Level 2 English for Business

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LCCI International Qualifications

Annual Qualification Review

2011

CONTENTS

Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Pass Rate Statistics.......................................................................................................... 1 General Strengths and Weaknesses................................................................................ 1 Teaching Points by Syllabus Topic 3 Further Guidance ............................................................................................................. 7 Examples of Candidate Responses ........................................................................... 8

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INTRODUCTION

The annual qualification review provides qualification-specific support and guidance to centres. This information is designed to help teachers preparing to teach the subject and to help candidates preparing to take the examination. The reviews are published in September and take into account candidate performance, demonstrated in both on demand and series examinations, over the preceding 12 months. Global pass rates are published so you can measure the performance of your centre against these. The review identifies candidate strengths and weaknesses by syllabus topic area and provides examples of good and poorer candidate responses. It should therefore be read in conjunction with details of the structure and learning objectives contained within the syllabus for the qualification found on the website. The review also identifies any actual or proposed changes to the syllabus or question types together with their implications.

PASS RATE STATISTICS The following statistics are based on the performance of candidates who took this qualification between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2011. Global pass rate 91.27% Grade distributions Pass 12.69% Credit 41.12% Distinction 46.19%

GENERAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Strengths

formal layout of answers especially of: - answers requiring a memo - answers requiring a report

selection of information answers to Question 2 – the letter appropriate tone setting in answers especially in

- memos reprimanding staff - letters placating customers

Weaknesses

lack of planning to answers lack of checking for errors after writing answers wholesale copying from questions retention of given, inappropriate vocabulary and grammatical structures inaccuracies in grammar poor organisation of messages

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insufficient attention to specific instructions and recommendations stated on the question paper e.g. - “Remember that in Question 3 you should use your own words whenever

possible.” - “We prefer articles to be 4 or 5 paragraphs long.” - “Write in connected English.” - “I don’t want a leaflet that has the information scattered over the page.”

failure to follow guidance given in the Specification: - “Question 3 is a reformulation task ...” - “Question 1 involves an extended writing task ...”

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TEACHING POINTS BY SYLLABUS TOPIC

The comments and teaching points remain almost unchanged from those made last year. SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 1 LETTER It is clear that centres have taught candidates the importance of letter writing even in a modern business-world of electronic forms of message. Specific recommendations for improvement are that candidates need to: plan their answers.

(This is true of all answers but particularly so of LETTERS and LISTS)

make certain that the content of the letter DIRECTLY ANSWERS the points raised in the incoming letter

match the greeting and the close: Dear Sir/Madam/Sirs plus Yours faithfully Dear Name plus Yours sincerely SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 2 LEAFLET With the exception perhaps of answers to Question 3, the leaflet is often the weakest answer offered by candidates. Often, candidates unsystematically “scatter” words directly taken from the question without trying to link the ideas or to form them into a coherent message. Such answers fail. The teaching points for the candidates are: “Scattered” answers do not answer the question adequately Full sentences are not always needed in leaflets and notices but there has to be a

LOGICAL SEQUENCE to the message and the information given in the question will need to be REWORDED and GROUPED logically.

The purpose of the leaflet needs to be unambiguous. Candidates should bear in mind at whom the leaflet is aimed, what the intended outcome of the message is, and what their own reaction would be, if they received the leaflet. The following simple questions may help them to judge their own answers:

“Is the leaflet understandable?” “Does the leaflet make its points unambiguously?” “Does this leaflet fulfil the following requirement stated in the ‘Specification’: ‘Question 1 involves an extended writing task ...’?” “Is there enough evidence of the candidate’s own English ability for an examiner to make a valid and reliable assessment of its quality?”

