Practical Work
The practical paper is hands-on: Windows and file operations, a Word document to specification, an Excel sheet with formulas and a chart, a short PowerPoint, and a viva on what you actually did.
How practical tasks are marked
Marks follow the process as much as the result: correct file name and folder, correct tool used, correct values typed into formatting or formula boxes, and a file that reopens. A sheet of typed numbers where formulas were demanded earns nothing for the formula component.
A repeatable Excel routine
- Headings in row 1; data from row 2; no blank rows inside the table.
- Total: =SUM(B2:D2). Average: =ROUND(AVERAGE(B2:D2),1).
- Drag the fill handle, then click one copied cell to confirm the references shifted as intended.
- Select the whole table before sorting; never sort one column alone.
- Chart: select the label column and then Ctrl+click the value column, Insert > Column chart, add chart title and axis titles.
Worked example
"Prepare a mark sheet for 5 students in three subjects with total, average, result and a column chart of totals." Reasoning: A1:E1 headings Name, Sub1, Sub2, Sub3, Total; E2 =SUM(B2:D2); F2 =ROUND(AVERAGE(B2:D2),1); G2 =IF(AND(B2>=30,C2>=30,D2>=30),"Pass","Fail") because subject-wise pass is a different rule from aggregate pass - read the wording. For the chart, select A2:A6 and E2:E6 together; otherwise the chart plots every subject or treats names as a series.
Traps
- Saving as .xls or .doc when the paper specifies .xlsx or .docx, or saving in the wrong folder.
- Not renaming Sheet1 and not labelling columns - examiners look for both.
- A copied chart still pointing at the old range.
- An unprepared viva: be ready to name the formula you used and say why.