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Discover the 7 Skills for IGCSE Business

Success

Ready to move beyond the standard classroom approach?

Meet your game-changer: The 7 Essential Skills for IGCSE Business Excellence.

The world of education is evolving, and so should your strategy for success.

The 7 IGCSE Skills will propel you to higher grades in IGCSE Business by equipping
you with more than just knowledge .

Sure, knowledge is important, but it only makes up 40% of your total grade. The key to
success lies in developing ALL the Cambridge assessment objectives

Knowledge, yes , but also application, analysis, and evaluation.

AND don't forget about exam preparation , exam technique, and problem-solving skills
to maximize your marks in EVERY question

How did we create the 7 Skills?

• Marking thousands of IGCSE & O-Level Business questions

• Reviewing 10 years of examiner reports

• Consulting with colleagues around the globe

• Helping thousands of you succeed with Ed’s Business Essentials

We've refined our approach and are delighted to share the 7 skills you need to ace
IGCSE Business.

Bonus:

For each skill, we offer quick tips to help you dodge common exam pitfalls.

Don’t forget to print off the Essentials Skills Wall Chart and hang up where you study
to stay laser-focused on the core skills for success!

Let's jump in!

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1. Knowledge

Knowledge and Understanding (K) make up 40% of marks in IGCSE/O-level Business

Studies.

However, Knowledge is the foundation of every answer. Without at least one

Knowledge point, you will struggle to access any of the other marks for Application,
Analysis, and Evaluation.

Knowledge Command Words: State, Identify, Define, Calculate

Example Question: “Define the term opportunity cost”

Quick Tips

Learning definitions and a relevant example for each of the keywords on the IGCSE
syllabus is highly recommended. It’s not just me who thinks this is a good idea – it is
written in nearly every examiner report!

For in-depth development of your knowledge skills check out the IGCSE/O-level
Business Studies membership.

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2. Application

Application is using your knowledge and understanding of different business

concepts and applying them to different business situations.

In paper 1 our application will come from referring to the short case study at the start of
each question.

On paper 2 application will come from relevant application to the case study.

Beware of this common student error - as the exam goes on, it’s common to forget to
include application as students become tired and anxious to finish the exam on time.

How do I know if I should include application?

If a question refers to a specific business, you must APPLY your answer to that business

Example Question: ““Should DelaRosa Sports introduce flow production?”

As DelaRosa Sports is a specific business from the case study, we ensure we include
application in our answers.

Many students fail to include application in their final answers in the exam
7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com

Quick Tips

- Application words are UNIQUE to the relevant case study and couldn’t be applied to
every other question

- To make sure you do use the context, refer back to the case study before answering
each part of the question.

For detailed development of your application skills and guides on how to include the
maximum marks for application in each question, check out our IGCSE/O-level
Business Studies membership.

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Many students who study hard fail to reach their potential due to poor exam technique
7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com

3. Analysis

Analysis makes up 25% of marks in IGCSE/O-level Business Studies. However, many

students score fewer marks with limited analysis rather than maximum marks for
developed analysis.

It is all about explaining the impact of a problem or an issue on the business.

Students often lose analysis marks because they don’t make it clear to the examiner why
a business decision will have a positive or a negative impact.

In order to clearly show our answer is moving to analysis clearly we can use sentence
starters like “this means that” or “this will impact the business positively because”.

Quick Tips

Remember to tie your analysis to the specific business in the question so you stay
focused on the most important issues and also to gain application marks.

For more detailed information on achieving top marks in analysis and all of the crucial
competencies in IGCSE/O-level Business Studies check out the in-depth IGCSE/O-level
Business Studies skills guide available now in the IGCSE/O-level Business Studies
membership.

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4. Evaluation

As evaluation is the final 15% of your grade, and because it can be the most difficult of the
assessment criteria, it is often neglected by students. However, perfecting your skills
of evaluation can often make the difference between a B and an A or A*!

In IGCSE/O-level Business exams, evaluation is awarded when we make:

- Present reasoned explanations

- Make decisions
- Make judgments and recommendations 🛠🚀

Put simply, evaluation is when we make a decision or reach a conclusion, and justify why
we made that choice by making a reasoned argument.

The crucial component that students often miss is explaining why one option is better
than the other option.

A good way of ensuring you get full evaluation marks is to acknowledge the benefits of
the option you decide not to choose, and then explain why the benefits of the other
option you have chosen are greater.

For example:

“Although option A has a lower short-term cost, option B will rapidly increase revenue and
allow greater profitability in the long term”.

Quick Tips

There is no “right” or “wrong” answer in evaluation, as long as your decision is justified

and focused on the question. For example, in this question on motivational methods,

Recommend the method(s) of motivation Charlie should use with employees at EasyStick Ltd

we can take the view:

7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com

“pay is the most important method of motivation due to the evidence from the survey,”

OR

“that other methods of motivation should be considered before pay as the business will not
have the resources to significantly improve the pay of the employees enough to improve
motivation.”

