Developing Exam Skills - BUSS2

This is a technique which I use with all my students and one which I discussed with the delegates at the recent revision conferences.I used to find that my students struggled with structuring the longer mark (15-17) questions. They often went off track which meant that they lost sight of the original question. With this in mind, I devised this very simple structure which works extremely well.Take the following question which was from the June 2009 BUSS2 paper:Do you think that going ahead with the expansion plans would increase Two Seasons Ltd 's profits? Justify your view.A really good way in which students can write a focused answer is to use the key words in the question at the beginning of each paragraph. For example:One reason why going ahead with the expansion plans would increase Two Seasons profits is ......................Another reason why going ahead with the expansion plans would increase Two Seasons profits is ..........................However, a reason why going ahead with the expansion plans may not increase Two Seasons profits is ..............Another reason why going ahead with the expansion plans may not increase Two Seasons profits is .........Overall, going ahead with the expansion plans will/ will not increase Two Seasons profits because ................This is a really simple structure to follow and one which keeps the students fully focused on the question they have been asked. Obviously the quality of the response depends on the students ability to come up with logical arguments, analyse and evaluate them, however, following this structure at least ensures students answer the question they have been asked. Which can't be bad.