“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.” ― Vidal Sassoon, hairstylist and philanthropist
This applies to every occupation. Yes, including you!
That being said, you have to do your part as a student before you can achieve the best results that you can ever imagine for your A-Level Accounting papers.
In this article, we will be looking at how you can perform well in your A-Level Accounting exams when you ace the marking scheme of this subject.
How To Get Good Results For Your A-Level Accounting Papers Consistently?
First, let's activate the right mindset for mastering this subject!
Here are 3 core principles that will guarantee you a good score for your A-Level Accounting papers.
Principle 1: Consistent learning routine with the right learning materials
It is very important to get a textbook and a workbook that details the basic accounting principles and concepts if you are learning Accounting for the first time. You should also check if the book follows the current A-Level Accounting syllabus according to the year that you plan to sit for this paper.
If you identify as an audiovisual learner, you can also browse various tutorial videos on Accounting on Youtube and watch them when you are learning a new topic like marginal costing, for example.
Principle 2: Sufficient practice with past year papers and sample questions
It's time to put what you have learnt into actual practice. An effective way to gauge your true understanding is through rounds of past year's questions exercises.
The act of doing past year questions is widely endorsed by teachers and students across all educational levels and nationalities because it seriously works! That's because when you consistently practice doing past year papers, you will develop both confidence and competence when it comes to answering questions with different difficulty levels and structures.
You will also be trained to answer all the questions in the given time, which will help you to train your ability to concentrate and allocate your time accordingly during the actual examination.
Principle 3: Comprehensive understanding of the marking scheme
After completing the past year papers, it is time to grade your answers. If it is your first time, you might be taken aback by the difference in your given answers and the provided marking scheme.
That's totally fine.
It's all about learning from your mistakes so that you can improve the next time.
Through continuous practice and also a thorough analysis of the marking scheme, you will slowly develop the knack to answer well for all the sections and papers. You will eventually know what the examiners are looking for in your answers.
For instance, you discovered that you previously missed the full mark for a four mark calculation question because you have missed certain steps in your working and used the wrong unit for your final answer.
The next time you come across a similar question, you can then plan your workings ahead in terms of listing down the formula and all the operations followed by the workings and the right units before you proceed to the final answer.
Start revising with the best A-Level Accounting learning resources.
What Is The Grading System For Your Overall A-Level Accounting Studies?
Before we dive deep into the marking scheme of A-Level Accounting, let's look at the mark breakdown of each paper on this subject.
You can choose to sit for Paper 1 and Paper 2 only if you are aiming for the AS level qualification. However, most students will sit for all three papers to get the full A-Level qualification throughout their studies.
The usual route: You can choose to take Paper 1 and Paper 2 together during your AS Level in one series and later focus on Paper 3 in another series for the complete Cambridge A-Level qualification.
Another route: You can take all three papers in one examination series and get the qualification.
Paper 1
- If you choose to only sit for the AS level syllabus, the weightage of this paper is 30%.
- If you are aiming to complete the whole A-Level qualification, the weightage of this paper is 15%.
- The paper contains 30 marks for 30 multiple choice questions from the AS level syllabus.
Paper 2
- If you decide to take Paper 2 after Paper 1 for the AS Level qualification, then the weightage of this paper is 70%.
- If you are aiming to complete the whole A-Level qualification, the weightage of this paper is 35%.
- The paper contains 90 marks for four structured questions on financial accounting, cost and management accounting from the AS level syllabus.
Paper 3
- Unlike Paper 1 and Paper 2, Paper 3 is only offered if you want to complete the entire A-Level qualification.
- The weightage for this paper is 50%.
- This paper has the longest test duration among the three papers because it has a total of 6 structured questions.
- The questions are taken from additional topics from the financial accounting and cost and management accounting A-Level syllabus.
- The total mark for this paper is 150 marks where each structured question holds 25 marks.
Photo by Andy Barbour (Pexels)
Note to candidates: Under this 2022 A-Level Accounting syllabus, you can choose to sit for the papers in June or November.
