Edexcel International A Level Business: Source-Booklet Technique Across Four Units

Edexcel International A Level Business (YBS11) is modular: four externally assessed units, each 2 hours, 80 marks and 25% of the full IAL. Units 1 (Marketing and People) and 2 (Managing Business Activities) form the International Advanced Subsidiary; Units 3 (Business Decisions and Strategy) and 4 (Global Business) complete the full IAL. Their internal structure differs. In Units 1 and 2, Sections A and B are short- and extended-response questions based on different source booklets (30 marks each), and Section C is a single 20-mark essay drawn from a source. In Units 3 and 4, Section A is short and extended responses based on sources (40 marks), and Sections B and C are each a single 20-mark essay question. These notes complement the site’s guides to Marketing and People and Managing Business Activities.

The A2 units shift weight from short answers to essays

In Units 1 and 2, 60 of 80 marks come from source-based short and extended responses and 20 from a single essay. In Units 3 and 4, 40 marks come from source-based responses and 40 from two essays. Exam-preparation priority: recognise that the A2 units require twice as much sustained essay writing, and practise accordingly. Candidates who carry AS habits into A2 typically over-invest in the data sections and leave the second essay thin.

Two different source booklets in Units 1 and 2 means two different contexts

Sections A and B of the AS units draw on different sources. That is easy to miss under pressure, and answering Section B using the Section A business is an expensive error. Exam-preparation priority: build the habit of noting, at the top of each section, which business you are now writing about.

Everything is source-based – so context is not optional

Across all four units, questions are anchored to supplied material about a real or realistic business. An answer that could have been written without reading the source is not answering the question. Exam-preparation priority: practise extracting three specific facts from a source before writing – the sector, the scale, and one constraint the business faces – and refer to at least one of them in every developed point.

Quantitative material in sources is there to be used

Business sources routinely contain figures: market share, margins, growth rates, costs. Exam- preparation priority: practise calculating from them – a percentage change, a break-even point, a margin – and then interpreting the result rather than merely quoting it. A calculation that is performed and then not used in the argument earns the arithmetic marks and stops there.

Twenty-mark essays need a judgement, and the judgement needs a criterion

The essay questions reward a supported evaluation, not a survey of considerations. Exam-preparation priority: practise stating the criterion on which you are judging – profitability, survival, stakeholder impact, time horizon – before evaluating against it. “It depends” is only creditable when followed by what it depends on and why that factor is decisive here.

Worked routine: a 20-mark essay from a source

The routine below is an original model written for this resource, not a reproduction of any official past paper, source booklet or mark scheme.

Minutes 0-3: read the source for the essay and note three facts
Sector, scale, and the specific pressure the business is under.

Minutes 3-5: decide the judgement and the criterion
"On balance yes, judged by long-run competitiveness rather than
short-run margin."

Minutes 5-12: the case for
Two developed points. Each: the argument, one fact from the
source, and the consequence for THIS business.

Minutes 12-18: the case against, plus what it depends on
The strongest counter-argument, then the specific factor that
decides between them (market conditions, cash position, time
horizon).

Minutes 18-20: conclusion
Return to the criterion set at minute 3 and state the judgement
against it.

Setting the criterion at the start is what turns a balanced discussion into an evaluation: without it, the concluding paragraph has nothing to weigh against.

Before/during exam checklist

• Before the exams: practise twice as much essay writing for Units 3 and 4 as for Units 1 and 2; practise calculating from source data and then interpreting the result; rehearse stating a judgement criterion before evaluating.
• During Units 1 and 2: note at the top of each section which business the source describes – Sections A and B use different booklets.
• In every developed point: refer to a specific fact from the source rather than to business theory in general.
• In every essay: set the criterion first, argue both sides, say what the answer depends on, and conclude against the criterion.

Self-test

1. How does the mark distribution differ between the AS units and the A2 units?
2. What is the specific trap in Units 1 and 2’s Sections A and B?
3. What should be done with a figure calculated from a source?
4. What makes “it depends” creditable rather than evasive?

Answers: 1. Units 1 and 2 give 60 marks to source-based short and extended responses and 20 to one essay; Units 3 and 4 give 40 to source-based responses and 40 to two essays – twice the sustained essay writing. 2. They draw on different source booklets, so answering Section B using the Section A business is an easy and costly error. 3. Interpret it – state what the figure means for the business’s decision – rather than quoting it and moving on. 4. When it is followed by the specific factor the answer turns on and an explanation of why that factor is decisive in this case.

Written against the Pearson Edexcel International Advanced Level Business specification (official specification PDF, Issue 1, September 2017, verified 2026-08-28). The essay routine above is an original model written for this resource, not a reproduction of any official past paper, source booklet or mark scheme. Always check the current specification for your examination series at qualifications.pearson.com.