Practical and Project Work
Practical and Project Work tests whether you can plan, build and explain a small computing artefact, and whether your lab work is documented. Marks come from process, correctness, presentation and viva answers, not just the final file.
Core rules
- Follow a project cycle: define the problem and scope, plan tasks, collect and verify data, create the artefact (document, spreadsheet, presentation or simple program), test it, document it, and present it.
- Keep a lab file with dated records: aim, requirements, steps, screenshots or outputs, errors and fixes, and a conclusion. Save versions with clear names such as project_v1.xlsx.
- Use citations for text, images and data. Record the author, title, source and date accessed. Use only licensed or permitted material.
- Back up to at least two locations (local and cloud) and test that the backup opens. Check spelling, alignment, chart labels and slide order before submission.
- In a viva, explain why you chose a formula, chart, layout or source, and what you would improve. Be ready to demonstrate a small change live.
Worked example
Project: 'Water use in my school.' Plan: survey 20 students, record litres used per day in a spreadsheet, calculate the average with =AVERAGE(B2:B21), create a column chart, and present findings in 5 slides. Reasoning: the survey defines the data; the formula summarises it; the chart compares categories visually; the slides state method, result, limitation and recommendation. Document the sample size and date, because a chart without context can mislead.
Traps
- Copying a website into the project without citation; this is plagiarism.
- Submitting only the final file with no process record or backup.
- Using a chart type that does not fit the data, such as pie for many categories.
- Leaving default titles such as 'Chart 1' or unlabelled axes.
- Being unable to explain your own formulas or sources in the viva.