business
Perfecting exam
Technique
STUDENT GUIDE
AQA GCSE BUSINESS (9-1)
EXAM ESSENTIALS
A reminder about the papers:
4 You will sit two papers
4 Paper 1 assesses “Influences of operations and HRM on business activity” – 3.1
Business in the Real World; 3.2 Influences on Business; 3.3 Business Operations & 3.4
Human Resources
4 Paper 2 assesses “Influences of marketing and finance on business activity” - 3.1
Business in the Real World; 3.2 Influences on Business; 3.5 Marketing; 3.6 Finance
4 Each paper is worth 50% of the total GCSE marks
4 Each paper is 1 ¾ hours long and is worth 90 marks; this equates to a minute a mark
and 15 minutes reading time of the “Items”
4 Both papers are very similar in structure and will have three sections:
Section A No extract 20 marks
Section B Case study: Item A and Item B Approx 34 marks
Section A Case study: Item C, D and possibly E Approx 36 marks
4 Questions will consist of a mixture of MCQs, calculation, short answer and extended
response
, Perfecting Exam Technique Resources for Courses
student guide
Top tips for success in the exam:
A reminder about the papers:
4 Manage your time effectively – roughly a minute a mark! This gives you 15 minutes to read
each question carefully, plan your response – especially the 12 mark response and read
each Item carefully
4 One way of managing your time easily is to break up the paper into chunks of time and think:
4 after 20 mins, I should have finished all of Section A where there is no Item or case
4 after 60 mins or 1 hour, as well as Section A, I should have now finished all of Section B
that relates to the first case study i.e. Items A and B; this will give you 40 minutes to
complete section B
4 which leaves the last 45 minutes to complete Section C that relates to the second case
study i.e. Items C, D and possibly E; this will take you to the end of the paper
4 Read every question twice – just to ensure that you answer the question that is specifically
asked and not a different question!
4 Don’t forget that Section A is not looking for any context; it is important to look at the
marks available for each question and ensure a full enough explanation is given in each
answer every time
4 Read the case studies or “Items” very carefully in Section B and Section C. Remember the
case studies will be split into different Items. To move up the mark scheme, answers must
be written in context; context can only be awarded if you have read the case
study, so take your time reading each Item to ensure that you fully understand it!
4 Remember...mentioning the name of the business or something that is found in the
question is not enough for context to be awarded - your answer has to be embedded in
the case! This means talk about the business in your answer, but don’t just copy bits from
the case word for word; use the case study or Item to help support your answer!
4 Remember in “Analyse”, “Recommend” and “Analyse/Evaluate” questions – you need
to include points that are fully analysed to reach the highest levels; this involves using
connectives and explaining the effect/impact of your point in context
4 Always finish the paper
4 Never leave a question blank
4 Learn all the content and the key terms in the specification carefully – you need to
therefore use the specification as part of your revision!
4 Learn all the formulae – formulae will not be given in the exam!
Perfecting exam
Technique
STUDENT GUIDE
AQA GCSE BUSINESS (9-1)
EXAM ESSENTIALS
A reminder about the papers:
4 You will sit two papers
4 Paper 1 assesses “Influences of operations and HRM on business activity” – 3.1
Business in the Real World; 3.2 Influences on Business; 3.3 Business Operations & 3.4
Human Resources
4 Paper 2 assesses “Influences of marketing and finance on business activity” - 3.1
Business in the Real World; 3.2 Influences on Business; 3.5 Marketing; 3.6 Finance
4 Each paper is worth 50% of the total GCSE marks
4 Each paper is 1 ¾ hours long and is worth 90 marks; this equates to a minute a mark
and 15 minutes reading time of the “Items”
4 Both papers are very similar in structure and will have three sections:
Section A No extract 20 marks
Section B Case study: Item A and Item B Approx 34 marks
Section A Case study: Item C, D and possibly E Approx 36 marks
4 Questions will consist of a mixture of MCQs, calculation, short answer and extended
response
, Perfecting Exam Technique Resources for Courses
student guide
Top tips for success in the exam:
A reminder about the papers:
4 Manage your time effectively – roughly a minute a mark! This gives you 15 minutes to read
each question carefully, plan your response – especially the 12 mark response and read
each Item carefully
4 One way of managing your time easily is to break up the paper into chunks of time and think:
4 after 20 mins, I should have finished all of Section A where there is no Item or case
4 after 60 mins or 1 hour, as well as Section A, I should have now finished all of Section B
that relates to the first case study i.e. Items A and B; this will give you 40 minutes to
complete section B
4 which leaves the last 45 minutes to complete Section C that relates to the second case
study i.e. Items C, D and possibly E; this will take you to the end of the paper
4 Read every question twice – just to ensure that you answer the question that is specifically
asked and not a different question!
4 Don’t forget that Section A is not looking for any context; it is important to look at the
marks available for each question and ensure a full enough explanation is given in each
answer every time
4 Read the case studies or “Items” very carefully in Section B and Section C. Remember the
case studies will be split into different Items. To move up the mark scheme, answers must
be written in context; context can only be awarded if you have read the case
study, so take your time reading each Item to ensure that you fully understand it!
4 Remember...mentioning the name of the business or something that is found in the
question is not enough for context to be awarded - your answer has to be embedded in
the case! This means talk about the business in your answer, but don’t just copy bits from
the case word for word; use the case study or Item to help support your answer!
4 Remember in “Analyse”, “Recommend” and “Analyse/Evaluate” questions – you need
to include points that are fully analysed to reach the highest levels; this involves using
connectives and explaining the effect/impact of your point in context
4 Always finish the paper
4 Never leave a question blank
4 Learn all the content and the key terms in the specification carefully – you need to
therefore use the specification as part of your revision!
4 Learn all the formulae – formulae will not be given in the exam!
