Leaving Certificate Business

Craig - Higher Level 

So IDA doesn't stand for International Development Association - and my break even chart wasn't perfect, but by god what a nice exam. After such an exhausting few days - doing business this morning was somewhat relaxing! The ABQ on Units 2,3,4 were a little bit dodgy after question 1 as you'd struggle to quote from the text for question 2 and question 3 , but all in all - "its only business" and as predicted "twas grand".There was a lovely International Business Question on Question 3 - simply looking for us to demonstrate some basic knowledge on the benefits and disadvantages of TNCs in Ireland , while the People In Business Question was lovely - Performance, Agreement , Frustration Breach, a half a page on the NCA and a pretty basic question on Unfair Dismissals .The Breakeven question carried a lovely 40 marks for basic understanding of the topic, I think I pulled in the majority of marks here but the second break even point might have cost me a high grade over all, as I couldn't figure out how they should intersect which was a bit of a knock (honestly though at this stage I don't care I'm too bloody tired).Finally, the question on Planning Organising and Controlling was lovely - as predicted in the mocks - Matrix came up after that, I can hardly remember, but it was nice.The Short Questions weren't too bad either - I struggled with Job production (didn't touch that chapter) and I think the European questions might have had a wee trick in them but overall they were pretty nice - soothing, even.As a pointer for anyone who god forbid finds themselves reading this next year having to do French, History and then Business the next day, it's actually quite soothing. Today was a walk in the park compared to yesterday - safe to say the worst is over now!

Emma - Higher Level 

Business was an absolute lovely paper! Not what I was expecting at all. The short questions took me a bit of time to see what they actually wanted but I managed to get 9 done leaving out question number 1. I then went onto the ABQ and did the first part but realised I'd spent WAY too long explaining the skills, so I moved on to the long questions and left 4/5 pages to come back to the ABQ. The long questions were lovely but extremely long and they were asking for a lot in each part. I did 1, 4, 5, 7. I stayed away from anything financial or the break even chart because they take me forever. Once I finished those I had 25 mins to spare and I went back and did the rest of the ABQ. I'm lucky I write extremely fast but from reading others reactions, it is evident that not everyone has the ability to complete the paper in the given time. The business exam is a timing game, because most of the information is straightforward enough once you know it. 3 hours to write a booklet and 5 pages really really doesn't suffice and my fingers are still killing me!!But overall the paper was kind and I was extremely pleased leaving the exam, which is always a good sign! (I hope!) 2 more left!Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie

Junior Certificate Business Studies

Shane - Higher Level Paper 1 & 2 

Business is by far one of my favourite subjects and I went into in today actually excited.Paper 1 - I started off with the short questions to ease me into the exam and just to get them out of the way ASAP. These went extremely well and I feel they were nice questions. Then I moved on to the long questions. I did Q1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. I started with Q1 and was very happy that it was a budget comparison. Then as expected on to the club accounts. I did the income and expenditure account along with my balance sheet and was rejoicing when it balanced. Then I did Q3 on economics. I laughed when I realised anybody doing HL Maths would have known from Paper 2 that there are 28 EU states and that was how most people would get there answer. Moving on, Q4 was a nice report writing question (one I expected on Paper 2) and that went great. When I had my first four questions fully finished and checked over twice, I still had 40 minutes left. I had a feeling that I would have at least half an hour left so I did Q6 which was also a great question. I loved this business paper and I thought it was a great platform to show my love of the subject and achieve a high grade.Paper 2 - This paper I knew would go well. I knew I’d do Q2 and Q4 before I started because no matter how many times I say I don’t like accounts, I am still good at them. I feel Q2 went great and I cannot describe the massive grin I had when I saw my Net Assets match my Capital Employed! In addition, I did Q3, 4, and 5. I don’t recommend anybody do Q1 as it is really time consuming and no matter how many times I tried, I wasn’t able to do them (not to mention the fact my business teacher warned us to stay away from them). Q3 on working out the daily cost went without a hitch and then so did Q6. I was happily surprised to see the appearance of an analysed cash book on Q5 and I jumped at the chance to do it. In the end, I’m a very happy person with these papers and I am just euphoric at how they went. I really look forward now to business next year, but for now, time to focus on History tomorrow! Wishing you all the best of luck in History and to anybody doing French!

