9609_s26_qp_12 — 2026 May-June Business 9609 Question Paper 1 Variant 2 · Cambridge CAIE AS & A Level

Weak or absent evaluation — most students score 0–2 out of 6 available evaluation marks

“Candidates continue to underachieve in terms of marks awarded by developing only very limited evaluative sections in essays. Knowledge, application, and analysis carry just 2 marks for each skill. Evaluative comments, conclusions and judgements can be awarded up to 6 marks.”— Paper 1, May/June 2023

How to fix: Evaluation is worth 50% of marks on 12-mark questions — treat it as the main event, not an afterthought. Structure: (1) Analyse argument FOR, (2) Analyse argument AGAINST, (3) Make a definitive judgement ('yes/no/they should/they should not'), (4) Justify WHY with specific business context. Evaluate throughout your answer, not just at the end. A summary repeating your analysis is NOT evaluation.

Not answering the specific question asked — misreading or ignoring key words

“Weaker answers misread the question and focused on the impact on the business rather than on employees.”— Paper 1, March 2025

How to fix: Read the question TWICE. Underline: (1) the command word (define/explain/analyse/evaluate), (2) the specific topic, (3) any qualifiers (advantages NOT disadvantages, impact on employees NOT the business, in the context of THIS business). If the question says 'disadvantages', writing about advantages earns zero marks.

Tautological definitions — defining terms by repeating the words in the question

“Stating that qualitative data deals with 'qualities' is a tautology.”— Paper 2, March 2025

How to fix: When defining a term, never use the words from the term itself. Practice writing definitions using entirely different vocabulary. For example: 'Market segmentation' = 'Dividing potential customers into distinct groups based on shared characteristics such as age, income, or lifestyle.'