Evidence types in BTEC: what each is good for
BTEC units accept more evidence types than any exam-board qualification — and each type carries different strengths and different verifier-shaped holes. The full inventory, with usage notes.
The inventory
| Type | Serves best | Weakness to design around |
|---|---|---|
| Written reports / documents | The default: explain, analyse, evaluate criteria across most units | Generic prose; page-count theatre |
| Portfolios (curated collections) | Units assessed across a period — practical plus reflective criteria | Curation drift: old work, thin reflection |
| Presentations / pitches | Communication, persuasion, pitching criteria | Bullets that assert; the "say more than the slides" problem |
| Observation records | Practical performance, demonstrated skills | Vagueness — must capture criterion verbs happening |
| Witness statements | Real-world placements, client interactions | Kindness bias: "excellent throughout" assesses nothing |
| Recordings (audio/video) | Role plays, interviews, delivered sessions | No chapters = no evidence locations; timecode everything |
| Artefacts (systems, spreadsheets, code, designs) | Implementation/make criteria — IT, Sport practice, Business models | Result without reasoning; the justification criteria starve |
| Logs (session, development, decision logs) | Process criteria, review criteria | Diary entries with no analysis attached |
Matching evidence type to criterion type
- Explain/analyse/evaluate criteria → written evidence wins, whatever the topic. The verb needs sentences.
- Demonstrate/apply criteria → observation, recording, artefact — with the written component carrying any review/justification riding along.
- Review criteria → logs plus reflection; the log without the review is an activity diary.
The brief usually dictates the mix — its tasks map criteria to outputs (brief anatomy). Where you have freedom, pick per the table and design the weakness out: captioned screenshots, timecoded recordings, observation prompts that name the criterion.
What verifiers probe, by type
- Written: verb depth and scenario anchoring.
- Observation/witness: specificity — the criterion's verb must be visible in the record (the Sport guide's classic case).
- Recordings/artefacts: the location problem — can anyone find the 40 seconds that evidences B.P3?
- Group-produced evidence: who did what — the separations.
Where checking fits
Criterion-level checking reads the written/reflective components — which is where most criteria's verdicts actually live — and returns per-criterion verdicts with cited evidence (checkb.tech across the supported units). The practical evidence stays exactly where it belongs: in front of human eyes at assessment and IV.
FAQ
Can one submission mix evidence types?
Yes — most real assignments do: report plus recording plus observation record. Record each criterion's verdict against its specific evidence location, whatever the type.
Are photos evidence?
Of events, yes — captioned, dated, criterion-linked. An uncaptioned photo is a souvenir.