Edexcel A level Business - 4 Mark Questions

Summary

This video offers a guide for A-level business students, specifically those taking the Edexcel exam, on how to effectively answer 4-mark questions. It emphasizes the importance of applying case study information to responses, ensuring strong reasoning and analysis. The speaker walks through an example question, explaining how to incorporate knowledge, explanation, and application of business concepts into answers. By weaving in relevant data, such as the company's structure and revenue, students can maximize their marks by showing understanding in context.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus on applying knowledge from the case study to score well in a 4-mark question.
• 📚 A strong point is essential for answering any question, especially for the 'explain one reason' type.
• 💡 Internal finance refers to funds raised from within the business, such as retained profits or capital invested by the owners.
• 🏦 Mumtaz uses internal finance to avoid losing control over decision-making, which could happen with external shareholders.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 External finance like shareholders could mean sacrificing a percentage of the business and control over key decisions.
• 🏠 Application to the case study is crucial, as half the marks are awarded for applying the knowledge to the business in question.
• 📈 Mumtaz Limited generates £25 million in sales revenue, which supports their use of retained profits for growth.
• 👩‍🏫 Application of business structure (family-owned, private limited) enhances the response's relevance.
• 🏭 Incorporating specific business facts, such as Mumtaz being a manufacturer, makes the answer more robust.
• 🎯 To score full marks, include both knowledge and case-specific details (like sales revenue and ownership) in the answer.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The video focuses on helping A-Level business students, specifically those following the Edexcel syllabus, to answer 4-mark questions effectively in their exams.

Why is applying context from the case study important when answering a 4-mark question?

Applying context from the case study is crucial because it helps demonstrate the understanding of the specific business situation, which is essential to achieve full marks on the question. Half of the marks are awarded for application to the business.

What is the first step in answering a 4-mark question?

The first step is to develop a strong point or reason that directly answers the question. This idea must be accurate and well-supported, as the rest of the answer will depend on it.

How should you demonstrate knowledge of business concepts in your answer?

You should demonstrate knowledge by clearly defining key terms, such as 'internal finance,' and showing that you understand how they apply to the business in question.

What are some benefits of using internal finance instead of external finance?

One benefit of using internal finance is that it allows the business to grow without losing control over decision-making, which can happen with external finance options like bringing in new shareholders.

How can you ensure your answer includes application to the business in the case study?

You can ensure application by including specific details from the case study, such as the company’s ownership structure, financial figures, or industry background. For example, mentioning that Mumtaz is a family-run business with £25 million in sales.

What marks are available for analysis in a 4-mark question?

One mark is available for analysis, which requires you to explain and develop a chain of reasoning that supports the point you are making.

What specific details from the case study should be woven into your answer for full marks?

You should include details like the business being an Asian food producer, its ownership by the Akbar family, its status as a private limited company, and its growing market in ready meals.

What happens if your answer lacks application to the case study?

If your answer lacks application to the case study, you may lose half of the available marks, as application is a key requirement for scoring full marks.

How does the video suggest improving an answer from two marks to four marks?

The video suggests improving an answer by incorporating specific facts and data from the case study into your response. This demonstrates both knowledge and application, turning a basic answer into one that fully meets the mark scheme requirements.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction to Four Mark Questions for Business Students

This paragraph introduces the video, which is aimed at A-level business students preparing for their exams. The focus of the video is on helping students understand how to effectively answer four-mark questions, with tips on structuring answers and using techniques to achieve full marks.

05:02

📊 Understanding the Importance of Case Studies in Four-Mark Questions

The paragraph explains the critical role of case studies in answering four-mark questions. It highlights that students need to write answers within the context of the business provided in the case study, incorporating relevant data and business background. Without this context, it’s difficult to score well.

🧠 Crafting a Strong Point for Four-Mark Answers

Here, the importance of making a strong and truthful point is emphasized. The paragraph suggests that a clear, accurate reason related to the case study is necessary to form the foundation of a good answer. The example of Mumtaz using internal finance is introduced as a case to explain this concept.

💼 Differentiating Between Internal and External Finance

This section breaks down the reasoning behind why Mumtaz prefers internal finance, such as retained profits, over external options like new shareholders. It explains that internal finance allows growth without losing control over business decisions, unlike external finance, which could dilute ownership and decision-making power.

🔍 Mark Scheme Breakdown for Four-Mark Questions

The paragraph explains how marks are distributed in a four-mark question. Students get one mark for presenting a solid idea, one mark for analyzing or explaining that idea, and two marks for applying the idea in the business context. This is where many students lose marks, as they may not apply their knowledge effectively.

