In this article, we describe six ways that apprentices can demonstrate their skills and behaviours in end point assessment. We’ll share key phrases to use in projects, reports and discussions.
1. Talk about yourself
Write or speak in the first person. This means saying “I” and not “we”. By doing this, you put emphasis and weight on what you singularly did to apply your knowledge, skills and behaviours shown in the assessment criteria.
If your team were involved in a task, make sure to highlight your own role. For example:
“My team was tasked with… I volunteered to …”
“I was assigned task X and my first actions were to…”
“The manager’s decision was… and this was based largely on the research I carried out…”
2. The assessor doesn’t know you
Remember that the assessor doesn’t know you or your organisation. They don’t see your skills and interactions – all they can grade you on is the assessment evidence you submit. This is why it’s essential to clearly state what you’ve done in the context of the assessment criteria. Be specific, and don’t assume anything is obvious.
3. Reflect the assessment criteria
Don’t be afraid to use phrases directly from the assessment criteria to convey your competencies. For example, if the criteria says “Demonstrates their ability…”, mirror this and say “I demonstrated my ability to… by…”
Not only does this help you frame your responses, it makes it clear to the assessor which criteria you are referring to and how you demonstrated that skill.
4. Ask yourself what and why
It can be difficult to understand what is meant by ‘applying’ your skills and behaviours, so for each one ask yourself how you demonstrated it and why – the reasons behind your decisions.
For example, if the assessment criteria says: “Selects the most appropriate communication channels”
A poor answer would be: “I chose to communicate with my team by email.”
This doesn’t tell the assessor why.
A much better answer would be: “I applied my knowledge of marketing theory and determined the most effective way to communicate with my team was by email. This is because every staff member has access to email and past use has shown a high response rate. Marketing theory also shows that for a formal communication, written information is more easily remembered than verbal communication.”
- Tip: If you’re writing a report and struggle to keep within the word count, try highlighting everything in your report that relates to an assessment criteria. Then look back at what isn’t highlighted and identify information that can be removed.
5. Key phrases to show skills and behaviours
We’ve put together this list of phrases to help you demonstrate your skills and behaviours.
WHAT?
These phrases will help you show what you did. “I…”
WHY?
As we’ve described above, you need to say why you took the decision or action you described. These phrases may help.
Your WHY might be based on a number of factors, such as:
6. Adding depth
To add depth to an answer, you could consider describing how this will affect what you do in future.
Always refer to the assessment criteria detailed in the assessment plan to see what is required for your standard. You should also refer to our current support materials for up to date guidance. This can be found on the epaPRO portal.
