IB Business Management SLTopic 7 — Exam Skills & AssessmentPaper 1 & 2Exam skill~11 min read
Scoring Full Marks on 6-Mark Questions
Six-mark questions use the command word analyse, and this is the point where the exam stops rewarding you for knowing things and starts rewarding you for thinking. Three points, two marks each. The second mark in every pair is the one students miss, because it is not about knowing more — it is about following your own idea through to its consequence for the business.
📚 What you need to know
6-mark questions are marked as 2 + 2 + 2. Three points, each capped at two marks.
Within each point: 1 mark for the business idea, 1 mark for developing it in context.
The stem usually tells you the mix, for example “two advantages and one disadvantage”. Follow it exactly.
Analyse means build a chain: point → why it happens → what it means for this firm.
Every point needs evidence from the case study. Three points, three different pieces of evidence.
There is no conclusion and no judgement needed at 6 marks. Save that for the 10-markers.
What “analyse” is really asking
Describing is saying what something is. Analysing is saying what it leads to. The examiner wants to see the dominoes fall.
Compare these two sentences about the same idea:
✗ DESCRIPTION
“Building a factory in Poland means lower labour costs.”
1 mark. It is true, and it stops dead. Nothing follows from it.
✓ ANALYSIS
“Building in Poland lowers labour costs, so Mirai’s cost per meal falls and it can either hold prices and widen its margin or undercut the local brands it named as rivals.”
2 marks. The point travels somewhere and lands on this firm.
Most lost marks in 6-mark answers happen in the gap between box 2 and box 3, where the student knew the theory but never brought it back to the firm.
The shape of the whole answer
Three short paragraphs. That is it. Do not write an introduction, do not define the key terms, do not finish with a conclusion — none of those are worth anything here, and all of them eat time you need on the 10-markers.
Leave a blank line between the three paragraphs. It costs nothing and it makes your three points obvious at a glance.
🧩 The six-mark method
Read the mix. How many advantages? How many disadvantages? Write the numbers in the margin.
Pick three ideas from the case study before you write anything. Three different pieces of evidence.
Paragraph 1: point, reason, and what it means for the named firm.
Paragraph 2: same shape, new idea, new evidence.
Paragraph 3: same shape again, matching the mix the question asked for.
Stop. No conclusion.
If you are ever stuck for the third point, look at a table or figure in the case study you have not used yet. The data is almost always there because the examiner wants somebody to use it.
Worked examples
WORKED EXAMPLE
Analyse — two advantages and one disadvantage
Case study: Mirai Foods is a Japanese ready-meal maker planning to open a factory in Poland to serve the European market. Wages in Poland are well below those in Japan and the site sits near a motorway network reaching six countries. However, Mirai has no experience of European food labelling rules, and its head of marketing has warned that European shoppers may not recognise the brand at all.
Analyse two advantages and one disadvantage for Mirai Foods of opening a factory in Poland. [6]
Advantage 1 — lower costs
Polish wages are well below Japanese wages, so Mirai’s cost per meal falls. That gives it a choice: hold the price and widen its profit margin, or price below the European brands already on the shelf. ✓✓
Advantage 2 — distribution
The site sits on a motorway network reaching six countries, which cuts delivery time and transport cost. For chilled ready meals that matters twice over, because a shorter journey means more shelf life left when the meal arrives. ✓✓
Disadvantage — unknown brand and unknown rules
Mirai has never dealt with European labelling rules, so it may face delays or reprinting costs before it can sell anything. And as its own marketing head points out, shoppers do not know the brand, so heavy promotion spending will be needed just to get trial. ✓✓
three chains, three different bits of the case study, no conclusion. Six marks.
WORKED EXAMPLE
Analyse — three effects
Case study: Halo Software employs 60 developers in one office. Staff turnover last year was 24%, and exit interviews often mentioned commuting. The directors are considering letting everyone work from home three days a week. The office lease has four years left to run.
Analyse three likely effects on Halo Software of introducing home working three days a week. [6]
Effect 1 — retention
Commuting was named repeatedly in exit interviews, so cutting it removes a stated reason for leaving. If turnover falls from 24%, Halo saves on recruiting and training replacements and keeps developers who already know its code. ✓✓
Effect 2 — costs stay put
The savings are smaller than they look, because the lease still has four years to run. Halo pays for a half-empty office either way, so the financial gain is limited until the lease ends. ✓✓
Effect 3 — communication and culture
With 60 developers split across home and office, quick informal problem-solving gets harder and junior staff lose the chance to learn by overhearing. Halo would need clear routines to stop projects slowing down. ✓✓
“three effects” means three, and they do not all have to be positive.
Use the numbers. Notice how both answers above lean on a specific figure — 24% turnover, four years of lease, six countries. Numbers from the case study are the fastest way to prove application.
💡 Exam tip
Count your points before you write. Three paragraphs for six marks, always.
Use linking words on purpose: “so”, “which means”, “as a result”. They physically drag your writing into analysis.
Name the firm in every paragraph. Three paragraphs, three mentions.
Spread your evidence. One quote or figure per point, and a different one each time.
Skip the introduction. Start with “One advantage is…” on the very first line.
About 8 minutes for a 6-marker. If you have written half a page per point, you are eating into the 10-mark question.
⚠ Common mix-up
Writing two very good points instead of three. The third point is worth two marks; the extra polish on the first two is worth nothing.
Listing instead of analysing. Three short statements with no consequences is 3 out of 6.
Ignoring the requested mix. If it asks for one disadvantage, one disadvantage is what it wants.
Adding a conclusion or a recommendation. No marks exist for it at 6 marks.
Repeating the same case-study detail in all three paragraphs. It only counts once.
Defining the key terms first. That is a 10-mark habit. Here it just burns three minutes.
Up next: Scoring Full Marks on 10-Mark Questions — the extended response, where balance, judgement and the limits of the case study finally start earning marks.
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