IB Business Management HLTopic 8 — The Pre-Released StatementPaper 1Exam practice~14 min read
Practice Questions on the Statement
You cannot revise the answers, because the full case study only appears on exam day. What you can revise is the shape of every question type — how many points, how much application, how much judgement. Get the shapes into your hands now and the unfamiliar content will not throw you.
📚 What you need to know
Paper 1 questions climb through the same command words: define, explain, analyse, discuss, recommend.
Define needs two clauses and no case study. Everything else needs the case study.
Explain means a point developed in context — roughly half the marks are for application.
Analyse means showing a chain of consequences, usually two or three developed points.
Discuss and recommend are level-of-response questions marked on knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation.
A 10-mark answer needs both sides and an overall judgement, plus what that judgement depends on.
The command word ladder
Read the command word before you read the topic. It tells you the structure, and structure is where most marks are won or lost.
How to build a 10-mark answer
Write the four labels in the margin before you start. It takes twenty seconds and stops you drifting into one long description.
2-mark define questions
WORKED EXAMPLE
Define the term intrapreneurship. [2]
Clause 1
Intrapreneurship is the development of new ideas, products or processes.
Clause 2
It happens inside an existing business, using that firm’s own employees and resources, rather than through a start-up.
2 / 2One sentence, two clauses, about 25 words. Move on.
🧩 Try these yourself
Define the term corporate social responsibility. [2]
Define the term market orientation. [2]
Define the term diversification. [2]
Define the term circular business model. [2]
Define the term publicly held company. [2]
Define the term research and development. [2]
2-mark calculate questions
You will not know the real figures until exam day, so practise the method on your own numbers. Percentage change, gross and net profit margin, and market capitalisation are the usual suspects.
The three you should be able to write from memory
Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100
Net profit margin = net profit ÷ revenue × 100
Market capitalisation = share price × number of shares
WORKED EXAMPLE
ABC’s revenue from e-waste rose from $24m to $31m. Calculate the percentage increase. [2]
Step 1: find the change$31m − $24m = $7m[1]Step 2: divide by the original and convert7 ÷ 24 = 0.29166…0.29166 × 100 = 29.17%[1]29.17% increase (2 d.p.)Divide by the OLD figure, never the new one. And keep the % sign.
Explain, analyse, discuss
WORKED EXAMPLE
Explain one advantage and one disadvantage to ABC of running two very different businesses. [4]
Advantage
Concrete demand is cyclical while e-waste demand follows technology replacement, so the two revenues do not fall at the same time. [1] For ABC, which operates in a construction market that shrinks during recessions, that stability protects the cash it needs for investment. [1]Disadvantage
Managing two industries stretches management attention and requires different expertise. [1] ABC’s leadership grew up in concrete, so it may underestimate the safety, regulatory and supply demands of handling toxic metals. [1]4 / 4Two marks for the business point, two for tying it to ABC. Every 4-mark explain works this way.
🧩 Question bank — explain
Explain one reason why ABC’s shift to a room-temperature process supports its environmental objectives. [2]
Explain one possible drawback to ABC of depending on gold prices for revenue. [2]
Explain one benefit to ABC of being a publicly held company. [2]
Explain two advantages to ABC of becoming more market-orientated. [4]
Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of ABC pursuing cost leadership in concrete. [4]
Explain two challenges ABC could face when securing a reliable supply of e-waste. [4]
🧩 Question bank — analyse
Analyse the impact of rising energy prices on ABC’s concrete operations. [6]
Analyse how innovation and R&D could affect ABC’s long-term competitiveness. [6]
Analyse two external factors from a STEEPLE analysis that could affect ABC’s strategy. [6]
Analyse the advantages and disadvantages to ABC of adopting a circular business model. [6]
Analyse the possible effects on ABC of becoming more market-orientated. [6]
Analyse the usefulness of decision trees to ABC’s senior managers. [6]
🧩 Question bank — discuss and recommend
Discuss whether diversification into e-waste processing is the best growth strategy for ABC. [10]
Discuss the extent to which CSR should be prioritised over short-term profit at ABC. [10]
Discuss whether ABC should become more market-orientated. [10]
Recommend whether ABC should prioritise concrete efficiency or e-waste expansion. [10]
Recommend whether ABC should develop concrete made with recycled aggregate. [10]
Recommend whether ABC should expand into recycling solar panels. [10]
Practise writing plans, not essays. Give yourself five minutes per 10-mark question and write only the four paragraph headings plus the case evidence you would use in each. You will get through six questions in half an hour instead of one, and you will train the skill that actually runs out of time in the exam.
Do not write and memorise model answers. The full case study on exam day will contain figures, events and characters you have never seen, and a pre-written essay will not fit them. Memorise structures and evidence, not paragraphs.
💡 Exam tip
Underline the command word and the number of marks before you write a single word.
Name the business tool you are using. It signals analysis to the examiner immediately.
One case detail per paragraph, minimum. A name, a number, a date, a quoted fact.
Define key terms in the first line of every 10-mark answer. It is a quick, reliable mark.
End with “this depends on…”. It is the phrase that converts a conclusion into evaluation.
Watch the clock. Running out of time on the last 10-marker costs more than a weak paragraph anywhere else.
⚠ Common mix-up
Analyse is not describe. You need consequences: this happens, so that follows, which means this.
Discuss is not “list advantages”. Both sides, then a decision.
Recommend must actually decide. Sitting on the fence loses the evaluation marks.
Application is not just saying “ABC”. It means using a specific fact from the case.
Longer is not better. Six shallow points score below three developed ones.
Do not apply a definition on a 2-mark define question. It earns nothing and costs time.
Up next: Getting Started With the 2025 Statement — the same skills applied to Myt PLC, the drinks company from the previous session. Working through both statements is the best practice available.
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