Evaluation is a crucial skill, both in IGCSE Business and in later life.

Ready to ace your evaluation skills like a pro? Click now to explore our AS
membership and transform your 'average' essays into 'exceptional' answers!

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5. Calculations

In IGCSE Business, we have a lot of potential calculation questions. From

calculating market share, to return on capital employed (ROCE), calculations can
come up across topics and on both paper 1 and paper 2.

Calculation skills involve several different components:

- Finding the correct data to input into your calculation

- Learning the correct method to accurately and precisely solve the calculation

- Interpreting the results in order to answer analysis or evaluation questions –

(especially in paper 2)

Many students get calculation anxiety and worry that their level of maths will
mean they will never master calculations.

Fear not! With practice, you can master ALL the calculations on the IGCSE
syllabus. That’s why we have a standalone course focused on improving calculation
skills as part of the IGCSE membership.

We’ve also included ratio hack sheets that you can print off and display where you
study to guide you through financial analysis calculation questions.
7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com

Quick Tips

Write down the formula to guide you through the calculation, and show your working.
Students are awarded marks for showing the correct process of answering the question,
even if they get the rest of the answer wrong.

The IGCSE Esssentials membership breaks down difficult concepts, ratios, and formulas
into simple step-by-step instructions.

- Learn how to score top marks in a range of different calculation questions in paper 1
and paper 2.

- Practice questions for you to try and exemplar past paper solutions to check your
answers.

- Improves your skills and confidence in the most difficult questions, leading to greater
success in IGCSE exams.

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5. Time Management

The business cliché “Time is money" converts to “Time is marks” in exams

It’s tempting to spend more time on the questions you feel more confident answering, or
run out of time as you want the perfect answer to every question. However, there are a
limited number of marks you can get on each question, and there is a much greater
opportunity cost to running out of time.

Quick Tips

- Calculation questions can use up a lot of valuable time, skip and leave to the end if you
don’t feel confident that you can answer the calculations within your time limit.

- Don’t forget a watch! It may be difficult to see the clock in the exam hall.

- To keep on track write down the time you begin and when you should finish the question
on your paper. Remember it’s approximately 1 min per mark

Of course, with any skill, there is no quick fix. Our IGCSE/O-level Business Studies
membership is tailored to equip you with the strategies and techniques needed for
effective time management. Here's how it'll supercharge your exam performance:

Efficiency is Key: Learn the most efficient methods to secure top marks in every
question. We'll show you how to tackle each question effectively, saving you precious time
in the exam.

Master the Required Skills: Develop a deep understanding of the unique skills needed
for each question type. Whether it's analysis, evaluation, or application, we've got you
covered.

Practice Makes Perfect: Hone your skills through timed practice sessions. You'll gain
the confidence to handle any question, even under pressure.

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7. Problem Solving Approach

An overarching skill students need to succeed in IGCSE Business is problem-solving.

In exam conditions, we need to be prepared for unwelcome surprises and everything not
going our way. The case study may be in a sector we are not that familiar with, we
may make a mistake in a calculation which uses up too much time, or a business concept
may come up that we are not so familiar with. 🖩

However, with a problem-solving, pragmatic approach we can take a strategic approach

to the exam in order to maximize our marks in every question.

Quick Tips

Reviewing past papers and making brief plans of how you would answer each question
can be a time-effective method of working on your problem-solving skills, exam
technique and structuring different types of questions.

After reading the case study, give yourself a strict time limit – let’s say 4-5 mins in a 12-
mark paper 2 question. How many points could you come up with? What was the focus
of your evaluation? Then compare your answer plan to the mark scheme.

The IGCSE/O-level Business Studies Essentials membership is designed with a hands-

on, problem-solving approach to develop your essential exam skills.

It’s all about practical solutions - be that top tips on how to prepare for the exam
most effectively , strategies for evaluation that can work across all topics , or
interactive quizzes to improve business decision-making , we've got it covered.

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Printable Resources

Skills for Success Wall Chart

As you work through IGCSE Business , it's easy to get overwhelmed by the content
and neglect the essential skills (other than knowledge) you'll need in the exam . To
keep these skills at the forefront of your mind , print off the wall chart on the next
page and stick it up where you study .

If you're serious about taking your IGCSE business results to the next level , don't
stop here. The real skill-building action is in our IGCSE/O-level Business Studies
Membership . This is where you'll get the hands-on training, resources and support
to truly hone all the 7 skills for success you've just read about .

Don't settle for surface-level understanding; dive deep to unlock your full potential .

Join our IGCSE/O-level Business Studies Membership today and start your journey to
IGCSE Business success! .

Join Now!
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7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com
7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com

Ratio Hack Sheets

Profitability Ratios
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Liquidity Ratios
7 Skills for IGCSE Business Success www.caiebusiness.com

Return on Capital Employed