For all the external assessments of these three papers, you are also tested based on these four learning objectives.
- Objective 1: Knowledge and understanding
- Objective 2: Application
- Objective 3: Analysis
- Objective 4: Evaluation
The table below shows the percentage breakdown for each objective that will be tested for the papers.
| Component | Knowledge and understanding | Application | Analysis | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 50% | 32% | 18% | 0% |
| Paper 2 | 24% | 40% | 22% | 14% |
| Paper 3 | 10% | 48% | 30% | 12% |
Learn more about the latest examination format for A-Level Accounting.
Marking Schemes vs Examiners Report, Which One Is More Important?
Apart from the marking scheme, you may have heard of the examiner's report for your A-Level subjects. We highly recommend you get both the marking scheme and the examiner report for your A-Level Accounting revision.
That's because an examiner report offers a different perspective from the marking scheme and provides detailed elaboration for every question in the papers.
Let's look at the characteristics of these two reports.
Marking Scheme Report
- Provides the breakdown of marks for each question.
- Acts as the marking guideline for examiners
- Allows students to see where they have gained/lost their marks
- Students and examiners are able to look at the range of accepted answers for every question
Photo by Alissa De Leva on Unsplash
Examiner Report
- Provides clear and comprehensive comments on the students' performance for each question
- Acts as a reflective guide for students
- Allows students to identify the commonly made mistakes for the questions
- Students are able to gain some insights and tips to answer better
Don't be surprised if you land on some unexpected nuggets of wisdom to score for your A-Level Accounting papers while reviewing them.
Where Can You Access The Complete Marking Scheme For Cambridge A-Level Accounting?
We believe you have caught the main point of this article so far.
A good understanding of the marking scheme for your A-Level Accounting papers will eventually lead to a good outcome in terms of your final results.
This brings us to another question. Where can you get your hands on the marking scheme of these past year papers?
We got you covered on the best platforms to find them.
- Published Marking Schemes On Websites
Firstly, the complete marking schemes reports are usually compiled together with the past year papers collection. You can easily find them on websites such as PastPapers.co and GCE Guide Papers.
They are absolutely free to download too!
- Youtube Tutorial Videos With Sample Questions
Secondly, apart from websites, you can also find many exam resources and sample questions on some of the A-Level Accounting Youtube channels. It's true! You can even find many links on sample questions alongside their making scheme that are listed in the description of the channels.
Furthermore, as you watch various A-Level sample questions online, you can also pay close attention when they are showing you the solutions and explaining the answers. You can also learn some answering techniques in between.
- Direct Grading From Your Accounting Tutor
Last but not the least, you can master the marking scheme of your A-Level Accounting papers with the guidance of a private tutor.
It feels different when you are receiving direct tips and guidance from a tutor that is well versed with the syllabus and marking scheme. At times, you may not understand the context of the marking scheme when you reading it. An Accounting tutor can explain to you in detail on the basis of awarding the marks and also point out your mistakes constructively.
Look no further than Superprof to find a reliable Accounting tutor to guide you in your A-Level Accounting studies.
At Superprof, you can enjoy a personalised and effective learning experience.
You don't have to worry about the quality and quantity of the tutors as you will get the chance to browse a wide selection of tutors that offer quality physical and online lessons on the website before you proceed to hire them.
You can find all these components in the tutors' profiles:
- Their current location and also their availability to teach online
- Their educational background and industrial experience
- Their tutoring experience
- Their hourly and package rate
- Their teaching methodology (how they approach lesson planning and the teaching process)
- The numbers of students that they have taught (if any)
- The reviews of their previous students
- Their response time to your query
Once you have found the perfect tutor that matches your personal preference, you can proceed to contact the tutor via their profile and start discussing the lesson structure, your learning expectation and also payment details.
To have unlimited access to all the tutors at Superprof, you can subscribe to the Student Pass at only RM25 to have the best tutoring experience!
With a Superprof tutor, you are certainly on the right track to taking your A-Level Accounting studies to the next level.
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