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Aqa A2 business!!

Hi,

I currently have a D in business and we did a BUSS3 mock last week and I struggled.

What are the best things I can do to prepare and improve?

Reply 1

GrahamW

Hello Hasan

I can't promise to help much, as I've only been teaching this for a while and there's far more experienced people on here, I'll be interested to see what they say too, but to get you started...

At the most basic level, the assessors are looking for evidence that you have understood the case study itself, and recognise which business principles are involved.

If you spot an obvious term in the question THAT RELATES TO THE CASE STUDY WHEN YOU READ THROUGH IT then providing a short definition right at the beginning of your answer will demonstrate that you have spotted what's behind the question. For example, if they mention 'partnership', you might quickly put down a definition of this. It should only take a minute but could win you another mark.

Then check specifically what they are asking for. If they say "Explain two benefits" then you need to do exactly that. If there are more then give them at the end when you've dealt with the first two.

For the first two, the assessors are looking for a considered analysis, illustrated with the facts that lead you to your conclusion. This is sometimes quite hard to capture straight off, so you might make a little note that says;

Fact A:
Fact B:
(Fact C :smile:

Lead to this benefit:
Which will be seen how:
Any general principle or known example:

That leads to a paragraph something like this:

"We are told that Erik's shipyard has had a full order book for two years[Fact A], and that the Norwegian pleasure boat market has grown by an average of about 17% per annum over the last five years [Fact B]. Meanwhile, the costs of the business have been very stable [Fact C]. This represents a significant opportunity for growth to Erik [Benefit], provided that his business has the production capacity to respond to it [Measure]. This could lead not only to increased profits overall, but the economies of scale may mean that profitability per yacht could be greater too [principle] in much the same way as motor manufacturers expect to achieve through their operational strategies [Example]."

Write the second benefit in the same manner. If you've time, add a paragraph highlighting any other benefits you've noticed but without so much interpretation. Remember that the assessors are also awarding points for clarity of the English. If you write clumsily then you simply don't get those points, which is 'pointless'. So, read your answer BOTH as if you were doing so out loud, but also as if it was in a text book. If the grammar is poor, then tighten it up.

I hope that helps, and genuinely look forward to any other lecturers offering comments on my answer! We're all here to learn.

Good luck. Graham.

“Evaluate, distinguish between and assess [the] appropriateness of fact and opinion, and judge information from a variety of sources.

Candidates evaluate evidence to reach reasoned judgements.

This can be shown within an answer, through the weighting of an argument or it can also be shown within a conclusion, perhaps by weighing up the strength of the candidate’s own arguments for or against a proposition.

Reply 2

krisshP

Original post by GrahamW

Thanks. This certainly helped me! :biggrin:

Reply 3

Sophie95

Hi there,

I am a business degree student who achieved an A* in AQA A level business. I have a twitter page aimed at helping college students so if you have twitter follow: @BusinessHelp_ for advice and tips.