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SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 3 REPORT This is a popular choice and the method of writing a report remains well taught and learned. The most frequent problem is failure to allocate the material adequately to the chosen headings. The recommended textbook for English for Business Level Two is LCCI English for Business Level 2 Testbuilder published by MacMillan ISBN 978-0-230-73387-9 and it suggests the use of one format in preference to others. Some teachers, quite correctly, say that other formats are now more current, for example the memo-style report. For EfB2 any report format is acceptable. However, the “Terms of Reference” style continues to be the layout that is recommended. Once this format is learned, a report almost writes itself. The headings always need the same type of content. The teaching points are:

a report must be STRUCTURED APPROPRIATELY whichever format is used, candidates should know what material to ALLOCATE to

the HEADINGS the recommended style is:

TITLE (simply and briefly summing up of the subject of the report) TERMS OF REFERENCE (stating the subject of report, who wants it, and by when)

PROCEDURE/PROCEEDINGS (explaining how the data is collected) FINDINGS (giving the ‘bare’ findings without comment on them) CONCLUSIONS (offering an interpretation of the findings) RECOMMENDATIONS (stating what should be done) NAME of the person making the report DATE on which the report is written.

SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 4 ARTICLE The article is not a popular choice. (Very occasionally Question 3 requires an article and then obviously there is no choice.) Some very basic problems frequently appear such as sentence formation and paragraphing. The teaching points are: candidates are expected to be able to FORM SENTENCES adequately – subject plus

verb etc paragraphing is also expected – not necessarily topic sentence type, but EACH

PARAGRAPH should have a “theme” or “TOPIC”

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often the question asks for 4 to 5 paragraphs equating with the COMMON PATTERN of an introductory paragraph with 2 or 3 topic paragraphs and a final “sum up” paragraph.

SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 5 LIST or STRUCTURED NOTES This type of task is asked for in QUESTION THREE and it is always an exercise in REFORMULATION and REWORDING. The word LIST is intended to be read very loosely. Grouping of material, headings, sub-headings that are often associated with structured notes etc are welcome. Numbers, bullets etc can be useful tools. The teaching points are that candidates should: make NOTES of the important statements from the passage. (Some candidates may

benefit from being reminded that a “list of main points” from an article etc infers that the list will be shorter than the original!)

ORGANISE the notes into a structure, possibly sets of grouped points REWORD the selected points appropriately CHECK the GRAMMATICAL CONSISTENCY of bulleted points etc. SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 6 MEMO The memo is by far the most chosen option in Question 1 and its techniques are often well understood by candidates. The teaching points are: a memo usually needs to be PARAGRAPHED numbers and/or bullet points may be used but each set should ordinarily be introduced by

a statement of introduction a memo’s message should be SUCCINCT - “to the point” and brief without being terse candidates should take care identifying the sender, recipient and subject

the message part of a memo needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. SYLLABUS TOPIC AREA 7 NOTICE The comments and notes on how to approach a question asking for a notice to be written are virtually identical to those for a leaflet. Sometimes, candidates unsystematically “scatter” words directly taken from the question without any attempt to link the ideas or to form them into a coherent message. Such answers fail.

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The teaching points for the candidates are: “Scattered” answers do not answer the question adequately Full sentences are not always needed in leaflets and notices but there has to be a

LOGICAL SEQUENCE to the message and the information given in the question will almost certainly need to be REWORDED and GROUPED logically.

The purpose of the notice needs to be unambiguous. Candidates should bear in mind at whom the notice is aimed, what the intended outcome of the message is, and how effective their notice would be in ‘real life’. The following simple questions may help them to judge their own answers:

“Is the notice understandable?” “Does the notice make its points unambiguously?”

“Does this notice fulfil the following requirement stated in the ‘Specification’: ‘Question 1 involves an extended writing task ...’?” “Is there enough evidence of the candidate’s own English ability for an examiner to make a valid and reliable assessment of its quality?”

