Guidelines for answering Paper 2

Paper 2 is always based on an unseen article. The questions asked, however, are always the
same. Below, you will see the questions that are always asked in Paper 2 and the guidelines to
answer them. It will take time to remember all these guidelines, but practice will do the trick!

Criterion A: (4 marks)

1.(a) Describe one social/ethical concerns related to the IT system in the article.

How to answer:
● Identify the ​NEGATIVE​ concern (social or ethical issue). Use the social/ethical issues or
concerns listed in the ITGS subject guide such as reliability, integrity, security, etc.
● Now describe the ​impact​ of this concern ​(impact= result/consequence/outcome/effect)​.
(1 mark will be assigned to each of the above. Total for this question is 2 marks)

1. (b) Describe the relationship of one primary stakeholder to the IT system in the article.

How to answer:
● Identify the PRIMARY stakeholder (​who​). Examples are the specific user, the specific
organization, the product developer, etc.
● Then describe the relationship. This means you must cover the​ what and where ​this
stakeholder uses this IT system (2 marks)
What​: meaning what parts of the IT systems is the primary stakeholder using. For example,
what type of hardware is the user using? What software? Network? etc.
Where​: meaning where is the primary stakeholder using the IT system. For example, where is
data going to be stored?

Criterion B: 6 marks
2.(a). Describe, step by step, how the IT system works. (4 marks)

How to answer:
● Include a​ detailed​ and ​logical​ ​step by step​ process. Try to add ​all​ that is already
mentioned in the article.
● Now include 3 developments. This means 3 more additional pieces of information related
to how the system works that are not included in the article.
● If you don’t add any additional steps or pieces of information to the ones already
mentioned in the article, you will only get 2 marks for this question.
● You can get a full mark (4 marks for this question) only if you include ​3 developments
on what is already included in the article.
2. (b) Explain the relationship between the IT system and the social/ethical concern described in
Criterion A. (2 marks)

How to answer:
● Use the same concern (negative) that you used in A
● Explain (give detailed reasons) of “​HOW​” and “​WHY​” this is a concern when using the IT
system.
● How​: means how is the concern you mentioned in Criterion A an actual concern that is
caused by the use of the IT system. For example, there is a privacy concern in ​logging
into your private email account using a public device where there is a chance there is a
spyware to save your login credentials.
● WHY​: means why this is a real concern. For example, the privacy concern of logging into
your email account from a public device ​because if anyone gets access to private
emails, there is a risk of identity theft, access to personal information, pictures, bank
accounts etc. This is a threat to the owner’s private information to be shared.

Criterion C: ​Evaluate the impact of the social/ethical issues on the relevant stakeholders. (8
marks)

How to answer:
Plan your response first:
● Start with listing the stakeholders you will use in your response. You need more than one
and they don’t have to be primary stakeholders only.
● List all social and ethical issues that you can think of (+ve and -ve) (you need at least 2
-ve and 1 +ve for each stakeholder).
When you write your response:
● Organize your response in paragraphs according to stakeholders.
● In each paragraph, ​evaluate the impacts​ of the related social/ethical issues on relevant
stakeholders. For evaluating the impacts, you start by describing each impact first and
then make a connection/comparison between them.
● Remember that impact means: outcome, consequence, result, effect.
● Use references from the article (for example a concern that was mentioned in the article)
and ​then build upon it​.
● Add a connection between stakeholders and issues when possible.
● Provide a conclusion with a weighted opinion that states if you think the strengths
outweigh the limitation or not.
Criterion D: ​Evaluate one possible solution that addresses at least one problem identified in
Criterion C (8 marks)

How to answer:
● Point out the problem mentioned in C that you are about to solve
● Identify ONE solution
● Describe this solution in details of “​who, what ​and​ where​”
● Evaluate the solution (​+ve and -ve​). You need at least 2 positive and 1 negative.
● At the end, add a ​conclusion​ and include a ​future development​ (that would solve one or
more of the -ve points that you discussed in your evaluation).