How does the Unit 2 design and make task work, and how is it marked?
An overview of the Unit 2 non-exam assessment: the design and make task, the iterative stages from investigation to evaluation, and how the work is internally assessed and externally moderated.
A concise overview of the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology Unit 2 non-exam assessment, covering the design and make task, the iterative stages from investigation through design and manufacture to testing and evaluation, and how the work is internally assessed and externally moderated.
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What this topic is asking
This is a concise overview of Unit 2, the non-exam assessment (NEA): the practical design and make task worth 50 percent of WJEC GCSE Design and Technology. It is not an exam topic to revise in the same way as the technical principles; instead, you apply the designing and making principles to a real task set in a context released by WJEC. This page explains how the task works and how it is marked, so the detailed designing skills (investigation, communication, sustainability, ergonomics) link back to their own dot-point pages.
What the design and make task is
The iterative stages
Why designing is iterative
How the work is assessed
The NEA is judged on the whole process, not just the finished prototype. Marks reward the quality of investigation, the range and development of design ideas, the skill and accuracy of making, and the depth of testing and evaluation against the specification and user. The work is presented as a design portfolio (concise evidence of each stage) alongside the made outcome. Because it is internally assessed and externally moderated, the standard is kept consistent across centres.
Try this
Q1. State the four main stages of the design and make task. [4 marks]
- Cue. Investigate (brief and specification), generate and develop ideas, plan and manufacture, test and evaluate.
Q2. Explain what "iterative" means in designing. [1 mark]
- Cue. Repeatedly developing, testing and refining ideas, looping back to improve.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC-style4 marksDescribe the main stages a student works through in the Unit 2 design and make task.Show worked answer →
A four mark Describe question on the NEA process. The student works through an iterative sequence: investigate the problem, user and the work of others, and write a brief and specification (1 mark); generate and develop a range of ideas, modelling and refining them against the specification (1 mark); plan and manufacture the chosen prototype safely and accurately (1 mark); and test and evaluate the outcome against the specification and user, suggesting improvements (1 mark). Markers reward the four stages in a sensible order, with the idea that designing is iterative (looping back to improve), not a single straight line.
WJEC-style3 marksExplain why designing in the NEA is described as iterative, and why testing throughout is important.Show worked answer →
A three mark Explain question. Iterative means the designer repeatedly develops, tests and refines ideas, looping back to improve rather than finishing each stage once (1 mark). Testing throughout (modelling, user feedback, trialling materials) finds problems early, when they are cheap and easy to fix, rather than at the end (1 mark), so the final prototype better meets the user's needs and the specification (1 mark). A common error is to describe a fixed, one-way process with testing only at the end, which is the opposite of iterative design.
Related dot points
- Identifying needs and wants, the design context and target market, writing a design brief, and producing a design specification with measurable, justified criteria.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on investigation, covering identifying user needs and wants, the design context and target market, writing a design brief, and producing a measurable, justified design specification.
- Methods of communicating design ideas, including freehand sketching, isometric and orthographic drawing, working drawings, modelling, and computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM).
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on communicating design ideas, covering freehand sketching, isometric and orthographic drawing, working drawings, modelling and prototyping, and computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM).
- Sustainability and the 6 Rs, the life cycle of a product, the ecological and social footprint of design, and ethical issues such as fair trade and responsible sourcing.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on sustainability, covering the 6 Rs, the life cycle of a product, the ecological and social footprint of design, and ethical issues such as fair trade, responsible sourcing and the rights of workers.
- Ergonomics and anthropometrics, the use of body measurement data and percentiles, and how designers apply them to make products comfortable, safe and usable.
A focused answer to the WJEC GCSE Design and Technology content on ergonomics and anthropometrics, covering the difference between the two, the use of body measurement data and percentiles, and how designers apply them to make products comfortable, safe and usable.