A2: Unit 3

Economics: it’s all about the exam

Typically, when you get taught economics, you get taught it out of context. Yes, PED or Externalities or government intervention are important, but, in truth, you need to have a conversation with the economics exam paper. This means deconstructing the question and answering each element of it. In other words you shouldn’t write everything you know about the topic asked, instead you should structure your answer so that you apply the correct focus in right places.

How to do this? a listicle, because who doesn’t like to buzz?

• remember definitions in your economics exam; (knowledge)
• understand them in your own words, I mean break them down into day-to day language
• pin the definition to a diagram, there’s only really about 4 per unit.
• apply to the facts of the economics exam question (application)
• describe what happens to the diagram because of what the question says. (analysis)
• tell them why what you just said may not happen! (evaluation)
• tell them the likelihood of it happening or not.

For A2 Economics exams

For your evaluation, add to your answer something about

• prioritisation of factors, as in, given the facts, what for you is the most important factor the exam prompts provides you with.
• and depending on topic area, give them a ‘what if’ thought experiment (as annoying as that might sound!)

for an application of this, see me on youtube