Setting objectives

At the start of the project, set yourself clear objectives [objectives: what you are trying to do ].

All the planning stages will start with you reading the DiDA SPB [SPB: Summative Project Brief - the project brief set by Edexcel and the means by which your attainment is assessed. ] (project brief) very carefully. Throughout the planning stage, you need to show you have a good understanding of the objectives for the project.

Before you can sensibly start planning, you need to know exactly what end products the exam board wants to see in your eportfolio [eportfolio: an electronic folder which stores the documents you produced digitally ]. As you read through the project brief, build a list of all the things you need to make - for example:

I will need to make:

• a formal letter to a newspaper explaining why animal experiments might be necessary
• a 30-second video to advertise the local library
• a presentation to convince people to contribute to a charity for sick children
• a graphic to warn people that the contents of a bottle are poisonous

You could save this list:

• in a word processing document
• in a spreadsheet
• in a mind mapping [mind mapping: visualize your thinking through the use of a diagram ] application
• on a piece of paper

It is important to keep this list in your source file as evidence of your activities.

A mind map can help you to organise your ideas at the planning stage

Project tip It's a good idea to work with a friend or a group to brainstorm on all the objectives and the different ways that you can approach them. This might sound a bit like cheating, but the exam board says it is OK as long as you then write your plan on your own.