Business Studies: Scoring Quick Marks In Longer Answer Questions

Read time: three minutes

Outcomes: improve grades

Longer answer questions can be quite daunting in exams. Don`t lose out on easy marks, even if you think you will struggle later on in the question. And, you might just write yourself into a great answer along the way.

1. Focus first

Read through the question, underline any business studies terms you think you can identify. It helps you focus on what might be relevant.

Then, read the question words. These are expressions like: To what extent, evaluate, analyse. Double underline these because they will help your structure.

2. Rough plans are vital

On the answer page, jot down any ideas about the question that comes into your mind. If you can link it to another, draw a line to it.

This has two great outcomes: First it helps you order some of your thoughts. Second, it shows the examiner your thought processes. It doesn`t matter if some of it`s wrong at this stage. When you write the answer and perhaps some of it doesn`t make sense, the examiner may at least see where you are going with an idea.

If it looks a mess, that doesn`t matter. If a point is complete rubbish, you can cross it out. Better to decide that now than writing a few sentences in your answer and then crossing all of that out.

3. Put your plan into the answer format

Each question word/s leads to a defined format. We will cover this in another article.

The format tells you want you need to write next in the answer. For example, it might be:

Paragraph 1: Definitions

Paragraph 2: One point for, why it is relevant, what is the business theory tell us, why it might not work

And so on..

Allocate your points to the structure. Sometimes you might have more than enough points. In which case, choose the best ones, and don`t worry about the others.

4. Don`t panic over missed points

"I can only think on one thing to say!'lt;/p>

Fine. Most questions, unless they are an essay, require only two points anyway. Write this one well, and you will get more than half the marks.

5. Write business sense not common sense

Show the examiner that you know business studies by using business language and theory to explain what`s going on. Anyone can use common sense to come up with some answers. Instead, make sure you are referencing theory, explaining how it works, and why it works in THIS case.

In summary: Plan, show your planning, format your answer, define, use business studies terms.