✍🏻How to Tackle a 15-Mark Coding Question

This page provides a step-by-step method, a student-friendly checklist, and a starter template to help students write well-structured answers that maximize marks for the 15-Marker question.

📚 IGCSE Computer Science 0478

🔄 Step-by-Step Strategy

🔀 Step 0: Understand the Question

• Highlight all tasks: inputs, processes, outputs
• Identify:
  • 📅 Inputs (arrays, sizes)
  • 📊 Processes (totals, averages, comparisons)
  • 👉 Outputs
  • 🔄 Loops needed (FOR each student, FOR each day)

📆 Step 1: Setup

• Declare constants: DaysInWeek ← 7
• Initialize:
  • ClassTotal ← 0
  • Lowest ← large number

👥 Step 2: Outer Loop (Per Student)

FOR Student ← 0 TO ClassSize - 1

• Set Total ← 0, DaysOver300 ← 0
• Comment: // Loop for each student

🌄 Step 3: Inner Loop (Per Day)

FOR Day ← 0 TO 6
    REPEAT
        OUTPUT "Enter minutes for Day", Day
        INPUT Minutes
    UNTIL Minutes >= 0

• Add to Total
• Check IF Minutes > 300
• Update lowest if needed