A level business studies.. help needed :(

[layla.m]

im doing BS a level privately wit no tutoring n i need some help here.. does anyone know how to answer full length questions in BS like what do the examiners expect to see.. any diagrams or just words and how to frame answers.. plus does anyone have access to good notes for it??? id be grateful to y'all! thanks

 

[layla.m]

oo plus i think the syllabus has changed since last yr.. so if there are any new things to note please let me know!

 

[Qkewllone]

What the Examiners are looking for??
4 types of skills they test.
1. Knowledge with understanding.
2. Application
3.Analysis
4. Evaluation

Knowledge with understanding:
The key words to look for in paper... Describe, State, List, Outline, What is meant by...., Give..., Define...., Identify..., Name.

Application
Here the key words...Explain how this business...., Why might company x...., Give an example from case study to..., Why might company z...., From the cast study outline...

Analysis
Analyse two factors...., Explain why..., Using accounting ratios, analyse...., Examine why the business....

Evaluation
Discuss.., Justify..., Consider..., Decide..., Which..., Evaluate..., Why do you think...., To what extent..., Do you agree.., Advise...., Assess..., Recommend....

How to improve your grade?
-Use your text book to guide you throught topics.
-Learning and recalling the work is necessary. If you recall you succeed and if you cannot, you will fail.
-Make sure you can explain your answers in detail and do not make simple statements unless a question asks you for a simple statement.
-Use past papers to reinforce revision.
- MOST IMPORTANTLY..... Keep It Simple and Structured, And Subject Specific!!

Well the best thing is to look at the examiner reports and follow the rule, of how to answer the questions.

Often its more about technique rather than the theory.

So the best thing to do is this:

1.Knowledge marks: definition, fact etc.
2.Application mark: use of the knowledge in the case study. Such as identifying stake holders afet you have defined what a stakeholder is
3.Analysis mark: the part where u answer the question
4.Evaluation mark: the part where u examine to what length ur answer satisfies the requirements

often u dont have to go as far as 4, 4 is usually needed for 8 marks or higher.

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.


I KNOW ITS ALOOOTTT TO READ! BUT IT'LLL HELP!
I DO BS TOO and i was having the SAME problem!
hope it helps!

 

[Qkewllone]

also, Suppose the question is : "Discuss the effectiveness of the management approach of some popular motivational theorists."

Notice the word in bold: effectiveness. Your key point of discussion should be this. Otherwise, you will get no marks no matter how much you write.

knowledge - Demonstrate that you know the subject which the question has asked. In this case, you will have to state the facts (in short) of Taylors, mayo's, herzberg's theories etc.

application: Demonstrate that you are able to apply the theory in a real life example. In this case, EXAMPLES will come in handy! Whenever you have difficulty explaining, USE EXAMPLES (eg. Result of Toyota using Mayo's management approach). This can go towards valuable marks on the application side.

Analysis: Usually given by breaking down each causes into sub-causes. eg. "Taylors method is the 'hard' approach. Result of which will much depend on the mental perception of the workers. If the workers are well educated and unemployment is low, this method is unlikely to yield significant boost to productivity. This is because they may not like the company dictating exactly what to do. They may also not like the strict approach of the supervisors and look for work elsewhere, making the labour turnover rate high (which is costly for the business)"

Notice how I 'broke down' (analysed) one statement into many effects.

Evaluation: You will have to give an opinion of yours with explanation which you think is the best. This can also be given by prioritising the choices. You can criticise your choice to gain even higher evaluation marks.

eg. I think Mayo's approach will serve best in case of most industries. [[[explain why with examples]]]. Then say "However, Mayo's approach may not work well in [[[[[industry name]]]]]. In this case, Taylors approach is likely to be more suitable because [[[reason]]].

OR

eg. I think Mayo's approach will serve the best among these three [[[exaplain why]]]. Herzberg method is likely to be the second most successful because [[[explain]]]. I think the least successful method would be Taylors because [[[explain]]].


I HOPE I HELPED!

 

[hitmAn2]

gr8 tips Man!