design and technology a level

hello, I am currently in my first year(year 12) of my A Levels exams. I have opted for design and technology, but it seems so difficult. Does anyone have some tips for the subject and some guidelines for me to answer Paper 1 9705 DT papers ? thank you.

Reply 1

pauline222

i did edexcel, don't know how different they are but there's only so different they can be. i left revision for the exam fairly late - i made about 200 flashcards covering all the content on the spec. also, do past papers, look at mark schemes. you'll eventually get it into your head and will get a feel for the questions. as for the project, spend much more time on this - im not sure how its weighted for cambridge internationals but for edexcel it was 50%. if it is 40%+, focus your energy on that for the first and most of the second year. i got 115/120, and it took a lot of stress off the exam. include loads of (relevant) data, ideally a lot of primary data, look at A* examples, interview and email different people about the project (they love that), do lots of development (even if it involves making a deliberately worse version of a design and then improving it just to flesh it out, which i did several times), and dont underestimate the importance of evaluation even though it is very boring. there are a lot of tables, spreadsheets and assessments involved in a good project, honestly the actual making takes up less space in the folder. good luck!