Exam breakdown
BY THIS time, you should all have started your examinations in other subject areas even as the reality of a major event in your school life is now taking place. If you are well prepared, no need to worry.
I will take some time to assist you in the preparation for your examination. It is always a good thing to know what to expect.
KNOW THE FORMAT OF YOUR EXAMINATION
You should know the format for your examination papers - Paper 01 consists of 60 multiple-choice questions and the time allotted is 1 hour and 15 minutes. This paper will test your knowledge and comprehension profile and the application profile will be tested in a ratio of 2:1.
PAPER 02
This is the essay paper. It will now consist of only SIX questions of which you MUST attempt all. (ALL QUESTIONS ARE COMPULSORY.) There will be no section for you to choose from. Time allotted for this paper is two hours. Your performance will be assessed in the areas of knowledge and comprehension profile and the application profile. Each question on this paper will be worth 15 marks.
PAPER 03/2
The alternative to the School Based Assessment (SBA) is primarily for private candidates. It takes the form of a written examination in lieu of internal assessment for school candidates. This paper will be based on the same area of the syllabus as the SBA component. The component of this examination is the case study. Time allotted for this paper is 1 hour and 30 minutes with an additional 15 minutes to read through the paper. Students will be required to answer 10 compulsory essay-type questions that are marked out of 50.
As a marker for office administration, I will share some weak areas that are evident in students’ work:
Students fail to express themselves clearly – lack of clarity.
Failure to read over work carefully. This would have helped to eliminate some of the careless errors caused possibly by examination stress.
Inability to complete forms correctly and neatly. Students make careless errors in transferring information from the question paper to the forms.
TIPS ON HOW TO APPROACH THE QUESTIONS
1. A booklet will be provided for you to write your answers. If the space provided is not enough, then there is extra space at the back of the booklet, but you MUST indicate this in the space provided.
2. It is recommended that you use a black ink pen to write on the question paper as these answers will be scanned.
3. Do read all the questions carefully before making an attempt.
4. Make jottings of the questions you will attempt.
5. You can attempt your questions in any order.
6. The marks given at the end of a question will indicate how much information is required.
7. Identify key words in questions, e.g., List three activities relating to the recruitment of new employees – all that is required of you is to itemise the activities (the keywords here are ‘list’, ‘three’); look out for other keywords as: identify, define, outline, advantages and disadvantages, difference between two documents.
8. Use assumed name given.
9. Use your time wisely throughout the examination.
10. If forms require a date, use the date of the examination unless otherwise told.
11. Express yourself in simple, clear language.
12. Do remember to leave a few minutes to read over.
It was a pleasure to be of some assistance to all you wonderful students. Good luck in your examinations as you strive towards your goal. I will leave you with this beautiful quote that I have cherished so much.
“Confidence is contagious. So is the lack of confidence.”
– Vince Lombard