Practical or Project Work and Viva (Vocational Component)
This domain tests the vocational component: your practical file, your project report, a skill demonstration and the viva. Examiners check that you did the work and can explain it in your own words.
What is assessed
A practical file or portfolio with dated, teacher-signed entries; a project report; a demonstration such as billing, shelf display or a stock count; and an oral viva on the same work.
Project report structure
Title, objective, place of study, method, observations with a data table, analysis, conclusion, recommendations, acknowledgements and annexures with photographs or sample bills. Every number in the report must be traceable to a source you can name.
Viva technique
Answer in order: what you did, why you chose that method, what you found, what you would change. Use your own figures. Be ready for definitions you wrote and for a safety question on the demonstration.
Worked example
A project studies customer footfall at a local kirana store for seven days and records a weekly total of 550 customers. Reasoning: average = 550 ÷ 7 ≈ 78.6 per day, but the daily table shows Saturday near 120 and Tuesday near 45. The conclusion should note the weekly pattern and any festival or rain effect, then recommend rostering extra staff on Saturday - not simply "Saturday is best".
Traps that cost marks
Not knowing your own data; vague answers such as "I learned a lot"; copying conclusions from another report; skipping safety checks during the demonstration; unsigned or undated practical entries.
Key points
- Practical file entries are dated and teacher-signed
- Report: objective, method, data, analysis, conclusion
- Quote your own figures and explain them
- Viva order: what, why, findings, improvements
- Demonstrate safety while performing the task