🛠 Improving Answer Quality through Application

This paragraph reviews an answer given earlier and points out where it falls short in terms of application. It suggests revisiting the case study to add specific details, such as the business’s market, ownership structure, and sales data, to strengthen the answer. This application of facts can turn a mediocre answer into a full-mark one.

🏷 Practical Example of Application: Mumtaz Limited

The paragraph provides a refined answer with additional context about Mumtaz, such as using internal finance through retained profits and mentioning its sales revenue. These details, like the company’s status as a limited business and its revenue, make the answer more applied and improve the chances of scoring full marks.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Analyzing Mumtaz's Family Business Structure

This paragraph expands on the idea that Mumtaz uses internal finance to avoid losing control over decision-making, especially within its family-run structure. By highlighting the company’s ownership by the Akbar family, the paragraph applies relevant case study information, reinforcing the answer's context.

🎯 Final Tips for Structuring Four-Mark Answers

The conclusion outlines the essential structure for answering four-mark questions: starting with a strong point, explaining it in detail, and applying it to the case study context. Students are encouraged to include at least two points of application to maximize their marks.

Keywords

💡Internal finance

Internal finance refers to money that a business generates from within its operations, such as retained profits or owner investments. In the video, it's discussed as a method Mumtaz Limited uses to expand without losing control over decision-making, which contrasts with external financing that could require bringing in new shareholders.

💡External finance

External finance involves raising funds from outside the business, such as through loans or new shareholders. The video contrasts this with internal finance, highlighting that Mumtaz avoids external finance to retain decision-making power within the Akbar family, as using external finance could mean giving up some control.

💡Case study

A case study in exams refers to a real or hypothetical business scenario provided to assess students’ understanding of concepts in a practical context. The video emphasizes the importance of applying answers to the specific details of the case study, such as Mumtaz being a private limited company owned by the Akbar family.

💡Context

Context in exam answers means relating the response directly to the specifics of the business in the case study. In the video, the speaker explains that to achieve full marks, students must weave contextual information, such as the sales revenue or the family ownership structure, into their answers.

💡Private limited company

A private limited company is a type of business that is privately owned, and its shares are not available to the public. In the video, Mumtaz Limited is described as a family-run private limited company, which is important for understanding why they use internal finance to avoid diluting family control.

💡Application

Application refers to the skill of using specific details from the case study to support an answer in exams. The video stresses that students need to apply their answers by referencing facts like Mumtaz’s sales revenue or family ownership to gain all available marks for the question.

💡Explain

In exams, 'explain' means providing a reason or justification for something in a clear and logical manner. The video shows how students should explain why Mumtaz Limited uses internal finance by discussing its benefits, such as maintaining control over decision-making.

💡Analysis

Analysis in exam terms involves breaking down an idea and exploring its implications or consequences. The video advises students to analyze their points by discussing the effects of internal finance on Mumtaz Limited’s ability to grow without external influence.

💡Ownership structure

Ownership structure refers to the way a company is owned and controlled. In the video, Mumtaz’s ownership structure is highlighted as family-run, which is crucial for explaining why they prefer internal finance—because it allows the Akbar family to maintain control without the need for external shareholders.

💡Mark scheme

A mark scheme outlines how exam marks are awarded for different types of questions. The video explains that in a 4-mark question, 2 marks are awarded for showing knowledge and analysis, and the other 2 marks are for applying the answer to the context of the case study.

Highlights

Introduction to answering 4-mark questions for Edexcel A-level business students.

Emphasis on the importance of applying answers to the business in the case study.

Explanation that a strong, accurate idea is crucial for achieving full marks.

Definition of internal finance as finance raised from within the business, such as retained profits or owner's capital.

Reasoning for using internal finance: allows growth without losing control over decision-making.

Comparison of internal finance with external finance, where bringing in shareholders means sacrificing business control.

Explanation of how application of the business context (e.g., ownership, revenue) can boost marks.

Details about Mumtaz Limited, an Asian food producer, as an example case study.

Mention of Mumtaz Limited being a private limited company owned by the Akbar family.

Highlight of Mumtaz's annual sales revenue of 25 million pounds, which supports their use of internal finance.

Emphasis on Mumtaz Limited’s growth, particularly in the ready-meals market, which is growing year-on-year.

Application of the fact that Mumtaz Limited is growing organically, reinforcing the need for internal finance.

Inclusion of key application points like ownership structure, business size, and specific family-run dynamics to earn full marks.

Explanation of how integrating data from the case study enhances answer quality, turning 2 marks into 4.

Final structure recommendation: strong point, explanation, and at least two applications for a full-mark answer.

