How to Maximise Your Marks in Business Studies

HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR MARKS IN BUSINESS STUDIES

As in all IGCSE subjects, there are techniques to gaining the most marks from your answers to questions. More writing does not necessarily translate into more marks. It is quality over quantity that counts. To put it another way: the examiner has set out a series of recognisable hoops and it is up to you to make sure you jump through as many as possible.

First you need to understand the marks available for each question. They are known as assessment objectives and fall under the following headings:

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. You should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of facts, terms, techniques and concepts. Using the right formula, giving definitions at the start of a question and generally giving the examiner the impression you know what you are talking about will gain you these marks.

APPLICATION. You should be able to apply your knowledge and understanding of Business Studies to business problems and issues. See tip 1 below for more information.

ANALYSIS. You should be able to distinguish between evidence and opinion in a business context and order, analyse and interpret information, in word, number and graph form. See tips 2 and 3 below for more information.

EVALUATION. You should be able to present reasoned explanations, develop arguments and understand implications. You should also be able to make judgements, recommendations and decisions. After all, most of the Business Studies examination is related to solving business problems. If you do not give a solution to the problem, how can you gain full marks?

Top examination tips.

1) At the start of any question, check whether there is a technical term contained in the question you need to define. Giving definitions will focus your mind on answering what the question wants in a concise way.

2) Most Business Studies questions are related to an organisation, details of which are given in a case study or paragraph of information. If your answer could apply to ANY business – not just the one in the information provided – you have not APPLIED your knowledge. Using the name of the business is not enough to be considered as application. Be specific. If the organisation is a restaurant, talk about food, seating, menus, taste and trends not just customers and products or services.

3) Make sure if a question asks you to analyse different options that you give AT LEAST one advantage AND one disadvantage for each option. A recommendation describing which option is the best [and why] is also needed. This will be mainly for ten- to twelve-mark questions so you need to work at making sure you cover all the bases. Missing out one advantage or disadvantage could lose you half the marks available.

4) When giving advantages and disadvantages of a particular course of action, make sure you are looking at it from the right perspective. It is no good analysing from the business’s point of view when the question is related to the customer or society. You will not get marks for giving a good answer if it is the wrong answer!

5) Do not use sweeping, generalised statements such as ‘Everybody reads the newspaper – it is a good place to advertise’. Everybody does not read the newspaper. Again, try to be more specific: for example, ‘Advertising in a tabloid newspaper would ensure a wide readership of the advertisement, but it would also cost more money than advertising in a local paper.’

6) When working with numbers, make sure you show any workings out and use the correct units when giving the answer. The number 7 is not the same as £7.

7) Graphs occur frequently in business studies examinations and most marks are gained for correct labelling of axes and lines. These are easy marks to gain – but just as easy to lose when you are in a rush.