. The booklet supplies what the question needs. 2 to 3 hours
Functional Programming Supplementary. Useful if your day job has not exposed you to formal programming deliverables. Skim the worked examples; do not commit it to memory. 3 to 5 hours (if time)
The Architect's Studio Companion Supplementary. Strong for early massing, parking ratios, and structural span rules of thumb. Time-permitting only. 4 to 6 hours (if time)
Architectural Graphic Standards Supplementary. A coverage reference for design-development questions; do not read it cover to cover. Time-permitting only
IAP Skip for Section 1. The internship guidebook encapsulates the experience you already have; it does not anchor any Section 1 category as primary. 0 hours

Total active reference hours for Section 1: roughly 50 to 80, depending on how much CHING you already know. Add 20 to 40 hours of timed practice questions on top, and one full Section 1 mock in the final two weeks. The total runway is 60 to 90 active hours across 6 to 8 weeks. Read the table and pick the lane that matches the time you actually have.

Programming: what to know cold

Programming is the structured process of translating a client brief into measurable project requirements. CHOP Chapter 6 is the primary reference. On the ExAC, Section 1 programming questions test whether you can recognise a complete program, name what is missing, and pick the next pre-design step. They do not test whether you can recite a CHOP chapter back at the examiner.

The programming deliverable, in your head

A complete program for a Canadian project typically includes: project goals and constraints, a space list with net and gross areas, occupant counts and use patterns, adjacency and circulation requirements, performance criteria (acoustics, daylight, indoor air quality, security), site constraints summarised from the site analysis, code and zoning constraints summarised from a preliminary review, a project budget envelope, and a project schedule. Memorise the list as a checklist, not as prose. When a Section 1 scenario describes a brief, your job is to scan the description against the checklist and identify what is missing.

The numbers you should know

Two pieces of arithmetic show up repeatedly in Section 1 programming questions: net-to-gross factors and area summations. A net-to-gross factor (sometimes called a circulation or efficiency factor) is the ratio of usable program area to total building area. Office buildings typically run 1.20 to 1.30; institutional buildings with heavier circulation can run 1.35 to 1.50. The exam will not test the exact ratio for a specific building type, but it will test whether you can apply a given factor to a given net area to estimate gross. Practise the calculation until it is reflexive.

The decision questions Section 1 keeps asking

The recurring Section 1 programming question shape is a short scenario with one obvious deficiency in the brief and four answer options. The right answer almost always names a next step rather than a finished deliverable: "request the missing occupancy schedule", "confirm zoning setbacks with the municipality", "interview the user group for adjacency preferences". The wrong answers are usually plausible but premature: "begin schematic massing", "issue a draft site plan". Practise spotting the premature answers; they are the most common trap.

Site and environmental analysis

Site and environmental analysis is the second pre-design pillar of Section 1. The primary references are CHOP Chapter 5 (pre-design) and the CHING site-planning chapters. The questions in this category test data triage under pressure: given a partial site description, what information drives the next design decision, what is missing, and who confirms it.

The site data inventory to keep in your head

A complete site analysis covers, at minimum: location and address, legal description and lot dimensions, zoning designation and setbacks, height and density limits, easements and rights of way, topography and grades, geotechnical conditions, surface and subsurface hydrology, climate (heating and cooling degree days, prevailing winds, solar orientation, snow loads, rainfall, frost depth), existing vegetation and trees, neighbouring buildings and shadows, services and utilities (water, sanitary, storm, gas, electrical, telecom), vehicular and pedestrian access, transit access, noise sources, environmental hazards (flood plain, contaminated soil, radon), and heritage or archaeological constraints.

Section 1 will not test all of those at once. It will pick two or three from the list, drop them into a scenario, and ask you to identify which constraint drives the next design choice. Build the inventory as a checklist you can run through quickly under exam conditions.

The decision questions Section 1 keeps asking

Site analysis questions usually follow one of three shapes. First: a constraint plus a wrong choice ("the client wants three storeys on a lot zoned for two; what is your next step?"). Second: missing data ("the brief does not mention frost depth; where do you find it?"). Third: ranking ("which of the following constraints most influences building orientation?"). Drill all three shapes against the Site and Environmental Analysis topic page so the recurring patterns are familiar.

