6.1 The Exam Papers

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Edexcel IGCSE Business

6.1 The Exam Papers

Big idea: Paper 1 tests everything you know about small businesses through four case-study questions that get harder as you go — starting with quick recall and multiple choice, and building up to full justified and evaluative arguments.

90 minutes

80 marks total

50% of qualification

Businesses up to 49 employees

0% revised

Summary

Paper 1 is called "Investigating Small Businesses" and draws on the entire specification — there's no way to "skip" a topic when revising for this paper.
It focuses specifically on small businesses with up to 49 employees that operate in a local or national (not global) market.
The paper is 90 minutes long and worth 80 marks, which is exactly 50% of your whole IGCSE Business grade.
It's split into four multipart questions, each built around its own short business case study, and you must answer all of them — there's no choice of questions.
Every question is worth 20 marks, and every question "builds in demand" — meaning it starts easy (recall) and ends hard (analysis/evaluation).
The question types mix multiple-choice, short "state" answers, calculations, explanations, analysis, justify, and evaluate questions.

Understanding the Paper's Structure

Think of Paper 1 like a staircase, not a flat corridor. Each of the four questions takes you from "can you remember the definition?" up to "can you make and defend a real business decision?" This matters hugely for revision, because it tells you exactly what kind of skill each mark is testing — and that's the difference between losing easy marks and scoring full marks.

The core structure to memorise 4 questions × 20 marks each = 80 marks total, in 90 minutes. Each case study is short and real-world in style, and each question climbs through: knowledge → application → analysis → evaluation.

Question 1

MCQ, short-answer, calculation and analysis. 20 marks.

Question 2

Short-answer, calculation, analysis and justify. 20 marks.

Question 3

Short-answer, calculation, analysis and justify. 20 marks.

Question 4

Short-answer/calculation, analysis and evaluate. 20 marks.

Why does this "building demand" pattern matter?

Examiners design it this way so that every student — whatever grade they're aiming for — can access some marks on every question. The early marks (MCQs, 'state' questions) are about recall and are genuinely quick wins if you know your definitions. The later marks (analysis, justify, evaluate) reward you for writing in full sentences, using the case study context, and building a chain of reasoning rather than just stating a fact. If you run out of time, always secure the early, easy marks on all four questions first — don't get stuck perfecting one 6-mark analysis answer while three 'state' questions on other pages sit unanswered.

1 Question 1: MCQ, Short-Answer, Calculation and Analysis

Question 1 is your "warm-up" question, but don't underestimate it — it's still worth a full 20 marks, the same as every other question on the paper. It's built around a real-world style case study, and it tests recall, basic application, simple calculations, brief explanations, and analysis.

Task type

2

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What to Memorise
Concepts Checklist
Exam Tips
2 Questions 2 & 3: Short-Answer, Calculation, Analysis and Justify
4 Question 4: Short-Answer or Calculation, Analysis and Evaluate

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