0450_s26_gt — 2026 May-June Business Studies 0450 Grade Threshold · Cambridge CAIE IGCSE

Evaluation = summary of previous points instead of a decision with reasoning

“Evaluation requires candidates to make a supported judgement. A summary of points stated earlier will not achieve evaluation marks.”— 0450 M25

How to fix: Evaluation means making a decision. After presenting both sides, state which option is better and WHY, comparing the strength of arguments. 'Overall, X is more important than Y because...' — never just repeat your earlier points.

Missing application marks — reusing the same context reference or using question words as application

“Most candidates continue to miss many of the 16 application marks available on this paper.”— 0450 S25

How to fix: Application means using specific details from the case study or scenario: the company name, its products, its size, its market, specific numbers from the data. Using the same context point twice only counts once. The question stem words do not count as application.

Mirror arguments only credited once

“stating job production has no economies of scale while batch production allows some is classed as a mirror argument so will only be credited once”— 0450 S23

How to fix: A mirror argument says the same thing twice (one positive, one negative). 'X is fast' and 'Y is slow' is ONE argument, not two. Make each point genuinely different — cover cost, quality, flexibility, or time as separate angles.