The pre-design workflow Section 1 rewards

Pre-design is the umbrella phase that runs from the initial client conversation through the start of schematic design. Programming and site analysis are the two big tasks inside that phase. Section 1 rewards candidates who can describe pre-design as a workflow with named deliverables in a defensible order, not as a vague set of activities.

Step 1

Client intake and goals

Capture project goals, decision-makers, budget envelope, and schedule. Confirm the scope of architectural services using a draft client-architect agreement and identify any consultants the project needs.

CHOP Ch. 5 Pre-design

Step 2

Programming

Translate the brief into a space list, areas, adjacencies, performance criteria, and a tested budget. CHOP Chapter 6 is the deliverable list; the Programming topic page is the closed-book recall drill.

CHOP Ch. 6 Net to gross

Step 3

Site and environmental analysis

Inventory zoning, topography, climate, services, neighbours, and hazards. Identify the constraints that drive footprint, orientation, and massing. The Site and Environmental Analysis topic page covers the recurring question shapes.

CHOP Ch. 5 CHING site

Step 4

Code and zoning review

Confirm major building code classification, occupant loads, and zoning compliance at a preliminary level. The deep dive belongs in Section 2; Section 1 only tests pre-design code awareness as a feasibility input.

Feasibility Section 2 overview

Step 5

Feasibility and Class C cost estimate

Test the program and site against the budget envelope using a Class C estimate. Apply location factor, escalation, design contingency, and soft costs from Yardsticks methodology, not memorised values.

Class C Soft costs

Step 6

Schematic design handoff

Confirm program, site, and budget are aligned before starting schematic massing. Section 1 questions in this lane test whether you can name the pre-condition that should hold before SD begins, not whether you can sketch the massing.

CHOP Ch. 6.2 Schematic Design

If a Section 1 scenario describes a project that is already three steps into the workflow, your job is to name which earlier step is incomplete, not to advance to step seven. The exam rewards backwards reasoning: walk the candidate scenario backwards along the workflow until you find the missing input.

Engineering, cost, and schematic design (the breadth tail)

The other three Section 1 categories carry less question weight per category than programming and site analysis, but they add up. Treat them as the breadth tail: read enough to be fluent, drill enough to be quick, and stop before you over-invest.

Coordinating engineering systems

Section 1 does not ask architects to size structural members, compute mechanical loads, or design electrical distribution. It asks whether you understand which consultant delivers what, when each consultant joins the project, and which information they need from the architect at each phase. CHOP and the CHING MEP and structural chapters are the backbone. The recurring question shape is a scenario that names a missing consultant scope or a missing handoff, with the correct answer naming the deliverable to request. The Coordinating Engineering Systems topic page walks through the recurring shapes.

Cost management

Cost questions in Section 1 reward methodology, not memorisation. The decision sequence is: pick the right estimate class (Class C for early concept, Class B for SD, Class A near construction documents), apply the location factor to convert published data to your project's location, apply escalation from the data year to the construction year, add a design contingency that reflects how early in the design you are, and add soft costs (consultants, permits, taxes, financing). The Cost Management topic page and the Section 1 cost questions blog drill the workflow with worked examples.

Schematic design and design development

Schematic design (CHOP Chapter 6.2) tests early massing decisions, primary structural strategy, and the alignment of the design with the program and site. Design development extends those decisions into a coordinated set of drawings and outline specifications. Section 1 questions in these lanes test whether you can name the deliverable expected at the end of each phase, which decisions belong in which phase, and which consultant inputs are needed to advance. Use the Schematic Design topic page and the Design Development topic page for the recall drills.

Common Section 1 mistakes Intern Architects make

Every ExAC cycle, the same Section 1 mistakes show up in the post-exam debriefs our team runs with candidates. Reading them now is cheaper than discovering them in the exam room.