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FURTHER GUIDANCE

Planning answers A frequent comment from examiners of EfB2 is that there is very little evidence of candidates planning their answers. The time allocation is sufficient for candidates: to read all the questions thoroughly to select the information needed for the answer to decide on an appropriate format and layout to organise the information logically to choose suitable vocabulary and grammatical structures to write the answer to check the answer for errors and to correct them. It is emphasised that some candidates who fail, do so not because of inadequate English but because of inadequate planning. Organising information In addition to the general approach to planning an answer that is given above, it is also helpful for candidates to remember that most types of business communication benefit from having: a beginning in which some form of introduction is given, possibly outlining the background

or reason for the message a logically ordered middle section that gives the details of the information clearly

and concisely

an ending that closes the message by summing up the message very precisely or in

some other way ‘rounds off’ the communication.

Changing the given vocabulary and grammatical structures: If candidates make definite, obvious attempts to use vocabulary and grammar appropriately and sensibly, occasional repetitions of given words and structures are expected and accepted. What cannot be accepted is any answer that is really a collection of phrases and sentences copied directly from the question. Such answers do not give sufficient evidence for examiners to judge the candidate’s ability to write a message in English and therefore heavily copied answers to any question will fail.

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EXAMPLES OF CANDIDATE RESPONSES

The examples are answers to Question 3 of the Series 3 2011 question paper. QUESTION 3 Series 3 2011: Setting A local college has asked you to talk to students of Business Studies about what businesses can do so that their customers are satisfied with the services they receive. In a magazine, you read the following extract from an article and decide to write a list of its main points to help you in planning your talk.

TAKE THAT ‘EXTRA STEP’. Successful business relies on good customer service. If you’re a skilful salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone - once. But it will be your approach to customer service that decides whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell anything else to that person. How do you go about giving good customer service? Firstly, you have to remember the main motto, which is: “You will be judged by what you do, not by what you say you will do.” Words are easy but helpful actions are much more difficult and, at the same time, much more effective in impressing customers. Another important piece of advice is, “Don’t make promises unless you will keep them”. Notice that I did not say ‘plan to keep them’, but ‘will keep them.’ If you say, “Your new office furniture will be delivered on Tuesday”, make sure it is delivered on that day. Listen to your customers. Show them that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting possible solutions to a problem or giving sensible advice to guide a customer’s decision in such a way that he or she feels that your advice is genuine, and not based on what you want to sell to him or her.

Make sure you train your staff to be helpful and to know everything about what you supply, or sell ... I always remember being in a supermarket and looking for an ingredient. I had forgotten its name. One of the supermarket’s assistants not only worked out what I was searching for, but she actually took me to the place where it was displayed. Genuine advice and real help. That’s

right – I still shop at that same supermarket.

Task Write the list of the main points from the article.

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Before looking at the answers given by the candidates and determining how good the answers are, bear in mind: 1. This is an example of EfB2 question 3 and the following instruction to candidates, written

in bold above the main body of the question, is central to answering the question adequately:

In answering Question 3, remember that it is very important to use your own words

whenever possible, and to organise the list of main points in a logical way. 2. Candidates who don’t follow either element of the instruction above are unlikely to pass. It

is essential for high marks that the list is reworked both in the organisation of the selected points and in their expression.

3. Information for inclusion in the list needs to be selective. The question asks for a list of

MAIN points, not all the points. 4. Information that is not given in the source article must not be added. 5. Grouping the selected points is a good approach to layout, but any logical, sequential

organisation is acceptable. 6. Candidates should provide a title to their list. This can be something like: A list of the main points from the article: “Article’s Name”. or A title that embodies the general picture of the article. 7. Simply using the given title, without introducing it in the way shown in recommendation 5,

will not score any marks. 8. The points may be written in proper sentences, note-form, or in a combination of the two. 9. It is most important, however, that the grouped bullet points and/or numbers are

grammatically consistent. The following are genuine reproductions of what was written by candidates as answers to this question.

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Answer A – Fail Response

TAKE THAT EXTRA STEP Remember - successful busnisses rely on good customer service. - selling anything to anyone - You will be judged by what you are doing - Helpfull actions more difficult - impressing your costumers. - Dont make promisses unless keep them - Make sure it is delivered. - Listening to customers is good - Not based on selling him something he not want - Train staff - taking him where it is sold

Discussion of answer A: The answer has good points: There is a title Bullet points have been used.

