AQA A-Level Business guide FAQ (7132)
Guide overview All 11 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
AQA A-Level Business: questions and answers
Specification 7132. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
Which topics are on which paper?
All of them, on all three. AQA states that each paper can assess any content from the specification. The papers differ in question style rather than in content: multiple choice and essays on Paper 1, three data responses on Paper 2, one case study on Paper 3.
How do I revise for a paper where anything can come up?
By subtopic, across the year, with returns. There is no way to predict which topics a paper will lean on, so the only workable approach is to have all of them retrievable rather than to revise selectively before each one.
Are the quantitative skills covered?
Yes. Break-even and contribution, cash flow forecasts, profitability and liquidity ratios, gearing, investment appraisal including payback, ARR and NPV, capacity utilisation, labour turnover and productivity, decision trees, critical path analysis, and index numbers.
What actually gets marks in the essays?
Applied analysis and judgement, both of which are built from recalled parts: a definition, a model, a figure, a counter-argument. A student who cannot produce those writes around them, which reads plausibly and scores in the lower bands.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Analysing the Strategic Position is 352 questions, so work by subtopic.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. Business marks turn on precise definitions and on working shown for calculations. The method page sets out the evidence.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. The method puts the content into memory. Past papers train the data response, the case study and the essay choice under time. AQA publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 1,819 exam-style questions covering the whole of AQA A-Level Business, with the answers printed after each topic.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. AQA A-Level Business is 7132.
My child says they revise a topic before each paper.
That does not work on this specification. AQA assesses the whole specification on each of the three papers, so selective revision leaves gaps the next question can land on.
How do I know if it is being used properly?
There should be handwritten answers on paper and three passes over the same questions, and two scores per session to compare.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£8.00 for the whole specification. An endorsed A-Level Business textbook is usually £30 to £40.
How much time does the whole course take?
143 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 48 hours for a full first pass, spread across two years.
What else does my child need?
Past papers, free from AQA, a calculator, and their own notes for anything not yet taught.
AQA A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
1,819 questions with their answers, 143 subtopics, one file.