Cambridge 9609 Business Paper 4: How to Build Strong Evaluation
Paper 4 is where Cambridge Business becomes genuinely strategic. Knowing a framework is useful, but high-quality answers depend on whether you can use evidence, connect different areas of the business and reach a justified recommendation.
Strategy tools are not conclusions
A common mistake is to treat SWOT, Ansoff, Porter's Five Forces, force field analysis or decision trees as if completing the framework automatically gives the answer.
It does not.
A strategy tool organises evidence. Management still has to decide what matters most, whether the data is reliable, how the business will implement the decision and what risks remain.
Start with the strategic decision
Before writing, state in your own mind what management is actually deciding.
Is the business choosing a growth strategy? Entering a new market? Changing its HR approach? Responding to competitive pressure? Deciding whether a particular strategic tool is sufficient?
Once the decision is clear, the case evidence becomes easier to select.
Use evidence selectively
You do not receive marks simply for repeating every detail in the case. Choose evidence that changes the judgement.
For example, a proposed expansion might look attractive because the market is growing. But the business may also have limited cash, weak management capacity or a brand that does not transfer easily into the new market.
Your answer becomes evaluative when you weigh those factors rather than list them.
Explain the limitation of the tool in context
Generic limitations are rarely enough.
Instead of writing “SWOT is subjective,” explain which judgement in the case may be subjective and why that matters. Instead of writing “decision trees use estimates,” explain how uncertainty in the probabilities or financial outcomes could reverse the preferred option.
The limitation should affect the decision.
Integrate business functions
Strategic decisions rarely belong to one department.
A marketing expansion can require finance. Automation can affect operations, HR and cash flow. A cost-reduction strategy can damage quality or motivation. International growth can create distribution, staffing and cultural challenges.
Strong Paper 4 answers recognise these links.
Build a conditional judgement
A useful final judgement often has this structure:
The strategy is likely to be suitable if... but management should reconsider if...
That is stronger than claiming one option is always best.
For example, market development may be attractive if the existing product transfers well and the business can finance entry. If customer preferences are very different or local competition is strong, adaptation or a different growth route may be more appropriate.
A six-step Paper 4 process
Identify the strategic decision.
Select the most relevant case evidence.
Use the named framework to organise that evidence.
Analyse the business-specific consequences.
Identify what the framework misses or cannot measure reliably.
Reach a justified recommendation with conditions.
This is not a rigid essay template. It is a way to keep your thinking strategic.
Compare your reasoning, not just your wording
When reviewing a mark scheme, do not try to memorise every bullet of indicative content. Ask whether your answer considered the same important factors and whether your judgement was supported by the case.
EIE's Cambridge 9609 Paper 4 practice supports self-marking against Cambridge mark schemes. Students compare their own reasoning with the case and indicative content, rather than pretending that every essay has one model answer.