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A Level Business Exam Skills Posters

1) Secure knowledge and understanding of key terms, concepts, models and theories is essential for exam success in A-Level Business. Students must avoid confusing similar terms and concepts and show precise understanding in responses. 2) Application of knowledge to real-world businesses is important, using techniques like SCORE to identify context-specific details and PADLS to incorporate relevant data into supported arguments. 3) Analysis requires developing logical chains of reasoning with causes and effects, using connectives and exploring how and why factors to write fully developed lines of analysis.

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Dominika Nowak
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308 views4 pages

A Level Business Exam Skills Posters

1) Secure knowledge and understanding of key terms, concepts, models and theories is essential for exam success in A-Level Business. Students must avoid confusing similar terms and concepts and show precise understanding in responses. 2) Application of knowledge to real-world businesses is important, using techniques like SCORE to identify context-specific details and PADLS to incorporate relevant data into supported arguments. 3) Analysis requires developing logical chains of reasoning with causes and effects, using connectives and exploring how and why factors to write fully developed lines of analysis.

Uploaded by

Dominika Nowak
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EXAM SKILLS FOR A-LEVEL BUSINESS

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING


Secure knowledge and understanding is essential for exam success. It is therefore crucial that you are
familiar with all the key terms and content included in your A-Level Business specification, along with
all the relevant models and theories. Knowledge and understanding acts as a gatekeeper, allowing you
to access the higher order skills of application, analysis and evaluation in your responses.

Confusing Pairs
A common mistake that students make in exam answers is confusing key terms, concepts,
models and theories. For example:
• Price elasticity of demand and income elasticity of demand
• Decentralisation and delegation
• Maslow and Herzberg
• Interest rates and exchange rates
• Porter’s Five Forces and Porter’s Generic Strategies
• Labour turnover and labour productivity
• Cash flow and profit
Ensure that you show distinct and precise understanding of the concept or topic area in
the question in your response as it must be obvious to the examiner that the answer is
embedded in the theory or concept in the question to gain the marks. A generic response
that could relate to a number of different topics is unlikely to move up the levels in the
mark scheme and imprecise knowledge and understanding can impact heavily on the
marks awarded.

Formulae
You won’t be provided with any formulae in your exam papers, so make sure you know
all the formulae on your specification so that you can perform any calculation with
confidence.

Top Tips for Secure Knowledge and Understanding


Print off your A-Level Business specification and highlight every key term, concept, model and theory as and when it is
1 covered. This will allow you to spot any gaps in your knowledge and understanding.
When reviewing the specification, look carefully at any additional information included next to each topic. This will give
2 you important details as to where your focus for revision should be, as well as detail any models that are linked to the
core content.
Keep a glossary of key terms, concepts, models and theories and revisit this regularly.
3
When performing calculations write down the formula in words and always show your working out. That way, even if
4 you get the final answer wrong, you may be awarded some marks if the examiner can see some evidence of knowledge
and understanding.
Label workings in calculation questions to show understanding of the method of the calculation.
5
Create mind maps for the different units in the specification to ensure you are clear of the content included in each.
6 This is important as some questions may focus on a specific part of the course content. Answers must focus precisely
on this area to gain marks rather than be vague. Knowing the content of the specification will help with this.
As the course progresses, try and make links between different elements of the course. This will allow you to gain a
7 more holistic view of the course content and understand how the different areas interlink and will help you to write
exam answers in a much more sophisticated way.

www.tutor2u.net/business
EXAM SKILLS FOR A-LEVEL BUSINESS

application
Application is about tailoring your answers to the business you are writing about. No two businesses
are the same, and the same question, applied to different businesses, should elicit different responses.
Effective application can be demonstrated by writing answers that are completely in context.

SCORE
SCORE is a technique which you can use to identify key elements of context and help you write more
contextualised responses. Picking out the SCORE elements of a particular business can allow you
to write more applied answers, for example, rather than just saying that a business operates in a
highly competitive market, pick out the specific competitors of the business.

S Size & Sector e.g. Revenues, Profits, Manufacturer, Service


Costs, Customers & e.g. Fixed, Variable, Customer Groups, Market,
C Competitive Environment Competitors

O Ownership & Objectives e.g. Private, Public, Profit, Sales Maximisation

R Resources e.g. Finance, IP, People, Products, Services

E External Environment e.g. Legislation, Economy, Technology

PADLS
Using data is an excellent way to demonstrate the skill of application as the use of
data helps you to write in context. Performing a calculation, or using data in a table
or in the appendices to support an argument, is a great way of writing in context.
When looking at data, think PADLS.

P Patterns Are there any patterns or trends in the data?


Is there anything unusual about the data that
A Anomalies stands out?
Data
D Manipulation Can you manipulate the data to make it more useful?
Links and Can you link different pieces of data together?
L Limitations What are the limitations of the data?

S Support How can you use the data to support your


arguments?
www.tutor2u.net/business
EXAM SKILLS FOR A-LEVEL BUSINESS
ANALYSIS AND WRITING
WELL DEVELOPED ARGUMENTS
Analysis is so much more than just identifying or listing advantages and disadvantages. Analysis is
all about developing reasons, causes, consequences and effects. You need to ensure that in your
paragraphs you develop logical chains of reasoning showing cause(s) and effect(s). This will allow
you to write well developed arguments. It is also vital that your analysis is in context.

Connectives
A useful technique to help you develop your arguments and to write more analytically. Connectives include:
• As a result • Therefore • This may lead to • Consequently

How and Why


Another simple technique to help you write fully developed lines of analysis and well developed arguments
is HOW and WHY.
For example, look at the argument and line of analysis below in response to the impact of car manufacturer
Nissan operating at 40% capacity utilisation:
‘One impact is that it could result in higher unit costs. Consequently, Nissan
may need to increase its prices’
The above line of analysis and argument lacks depth as it fails to examine:

A HOW this could result in higher unit costs

B WHY Nissan may need to increase prices

C HOW the price increase may impact Nissan

Our Top Tips for Writing Well Developed Arguments


Ensure that your arguments show depth and are underpinned and supported by application,
1 context and data

2 Arguments should have a clear start point and end point and be fully focused on the question

3 Arguments should be developed to their logical conclusion

4 Use models and theories (where appropriate) to support your arguments

Use connectives and discuss the HOW’S and the WHY’S in context. Arguments and analysis
5 should not be simple statements and assertions strung together

www.tutor2u.net/business
EXAM SKILLS FOR A LEVEL BUSINESS
effective JUDGEMENT
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
When writing judgements and recommendations you need to ensure that they are well supported, fully address
the question, are built on prior analysis and that they show balance. Judgements and recommendations should
not simply be a repeat of previous arguments.

The 5 Ws
A useful framework to use when writing judgements and recommendations is the 5 Ws:

W WHAT is your judgement or recommendation?

W WHY did you reach that judgement or recommendation?

W WHAT was the most important reason for your judgement


or recommendation?

W WHY did you come to this judgement or recommendation rather


than an alternative?

W WHAT might your judgement or recommendation depend on?

AJIM
The 5 Ws can be used effectively at the end of your answer by using the acronym AJIM:

A ANSWER THE QUESTION using your judgement or recommendation

J JUSTIFY your judgement or recommendation

I IT DEPENDS ON. What might your judgement or recommendation


depend on?

M What was the MOST IMPORTANT reason that led you to your
judgement or recommendation?

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