However, there are many weaknesses. The message is very faltering and does not always communicate adequately eg taking

him where it is sold. The sequence of points is virtually the one given in the question. There is heavy reliance on given words and phrases. The title is the same as used in the original passage. The bulleted points are not grammatically consistent. Much of the copying is presented with the same grammar as in the original with no

attempt to make it apt for the list. There are several grammar faults, spelling errors and lack of sentence formation. To reach the pass mark, answers must communicate the message more fluently, correctly, and with far less reliance on given vocabulary etc.

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Answer B – Distinction Response

Only one sales-technique really matters.

There are many sales methods for selling a service or a product once, but to have lasting, repeat sales: LOOK AFTER EACH AND EVERY CUSTOMER is the single most important technique. Concentrate on customer service by putting customers first and # analysing their preferences # learning what your customers want by - genuinely listening to them - asking helpful questions so that any advice is customer-based # acting to give them satisfaction # ignoring possible profit for the salesperson and/or the company # having staff that is well trained - to be knowledgeable about the firm’s products/services - to be super helpful - to be fully aware of the emphasis on customer service.

Discussion of answer B: Answer B has some faults but they are minor eg: In the second line of the message LOOKING would probably be preferable to LOOK. The use of super in the penultimate point is perhaps colloquial. The bullet point acting to give them satisfaction is very slightly ambiguous and unclear. However, the response is sufficiently good to be used as a model on which to base an answer to the question set. The strengths of the answer are many and show great thought, knowledge and skill. the expression of the article is very fluent the list communicates its message excellently the facts are incorporated into a logical structure and a grouped sequence the candidate has obviously linked ideas of the original together so that the answer is

logical, concise and precise the answer is not just a distinction level answer; it gains close to full marks.

Here is a further example of a candidate’s answer to the same question.

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Answer C – Credit Response How to satisfy your customers Here is a list about customer satisfaction: Have good customer satisfaction.

Know how to approach customers.

Impress customers by your actions, not your talking.

do not deliver goods at the wrong time.

Listen to customers.

Let your words of response show you are listening.

Don’t concentrate on your own interest; give the advice honestly.

make sure staff is constantly knowledgeable on your products.

make sure staff know your policy of satisfying customers not themselves.

Discussion of answer C: There are some areas that could be improved e.g. The link between customer satisfaction and sales is not explicit. There is some closeness to given wording and structure. Some areas are not completely clear: satisfying customers not themselves. Here is a list about customer satisfaction is a weak introduction to the bulleted points. The candidate seems unsure whether to use upper or lower case letters for the first letter

of the first word of each bulleted point. but, as a Second Level answer, it is much better than a ‘basic’ pass: The message contains the main elements of the given passage. The required information is mostly expressed clearly, if very simply. The list is generally organised and structured. The word choice and the phrasing are mainly the candidate’s own. The English is relatively free of errors.

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Answer D – Pass Response

A list of the main points from the article “Take That Extra Step”. 1. Main Preparation: - Have high sales qualification. - Concentrate on costumers. - Keeping promises. 2. How To Do It: - Listening to costumers. - Showing you care not only saying it. - Deeds are highest not words. - Advice to help costumer be genuine. 3. Training staff - Keeping them up to date with your products. - To follow your commands on how to treat costumers.

Discussion of answer D: There are several good points to the answer: The layout makes the answer look clear. The subheadings provide a framework-analysis for the content, despite the lack of clear

expression in some subheadings. The title is acceptable since it correctly states on what the list is based. There are also several weaknesses: The first subheading is not clear. The first point of the first section is incorrect. Customer is spelled wrongly throughout the list. The bulleted points are not grammatically consistent. Some word choice is not quite right eg command and highest. The be in the final point of group 2 is not correct.

Despite the weaknesses, the answer communicates the ‘basic’ message and the errors do not hinder the understanding of what is written. The answer therefore warrants a pass at EfB Second Level.

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