Philip - Higher Level Paper 1 & 2 

Paper 1 - This wasn't the hardest business paper I've done but a change to the way some of the short questions were asked caught me a little off guard. All in all though I think I got most of the short questions. Then I did the budget question which, apart from a few mistakes that I caught when I looked over it, I think I got most of the  marks in that question. Next I did the club account question, which was pretty much a final accounts question and I got it to balance. It also had the questions on treasurer which come up often enough. I skipped question three because it had a lot of stuff I didn't really know. After this I skipped to question six because it seemed easier than the other two remaining questions. That went well enough, I think. Next I did the report writing question. I think part A went well, though I wasn't sure how to describe "tax credit". I think the report itself went well though, even if being given a space to write in made it slightly more difficult seeing as I had to write such a small amount on each topic. Finally I did question five so I had a spare question done. I think I got these questions done well enough though. Overall, not a bad paper in my opinion!

Paper 2 - In this paper the only question I didn't do was question 1. I don't like those questions. I think they are twice as long as a normal question for the same points. Anyway I did the Business document question to start. I think these questions are rarely too hard, with 90% of the information being given to you in the question and this year was no different. Because of that I finished this question quickly. Next I did the final accounts question which, apart from a few mistakes which I had time to go back and find before moving on, I did well in and balanced without too much trouble. The part B was easy enough seeing as you were given the formula. Next I moved back to the cost of delivery question. I had a little trouble with this as when I got to the cost of diesel for one day part I couldn't get it to divide in properly. I ended up just rounding it up and the part B went fine. Next I did the form of business ownership question which was definitely not the hardest question. Part A was pretty much what you'd expect but part B was just to draw a bar chart. Finally I did the analysed cash book. I think this was my worst question and I did it last just in case so to have a spare question. I'm not very confident with these questions but I took my best shot at it. Now, I need to go study for french and history. Good luck everybody!

Chloe - Higher Level Paper 1 & 2 

Paper 1 - So I started with the short questions as always and found them to be very doable with some awkward question thrown in here and there.I then did the club account, which was great as income and expenditure accounts are very hard to mess up too badly, then it was time to do the balance sheet and I tried for so long to get it to balance but it didn’t (aww).Next I did the question on borrowing and saving, followed by the economics question and finishing with people at work & ICT. They were all very fair questions and I think I did quite well with this paper.Paper 2 - So I started at the back with question 6 which I felt was a really nice question and would get me settled into the exam. It definitely did as this was a topic I understood very well and so I feel my answers were strong enoughThen I went on to the business documents question, I must admit I found it quite tricky but I think I managed to make a good stab at itNext was the question on the analysed cash book and monitoring over heads, honestly it had been a long time since id looked at monitoring over heads and so I struggled slightly with this but I think my answers were good in the endI ended with the final account and balance sheet. I was going grand until I came near the end any my mind blanked I couldn’t remember the last sections of wither accounts. In the end I think I was kind of right but I was so annoyed considering it’s a question I had been prepared for!Overall I don’t feel this paper was too challenging and I’m hoping that I did wellA demain!  (get it?)Please note: blog posts reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Irish Second-Level Students’ Union. Blogs are updated daily by 6.30 pm on scheduled examination dates.Zeminar is an event for Generation Z, particularly those aged between 15 and 19, and their parents, teachers, mentors and coaches. It will take place from 11th - 13th of October 2016. For more information see www.zeminar.ie

JC Business

James (Higher Level)

This morning I had Business Studies Paper 1. The paper started with the twenty short answer questions of Section A. In Section B, four long questions were to be answered. I completed everything and was satisfied on my lunch break. In the afternoon, I had Business Studies Paper 2. Four long answer questions were to be answered and I completed these questions well with lots of detail. I did not choose question 1 or question 4 on Paper 2. Overall, I'm happy with my Business Studies exam.