  • Treating Section 1 like a vocabulary test. Candidates who try to memorise CHOP definitions and CHING terms find that the exam rarely asks for a definition. It asks for the next step in a workflow. Read for process and decision logic, not for terminology.
  • Skipping CHING because the official Prep Guide lists the IAP instead. CHING is primary across most Section 1 categories in the Examitect study plan source matrix. The IAP encapsulates the internship experience you already have and adds no Section 1 question power. Read CHING; skip the IAP.
  • Memorising Yardsticks dollar values. The booklet supplies cost data when a question needs it. What you need cold is the workflow: estimate class, location factor, escalation, contingency, soft costs. Practise applying given numbers; do not commit Yardsticks tables to memory.
  • Reading without practising. Re-reading CHOP and CHING feels productive but only builds recognition. Section 1 tests retrieval under closed-book pressure. Start timed practice questions in Week 2 and let the wrong answers drive your re-reading priorities.
  • Mistaking day-job familiarity for exam fluency. Working Intern Architects who do construction administration every day still have to rebuild their pre-design and programming fluency. The exam tests breadth; your project may only have given you depth in one or two categories.
  • Skipping the Section 1 mock exam. A full timed Section 1 mock under closed-book conditions is the single most informative thing you can do in Week 6 or 7. The diagnostic value is in the per-category breakdown, not the raw score. Use the mock to find the weakest category and spend the final two weeks there.
  • Cramming the week before. Section 1 rewards retrieval, and retrieval needs spaced practice. A final-week cram on six categories at once is a recipe for confusion. Stop new reading two days before the exam and run a 30-question recall session instead.

The 8-week Section 1 study plan

This is the schedule the strategy our team shares with Intern Architects sitting Section 1 alone or paired with Section 2. Adapt the weeks to your runway; do not skip the diagnostic baseline in Week 1 or the mock in Week 7.

Week What to read Practice questions Why this week matters
Week 1 Skim CHOP Chapters 5 and 6 to set context. 40 to 50 baseline Section 1 questions, scored by category. The baseline tells you which categories need the most reading time. Do not study before sitting it.
Week 2 CHOP Chapter 5 closely. Take structured notes on pre-design deliverables. 30 questions across pre-design and site analysis. Anchors the workflow at the front of the schedule, where you have the most patience for it.
Week 3 CHOP Chapter 6. Memorise the programming checklist as a recall list, not as prose. 30 questions on programming and engineering coordination. Programming is the highest-recurrence Section 1 category. Drill it early and revisit weekly.
Week 4 CHING site-planning and structure chapters. Sketch-recall on diagrams. 30 questions on site analysis and engineering coordination. CHING earns its place across Section 1; sketching keeps the diagrams retrievable under closed-book pressure.
Week 5 CHING MEP chapters and CHOP cost-management content. 40 questions weighted toward cost and engineering systems. Cost methodology and consultant coordination both live here. Use Yardsticks and RSMeans for worked-example reps.
Week 6 CHOP Chapter 6.2 and integrated re-reads of the categories your scores flag as weak. 40 integrated scenario questions across all six categories. Section 1 questions blend categories. Practise integrated scenarios to mirror the real exam.
Week 7 No new reading. Review notes for the two weakest categories. Full timed Section 1 mock exam under closed-book conditions, scored by category. The mock is the diagnostic. Use the per-category breakdown to set Week 8 priorities.
Week 8 Targeted re-read of the mock-flagged categories. Stop new reading 48 hours before the exam. 40 to 50 final-week recall questions, then a 30-question light session 48 hours out. The last week tightens recall and rehearses exam-day logistics. Keep the load light and sleep normally.

If you are sitting Section 1 alongside Section 2 in a single sitting, add roughly 60 to 90 hours of Section 2 prep on top (mostly NBC and NECB tabbing and Section 2 scenario practice). The Section 1 weekly cadence stays the same; the Section 2 hours run in parallel. The best ExAC study schedule post covers the integration if you are pairing sections.

FAQ

ExAC Section 1 frequently asked questions

Section 1 (Design and Analysis) tests the pre-design and design-development competencies a beginning Canadian architect uses on day one of registration. The six topic categories are programming, site and environmental analysis, coordinating engineering systems, cost management, schematic design, and design development. The section is closed book and uses multiple-choice questions only.

