Explain

Explain questions are often worth three marks in an exam. Explain is a relatively

straightforward skill to demonstrate. Answers are usually broken down into three parts to achieve
marks:

 make a point
 give a reason why (often given as ‘because’)
 state the consequence (positive or negative) for the business
Examples of explain questions include:

Question
Explain one benefit to businesses of conducting market research.

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A benefit of conducting market research is that a business can make more informed
decisions. This will lead to the business developing more products that customers want
and therefore having more sales.

Question
Explain one benefit to DJ’s Chocolate Manufacturing of using a market map.

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A market map would allow DJ’s Chocolate Manufacturing to spot a gap in the market.
This would lead to the business developing chocolates that would fill the gap, such as a
high-quality, low-priced chocolate. Therefore, the chocolate manufacturer would have a
competitive advantage through a unique selling point (USP).

Question
Explain a benefit of creating a cash flow forecast.

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A cash flow forecast can be shown to a bank when applying for a loan. This would lead
to a business being able to access additional finance. Therefore, the business would be
able to expand or purchase more stock.

Analyse
Analyse is a more advanced examination skill and is often a six-mark exam question. It is
usually similar to a discuss question. Analysing usually requires a comparison or consideration
of the benefits and drawbacks of a certain scenario or business example. Analyse goes beyond
explaining, often requiring that an argument is presented. Where a case study is present, it is
essential that the response is linked to the case study throughout.
Tip: Aim to use five connectives to build analysis chains in an analyse question. Examples
of connectives are ‘because’, ‘leading to’, ‘therefore’, ‘however’, ‘the consequence’ and ‘as
a result’.
Examples of analyse questions include:

Question
Analyse the impact of Yanna’s Bikes using the internet as a form of promotion.

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Using the internet to promote a bike sales business could allow Yanna’s Bikes to access
more customers. This would lead to increased awareness of the business among people
looking to purchase bikes or cycling accessories, therefore potentially increasing sales
and revenue for the business. However, using the internet to promote a bike sales
business could also increase costs. This would lead to the business having less money
available to spend on other forms of promotion, such as leaflets and billboards local to
the cycling shop. This could therefore reduce the impact of promotion in the local area.

Question
Analyse the impact of competitors on Sarma’s Café.

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Competitors could mean that Sarma’s Café needs to provide high-quality coffees and
cakes for customers to purchase. This would lead to the café having a competitive
advantage over other cafés in the local area, therefore increasing sales of exotic coffees
and cakes for the café business.

Competitors would also mean that Sarma’s Café needed to offer excellent customer
service, such as checking that customers are happy and dealing with any issues as they
arise. This would lead to the café getting better reviews and therefore more chance of
gaining customers who are interested in purchasing exotic coffees, cakes and other baked
goods.

Question
Analyse the benefits to Mate’s Bakery of globalisation.

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Globalisation would allow Mate’s Bakery to imports goods such as flour, flavourings and
eggs from abroad. This would lead to the business being able to source a wider variety of
ethical bakery ingredients at a cheaper price from Fairtrade suppliers, therefore increasing
its potential to grow as a business in the baked goods industry.

Globalisation would also allow a business to sell its baked goods and services abroad.
This would lead to a larger potential customer base for the business, therefore increasing
its potential to make more than its £85 million revenue and £6.5 million profit.