Writing Your Business Report And The Marking Scheme
A practical programme that appeals to students of all abilities, the Student Enterprise Awards is a national initiative organised by the Local Enterprise Offices, which aims to foster an enterprise culture amongst second level students. Students, like all good entrepreneurs, will discuss their ideas and seek advice from others, however it is important that the report submitted and products & services developed as part of the initiative are indeed the work of the students.
Business Report
So the time has come, to write the Business Report. While it might appear a daunting task, there are plenty of resources available to help.
Knowing what the judges are looking for is a very good guide to what to include in your report and a good report template is the key. The Business Report Template (Senior Category) is a great place to start. As you write your report, you should place close attention to how the marks are awarded in each section – do you know for example how many marks are awarded for Innovation versus Personal Development? Refer to Marking Scheme for details of the marks for each section.
The judges read your report before they ever meet you and a good report will make a great first impression. The judges have a large number of reports to read, so time spent writing an informative and interesting report is time well spent. If the judges remember your report that is half the job done. After that, try to anticipate their questions so that you can answer those questions clearly and you will leave a lasting impression.
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A few pointers:
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Write the key points under each of the prompt questions from the Business Report Template.
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Expand on these key points, to create complete full sentences, but make sure to keep to the point
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Use clear, concise language and make your sentences as snappy as possible.
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Try to vary your language. Avoid using the same words or phrases repeatedly.
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Use proper grammar and punctuation.
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Ensure there are no spelling mistakes.
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Use the same tense throughout the report.
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The printed report should be easy to read, and any photos should be clearly visible.
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Tell your story in your own way.
Marking Scheme
The marking scheme is clear and transparent, and designed to make it fair for everybody involved in the Awards. The judging criteria and marks available, vary for each of the competition categories, so see Marking Scheme - Student Enterprise Programme for an overview, or download the Guidelines & Marking Scheme for a detailed breakdown.
Judges will endeavour to satisfy themselves that each entry represents the student's own work. Where there is evidence of undue outside influence, this is taken into consideration in the marking of any individual project. The judge's decision in this matter is final.
These notes are intended as guidance only. It is important to consider how projects are marked when planning your project, carrying out research, preparing your report etc.
Innovation
Marks in this section are awarded for outlining the methods used for ideas generation, the level of innovation of the product or service, or innovative methods used for marketing or selling of the product or service. In addition, marks are awarded for product or service research & development.
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Tell them where you got the idea and how you made it your own. What did you do that was different to somebody in a similar business?
Product/Service
Judges will be checking on the quality of the product or service. If it is a product, it should be appealing, well finished, with good quality control procedures in place and appropriate for its intended use. If it is a service business then it is important to show consistent high quality of delivery of the service and what checks are in place to guarantee this.
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Did you do quality checks on the product? Quality control reports should be included so that you can show what changes needed to be made to the product to make sure it was of good quality. This shows that you thought about giving good value for money and thought maybe about safety aspects of what you were selling.
Marketing
Marks will be awarded for evidence of market research including questionnaires, findings etc. In addition students should have a clearly defined marketing plan and evidence of how the marketing plan has been and continues to be refined to meet customer requirements in response to the market research findings.
Remember that marketing is about getting people to want to buy your product and selling is about getting them to actually buy it. Explain how you made your product appealing and how you made sure that people would want to part with their money for it.
Sales
Marks are awarded for the level of revenue generated by students through sales of their product/service during the academic year of the business. If a Student Enterprise demonstrates a high level of innovation without adequate sales, they will lose marks in this section of the marking scheme.
Finances
This is a very important section of the report. Marks are available for a forecast or budget showing the projected income and expenditure for the business.
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This does not have to match with the actual performance of the business, however students should identify where and how the differences arose. Clearly showing how the product or service was priced, and for a profit & loss account showing the actual performance of the business also earn marks.
Forecasting is about telling how much money you might make if you continued to run the business for a little while extra. This can actually be quite easily done, if you give it a go. Often marks are not awarded because this is not done.
Business Report
Marks are awarded for demonstrating the business structure used and the role each person played in the business. Charts are, for example, a good way of illustrating this.
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While Business performance is very important for all entrepreneurs, the Student Enterprise Awards do not allocate a high number of marks in this section. This is to ensure that any student with an innovative product/service is not disadvantaged, and also that no advantage is gained by any student who might consider inflating the figures in relation to performance.
All businesses experience difficulties, and marks are awarded for demonstrating how these difficulties were overcome. You are the only person who knows what was involved, what problems were overcome and what gave a great sense of achievement. Therefore only you can tell the story for the judges to read, so remember to tell it how it was.
Exhibition Stand & Interview
Visual display is awarded marks, as it is very important and creates an overall impression of the business. There is a special prize awarded for best display.
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Marks are also awarded for techniques used, this might include a very brief PowerPoint presentation, use of video, CD Player, demonstrations etc.
In addition, marks are awarded for interview skills. The purpose of the interview is to determine the students’ knowledge of the project, business and life skills developed, and in the case of groups, how they worked together.
Learning Experience
Students who learned from the experience will be motivated. The learning for each student will vary. Students should demonstrate what they learned from their experience of Student Enterprise Awards.
We know that the whole process creates challenges and you should tell the story as it was as this is what the judges expect and what they give marks for.