Technical and Vocational subjects (Design and Technology, Computer Science, applied studies)
What the paper tests
Design and Technology assesses a Major Design Project and its folio alongside a written paper on design theory, innovation and the impact of technology. Engineering Studies, Software Design and Development and IPT test applied principles and problem-solving. VET courses such as Construction, Hospitality, Entertainment and Business Services are competency-based: you must produce evidence against every element and performance criterion, and results are Competent or Not Yet Competent.
Core rules
- The folio documents the process as it happens: needs analysis, research, criteria for evaluation, testing, and evaluation against those criteria.
- In software questions, read pseudocode line by line and keep a trace table.
- Engineering answers need free-body diagrams or calculations with units.
- VET evidence must be valid, sufficient, current and authentic.
Worked example
Trace this algorithm: total ← 0 FOR i ← 1 TO 5 IF i MOD 2 = 1 THEN total ← total + i END FOR OUTPUT total Iterations: i = 1 (odd) total = 1; i = 2 unchanged; i = 3 total = 4; i = 4 unchanged; i = 5 total = 9. Output 9. The loop runs five times - read the bounds, not the accumulated value.
Traps
Writing the folio retrospectively; testing only typical inputs rather than edge cases; missing units in engineering answers; assuming a VET task is complete because the product works, when the performance criteria also require documentation.