How we got there
Read this like a teacher at the board. We go slowly, name every number, and say why we take each step.
Explain in another language · 11
1. What is the question asking?
Read the question twice. Circle the unknown. Underline every number and unit. The paper is asking: The owner starts a business by depositing R50 000 into the business bank account. Show the effect on the accounting equation.
In other words — as if you have never seen this before
If you have never seen this before: A = OE + L. Record the effect on both sides. We will name a method in words, write the formula with no numbers, then substitute one line at a time.
2. What do we already know?
Capital contribution R50 000 cash.
3. Which method — and why this one?
A = OE + L. Record the effect on both sides.
4. Step-by-step working
01 / 04
Identify the given
Assets (bank) +R50 000; owner's equity (capital) +R50 000.
Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
02 / 04
Sense-check
A=OE+L→50 000=50 000+0 ✓
Why this step: We only do one job per line so a marker can follow the marks — and so you can find a slip without starting over.
03 / 04
Step F — Box the answer with its unit
Assets +R50 000; Owner's equity +R50 000; Liabilities no effect.
Why this step: A number without a unit is half a mark on a Physics paper, and a marker can miss a Maths answer that is buried in working.
04 / 04
Step H — What the marker is looking for
On an NSC memo you usually earn: (1) a method mark for naming the right formula or idea in words, (2) an accuracy mark for substituting the given numbers with units, (3) an accuracy mark for the boxed answer with its unit. Write those three lines even if you are unsure of the arithmetic — blank pages score zero.
Why this step: First-timers chase the final number and leave the method blank. The memo still pays out for the idea and the substitution even when the last line is wrong.
5. The answer
Assets +R50 000; Owner's equity +R50 000; Liabilities no effect.
Copy onto your answer sheet — in this order
Answer: Assets +R50 000; Owner's equity +R50 000; Liabilities no effect.
6. Check it like a marker
Both sides must change by the same amount.
7. A trap first-timers fall into
First-timers often grab the first formula they remember, mix units (cm with m, minutes with seconds), or drop a minus sign. Write the formula in words first: “this equals that, because…”