How to get good grades

How to get good grades

Grade A

When designing and making products, and acquiring and applying knowledge, skills and understanding, candidates seek out and use information to help their detailed design thinking, and recognise the needs of a variety of client groups. They are discriminating in their selection and use of information sources to support their work and they use a wide range of strategies to develop appropriate ideas, responding to information they have identified.

Candidates investigate form, function and production processes and communicate ideas using a variety of appropriate media. They recognise the different needs of a range of users when developing fully realistic designs. When planning, they make sound decisions on materials and techniques based on their understanding of the physical properties and working characteristics of materials. They work from formal plans that make the best use of time and resources; work with a range of tools, equipment, materials and components to a high degree of precision and make products that are reliable and robust and that fully meet the quality requirements given in the design proposal.

Candidates identify conflicting demands on their design, explain how their ideas address these demands and use this analysis to produce proposals. They identify a broad range of criteria for evaluating and testing their products, clearly relating their findings to the purpose for which the products were designed and the appropriate use of resources, and fully evaluate their use of information sources

Grade C

When designing and making products, and acquiring and applying knowledge, skills and understanding, candidates use a wide range of appropriate sources of information and strategies to develop ideas, responding to information they have identified. They investigate form, function and production processes and communicate ideas,

using appropriate media.

Candidates recognise the needs of users and develop realistic designs. They produce plans that make use of time and resources to carry out the main stages of making products. They work with a range of tools, materials, equipment, components and processes, taking account of their characteristics, and organise their work so that they can carry out processes accurately and consistently, and use tools, equipment, materials and components with precision. Candidates adapt their methods of manufacture to changing circumstances, providing a sound explanation for any change from the initial specification. They select appropriate techniques to test and evaluate how their products would perform when used and modify their products in the light of ongoing evaluation to improve their performance. They evaluate their use of information sources.

.

Factors leading to higher grades include

· Projects that stretch the candidate in terms of overall difficulty (concept, skills, techniques)

· The design development of the product is clearly shown and reasons arc given for decisions made

· Clear, dimensioned views, using CAD, are offered to aid manufacture

· Less time is spent on the folder than the making

· Quality of manufacture and finish is appropriate and of high quality

· Awareness of CAM is shown in parts of the project

· CAM is used to aid manufacture, if appropriate

· Consideration is given to commercial market needs and a system is suggested to produce the product in numbers.

· Projects are reviewed and tested throughout the making process (project diary)