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Unlock This CourseGetting feedback on your Paper 2 performance is crucial for improving your understanding of large businesses. This session will help you make the most of examiner feedback, understand common pitfalls and develop better exam techniques for tackling complex business scenarios.
Key Definitions:
Examination feedback typically includes your overall grade, marks for each question and specific comments about your answers. Look for patterns in the feedback - are you consistently losing marks on evaluation questions? Do you struggle with application to the business context?
Understanding typical errors helps you avoid them in future exams. Large business questions often require detailed analysis of complex scenarios and students frequently make predictable mistakes.
Many students lose marks by providing vague or incorrect business terminology. For large businesses, you need to demonstrate understanding of concepts like economies of scale, corporate social responsibility and stakeholder management.
Confusing internal and external economies of scale, mixing up stakeholder groups, or incorrectly defining business structures and ownership types.
Create revision cards with precise definitions, practice using business terminology in context and regularly test yourself on key concepts.
Always define key terms in your answers, even if not explicitly asked - it shows understanding and can earn extra marks.
A common error is writing generic answers that could apply to any business. For example, when discussing McDonald's expansion strategy, don't just write "they can benefit from economies of scale." Instead, specify: "McDonald's can achieve purchasing economies of scale by buying ingredients in bulk across thousands of restaurants, reducing cost per unit."
Higher-level thinking skills often prove most challenging for students. Analysis requires explaining how and why something happens, while evaluation involves making judgements about the best course of action.
Analysis goes beyond description. You need to explain cause and effect relationships, show understanding of business processes and demonstrate how different factors interconnect.
"Large businesses have more resources so they can expand internationally." This is too basic and doesn't explain the process or consider complications.
"Large businesses can use their substantial financial resources to fund market research in potential international markets, allowing them to understand local consumer preferences and adapt their products accordingly, though this requires significant investment with uncertain returns."
Simply reading through marked papers isn't enough. You need systematic approaches to learn from feedback and improve performance.
Use this structured approach to analyse your examination performance and create improvement plans.
Identify exactly what went wrong. "I lost marks on question 3" isn't specific enough. "I failed to evaluate the impact on different stakeholder groups" is better.
Track your progress with specific targets. "Improve evaluation skills" becomes "Include at least two stakeholder perspectives in every evaluation question."
Set realistic goals based on your current performance level. Focus on one skill area at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Sarah consistently ran out of time on Paper 2, leaving the final question incomplete. Her review showed she spent too long on early questions, writing excessively detailed answers. She practised timing each question section and improved her grade from C to A by better time allocation.
Understanding what examiners look for helps you structure better answers and maximise your marks.
Different command words require different approaches. Large business questions often use higher-level command words that test analytical and evaluative skills.
Break down complex business situations, explain cause and effect relationships and show understanding of how different factors interact within large organisations.
Make judgements about business decisions, consider multiple perspectives (especially stakeholder views) and reach supported conclusions about the best course of action.
Use examination feedback to create a targeted revision strategy that addresses your specific weaknesses while building on your strengths.
Systematically work through your examination papers to identify patterns and create focused improvement strategies.
List topics where you lost marks due to insufficient knowledge. Prioritise these for intensive revision using textbooks and case studies.
Identify whether you need to work on application, analysis, or evaluation skills. Practice with past papers focusing on these specific areas.
Note any issues with timing, question interpretation, or answer structure. Practice these elements separately before combining them.
James struggled with stakeholder analysis in large business questions. His feedback showed he only considered shareholders and customers. He created flashcards for different stakeholder groups (employees, suppliers, government, local community) and practised including multiple perspectives. His next exam score improved by two grades.
Examination feedback is most valuable when used as part of ongoing improvement rather than a one-time review. Regular self-assessment and targeted practice lead to sustained progress.
Confidence comes from preparation and understanding what's expected. Use feedback to build systematic approaches to different question types.
Focus on quality over quantity. Better to thoroughly analyse five past paper questions than rush through twenty without proper review.