No. Section 1 is closed book. The only ExAC section that allows references in the room is Section 2 (Codes), and only the NBC 2020 and NECB 2020 are permitted there. For Section 1, prepare for full closed-book recall on programming, site analysis, cost methodology, schematic design, and design development.

The two primary references for ExAC Section 1 are CHOP (Canadian Handbook of Practice) Chapters 5, 6, and 7, and CHING (Building Construction Illustrated, 7th edition) for site, MEP, and assembly fundamentals. Yardsticks for Costing 2014 and RSMeans 2012 support cost management. Functional Programming and The Architect's Studio Companion are supplementary and read only if time allows.

Plan for 60 to 90 active study hours over 6 to 8 weeks if Section 1 is the only section you are sitting that cycle. About 45 to 60 of those hours are reference reading (CHOP and CHING) and the rest is timed practice questions and a full Section 1 mock exam in the final two weeks. Working Intern Architects should plan two weekday evenings plus a longer weekend block each week.

Programming on the ExAC is the structured process of translating a client brief into a measurable set of project requirements: space list, areas, adjacencies, occupant counts, performance criteria, budget envelope, and project schedule. CHOP Chapter 6 is the primary reference. Section 1 tests whether you can identify missing programming information, calculate net-to-gross factors, and choose the right next pre-design step for a given scenario.

Site and environmental analysis questions in Section 1 ask you to read a scenario describing a site (zoning, topography, climate, services, neighbours, hazards) and identify the information that drives a design decision. The questions reward candidates who can name what data is missing, what regulator confirms it, and how a site constraint feeds into the building footprint, orientation, or massing. CHOP Chapter 5 and CHING site-planning chapters carry the recall load.

No. Section 1 does not test whether you can recite Yardsticks dollar values from memory. Where a cost question requires a number, the relevant cost data is supplied within the exam booklet itself. What you do need to memorise is the cost methodology: Class C versus Class B estimates, location factors, escalation, design contingency, and the soft-cost line items every project carries. Drill the workflow, not the dollar figures.

For most candidates, the hardest part of Section 1 is the breadth. Six topic categories, two heavy primary references, and a closed-book recall standard catch working interns who have only practised programming and site analysis in their day job. Cost management and coordinating engineering systems are usually the lowest-confidence categories on a first practice run. Use scenario questions to surface the gaps before the real exam does.

Target 250 to 400 Section 1 practice questions across the 6 to 8 week study plan, plus one full timed Section 1 mock exam in the final two weeks. Start question practice in Week 2, not Week 6: practice builds the retrieval that reading alone does not, and an early baseline tells you which of the six categories needs more reading time. Review every missed question against the source chapter the same day.

Examitect treats CHING (Building Construction Illustrated, 7th edition) as a primary Section 1 reference even though the official 2026 ExAC Preparation Guide lists CHOP, IAP, NBC 2020, and NECB 2020 as the four primaries. The Examitect study plan source matrix shows CHING as primary across most Section 1 categories (site analysis, engineering systems, cost reasoning, schematic design, design development), so it earns the cover-to-cover read.

Yes. Candidates can split their ExAC sittings and write Section 1 by itself, or pair it with Section 2 in a single morning. Splitting reduces the cognitive load on a single test day and lets you concentrate study hours on the breadth of Section 1 before sitting it. Confirm the sitting options on the official ExAC schedule and with your provincial regulator before registering.

The examination committee publishes pass rates by section each cycle. Historically, Section 1 is passed by a higher share of first-time candidates than Section 2 or Section 3, but it is not the easiest section to prepare for because of its breadth. Use the most recent published statistics from the official ExAC website to set expectations; the published numbers, not anecdotes, should drive your study plan.

Pre-design is the umbrella phase that runs from the initial client conversation to the start of schematic design. Programming is the specific task within pre-design that captures the project's space, performance, budget, and schedule requirements in a written brief. Section 1 tests both: programming as a deliverable and pre-design as the workflow that includes programming, site analysis, code review, and feasibility studies.