Hi , I did this paper (cp3 2020 sept) and I have a question regarding the visual aids/table. Ques 1) Since in the question paper it was mentioned the marketing team's main focus is on `profit before tax' so I understand that in the examiners report a graph showing before and after profit values were shown . I wanted to confirm my approach . I believe that the marketing team will be quite comfortable with numbers/figures.Hence I chose to showcase the profit figures before and after in a table including the % increase in the profit after the changes suggested by Head of Products. I made a similar table for before and after for the policies at the end of the year and % increase . So will this approach of making a table instead of graph be appropriate or is a graph necessary? I have 2 questions in x2 assignment 1) I noticed in x2 assignment that in marking scheme it was mentioned that maximum marks were given in including graphs if there are 3 graphs and 1 mark less if there are only 2 graphs and so on. Is there a certain number/ criteria on no. of graphs . Didn't find it in recent examiners report hence asking. 2) Instead of having one graph for every product in x2 assignment and then additionally pie charts for profit ( total 5 graphs in a report) ,Would one graph for sales comparison and one graph for market share comparison suffice ? I also included the profit in a sentence for each product separately . Is this approach suitable ? General question: 1) I noticed that in recent examination there is no need to mention address anywhere , but in 2017 (sept ) and 2018 attempts I noticed an indication of writing address before the Introduction section . So do we need to write the address at the top or bottom ? 2) Also the date that we mention can be mentioned as any date close by or just writing '<Date>' suffice? Sorry for the long message
A table rather than a chart would normally be awarded some credit as an alternative visual aid. However, would recommend looking for opportunities to use a graph in the first instance (unless clearly inappropriate) since it is generally easier to understand key messages (eg trends / changes / comparisons) from a graphical representation than from just the numbers.
What might constitute an 'appropriate' number of visual aids will vary from question to question, so you need to decide what is needed in order to illustrate the key messages required. Don't worry about this overly: the ease with which the reader can understand the key messages you need to communicate is much more important than whether you decide to include two or three graphs. Just remember that graphs can very much help with getting across these key messages.
That sounds OK - other than that rather than including several numbers within sentences (if I have understood this correctly), do think about whether they would be better illustrated in a visual aid. Reading sentences with several numbers in can be hard going, and it is normally much easier to get across the key messages you are trying to impart about those figures by using a visual aid.
If the format is a letter, than it would be appropriate to include the address at the top. See pages 125 and 126 of the course notes for an illustration of what would be expected in the header. Having said that, it is fine to simply indicate that this is where the address would be, rather than writing an address out in full or having to make one up. Similarly just writing <Date> should be fine.
Thank you so much for the reply . Just 2 more question . I saw the the illustrations for report and the order mentioned was : Title Introduction Executive Summary Main text Conclusion Recommendations 1)Can you explain is it necessary to write executive summary ? In X1 assignment the sample answer starts with executive summary and there is no introduction and conclusion in it . So is executive summary replacement of both introduction and conclusion but according to the format given in the text above it doesn't seem so. Can you explain the purpose of it and when is it used? 2) Is it necessary to write recommendations ? Sometimes its mentioned don't give any opinion so in that case it wouldn't be advisable to write them right?
Apologies, but I am not sure where you saw these illustrations? In the ActEd course notes (pages 128 to 129), we explain that you can either do a report with an executive summary style (in which case, we have just Heading, Executive Summary, Main text) OR without (in which case, we have Heading, Introduction, Main text, Conclusion). Page 128 of the course notes sets out what to consider when deciding whether or not to take the executive summary route. The inclusion or otherwise of recommendations is covered in the course notes on pages 130-131. As it says there, only include them if applicable.
Sorry , I just checked I was using an older version of Acted Course Notes . I saw the structure you mentioned in the upgrades pdf . Thank you so much for all the replies!
