Answering theory questions

What to write? How much to write? How to earn full marks? Theory questions are seen by many as one of the problems to pass the exam. The further you go, the more important are the theories.

The keys to getting good marks in theory are:
1. Focus on answering the question - the verbs are important to note.
2. Use simple and clear English.
3. Good presentation - Use headings to ease marking.
4. Take into account the reader.

For point 4, you should ask yourself, is your answer useful for the reader? For example, if you are asked to advise the financial controller about whether to authorise the proposed project, then your answer should be the one that the financial controller may want to know, ie. net present value (NPV), cost of capital, constraints, non-financial factors etc.

Another example, when you are required to write a report about the performance of the company to directors, you have to write a report, this can give you format mark of about 1 mark and is very important in P level paper to earn professional marks. Again to earn good marks, your answer must satisfy the directors, show your ratios and other calculations in the appendix (professional marks may be gained from good presentation), then make financial and non-financial analysis, identifying possible causes of the ratios and linking them to the non-financial calculations (if possible), a conclusion should be given at the end. Answers like "the revenue has increased by 20% from last year, this is good" will never be adequate for the directors.

It is likely that theory questions are easy to gain marks as we will make mistake in calculations, not theory. You just have to make attempt to the questions even if you can't sure. Theory questions, in many cases, essential to pass the exam.