Too many students try to wing their practical exams. I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to go through past practical papers in preparation for your practical assessments. Here are some important tips highlighting aspects that are often neglected.
1. General
Your AS-level assessments are divided into 2 exam papers:
- Paper 1: Theory
- Paper 2: Practical
Papers 2 is a practical assessment using a computer. You will receive a printed question paper and complete the assessment on a computer.
Whilst you must complete all questions in all papers, for your practical papers you may want to work on some questions before others or follow the instructions for a specific question in a slightly different order. The most important thing is to read the entire question before you attempt it.
2. You must swear to…
- Modify the View settings in File Explorer to display file extensions
- Switch your rulers on and activate Show/Hide in Word
3. Footers, footers, everywhere
Your full name, candidate number and center number must appear on every printed sheet. This means you must be comfortable with (headers &) footers in:
4. Importing Data
The data you will need for Excel and Access will be provided in various types of files. Data is usually provided in CSV format, but I have seen data provided as tab-delimited text files as well as a table in an .RTF file. You must be well-versed in working with data in any of these formats. You must understand:
- CSV is a text file format — NOT a spreadsheet (Excel) format
- The file extension for CSV data could be .csv or .txt — this is why you must inspect your data before you attempt to import it!
- When working on spreadsheet questions, you must open the CSV with Excel and then save it with the latest Excel file format, i.e. .xlsx
- How to import data from CSV into Access with ease (including working with non-standard Regional Settings)
I have also seen data for a database supplied as a mixture of file formats with the instruction to prepare the data in one spreadsheet, ready for import.
The bottom line is that you need to be comfortable manipulating data in all different formats.
5. Data Dictionary
Don’t let fancy terminology freak you out. A Data Dictionary is the documentation for a database. The Data dictionary specifies all the technical information about the design of your database.
If you are a private candidate, please contact your Exam Center as early as possible to confirm what software they will have installed on their computers.
6. See also…
coming soon…
References:
- Syllabus Cambridge IGCSE Information and Communication Technology 0417 (no date) Cambridge Assessment International Education. Available at: https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/595352-2023-2025-syllabus.pdf (Accessed: 04 October 2023).