Transcripts

hello and welcome to taking them is the

channel for a level business students

looking to revise in this video for IDI

Excel students we're gonna be looking at

how you answer for mark questions in

your exam

so stay tuned as we try and teach you

the structure and the techniques that

are gonna help you achieve full marks

[Music]

so if we have a look at a typical for

Marquette Excel question in this case

we're going to have a look at explain

one reason Mumtaz has always used

internal finance to establish and expand

its business so in a fall mark question

the case study is pretty crucial we're

going to struggle to get good marks in a

four mark question unless we write in a

way that's applied or in the context of

the businesses in the case study you can

see that in this example we get quite a

bit of data about the business tells us

something about the background of

success and the product of the

organization and we're gonna try and

weave that into our answer so when we're

answering a four mark question what we

need is a really strong point the

question asks us to explain one reason

unless that one reasons a strong idea an

accurate truthful idea everything else

that we're gonna write is gonna be

pretty wasted unless it's based on a

strong idea so we need a reason why this

business has always used internal

finance rather than external finance so

maybe we could start by saying that

internal finance is raised from within

the business showing an awareness of

what this concept is and we could say

that an mumtaz may use methods such as

retained profits or capital invested by

the owners so we've shown the examiner

that we understand the the concept the

business term that this question is

about then we could go on and try and

explain ourselves a little bit we could

say Mumtaz have traditionally used

internal flans because it allows them to

finance growth without losing control

over decision making some methods of

external finance such as bringing in new

shareholders would mean the existing

owners would have to sacrifice a

percentage of the business to raise

finance but this isn't the case when

raising funds internally now if we have

a look at the Marc scheme for a for Marc

question we'll see that one mark is up

for grabs for our idea for showing some

knowledge for showing some understand

we'll get an extra mark if we can

analyze or explain our ideas and develop

a chain of reasoning to to explain the

idea that we've come up with but

crucially we'll get to Mark's 1/2 the

marks on this question are up for grabs

for putting our idea in context for

applying it to the business in the case

study now if we return to the answer

that we've created we're pretty

confident we'll get the Walmart for

showing knowledge and we're pretty

confident that we've explained the

consequences of our idea so we'll get

the one mark for analysis but when it

comes to application when it comes to

actually putting our idea into the

context of the business in the case

study you'll see that our answer is

pretty lacking and that we might only

get half marks on this question as it

stands so if we return to the case study

what we're looking for a bits of

information in this case to do that we

might be able to weave into our answer

to make it more applied so we might have

a look at the fact that this is an Asian

food producer rather than just talk

about a business we could mention its

ownership structure in this case it's a

private limited company we even know who

the owners are as the case and he tell

us it's run by the Akbar family the

success of the business is a nice way of

applying your answer it tell us that

this business has sales revenue of

around 25 million pounds it also tells

us the kind of market that this business

is in and how that market is developing

in this case it talks to us about ready

meals and how it's growing year-on-year

it even mentions that the business is

growing organically which is what gives

rise to the question that we've got so

if we return to the answer that we've

written it might be that by trying to

sprinkle in some of these things that

we've learned from the case study some

of these bits of data or some of these

facts we might be able to turn a to mark

answer into a for mark answer just

through showing the skill of application

so let's take another shot at this this

time we're gonna say internal finances

raised from within the business and

mumtaz limited may use methods such as

retain profits or capital invested by

the owners

you'll see the inclusion of the the

little word limited there it's just a

really subtle way of applying what was

already a correct piece of knowledge and

we'll go retain profit seem to be a

viable option given the 25 million

pounds worth of sales revenue generated

last year so we're gonna take that fact

to that bit of data from the case study

and we're just gonna weave that into our

answer now if we go on to analyze and

explain ourselves and again as we're

doing so we can drop in some of the

application that the examiner is looking

for in order to give us the to

application marks

so we could say mumtaz limited may have

traditionally used internal finance

because it allows the manufacturer to

finance growth without the family having

to lose any control over decision-making

in the business some methods of external

finance such as bringing in new

shareholders would mean the Ackbar

family would have to sacrifice a

percentage of the business to raise

finance meaning new shareholders from

outside the family would have some input

into decisions but this isn't the case

when raising funds internally so if we

have a look at the bits of application

we've dropped in there and we highlight

those in pink you'll see that we've used

the businesses ownership structure we've

used their current sales revenue we've

popped in that they're a manufacturer

that they're a family-run business we've

even name-checked the family that run

the business in order to take our answer

and make it applied so that's how we

will structure a form our question with

a strong point explanation of that point

but crucially at least two points of

application in that answer to make sure

that the examiner Awards us four marks

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