Exam preparation
Before
You need to approach an examination in a professional way. The key to
success is preparation!
Table 1 provides a Top Ten of suggestions to help you prepare for an
examination.
Table 1 Top Ten suggestions to help learners prepare for an examination q
Read the syllabus.
Make sure that you are aware of the
assessment structure.
Make sure that you understand the different
forms that the examination will take.
Look through the details of the content on
the syllabus.
Make sure that you have your file of notes
well organised.
Make sure that you are familiar with
the definitions of all the key terms and
concepts.
Make sure that you keep up to date with
recent developments in the subject.
Make sure that you have appropriate
summaries of the key points of each topic,
which could be in the form of revision cards,
spider diagrams or bullet points on each of
the main topics of the syllabus.
Look at specimen and past papers and at
any examples of model or worked answers.
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You need to go through the syllabus and
make sure that you fully understand the
aims and the assessment objectives.
You should understand how many
examination papers you will need to take,
how long you have to complete each one
and the weighting of the different papers.
You need to be aware of the different ways
in which you will be assessed, e.g. multiple
choice, data response and structured essay.
You need to look closely at the content of
the syllabus and thoroughly check that you
have covered everything.
You need to make sure that your notes are
complete and in the correct order.
The definitions of the key terms and
concepts are included in each of the
chapters of this book and there is a glossary
at the end of the book which includes all of
these definitions.
You need to ensure that you keep up to
date by reading appropriate newspapers
and magazines and accessing suitable
websites.
Different learners have various ideas about
how to summarise the information they
have, but you need to ensure that you have
summaries, highlighting the key points, of
each of the main areas of the syllabus.
Specimen and past papers are very
useful to give you an indication of the
sorts of questions that might come up in
an examination, but remember that they
are answers to previous questions – the
questions in your examination paper will be
different.
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 Exam preparation

Revision strategies
There is no one agreed way to revise for an examination in Economics,
but this next table provides a Top Ten of suggestions to help you.
Table 2 Top Ten suggestions to help revision for an examination q
Draw up a realistic revision timetable. You need to make sure that the revision timetable is realistic; if you
produce one that is clearly going to be unrealistic, you are only going to
put yourself under greater pressure.
Think about where you will be doing your revision. You need to ensure that you carry out your revision in an appropriate
working environment, i.e. you need to be able to concentrate on your
revision.
Take regular breaks. Revision is hard work, but you will only be able to concentrate for a
limited amount of time. You need to take regular breaks.
Vary the material that you are revising. It will probably help if you vary the material that you are revising rather
than concentrating for a long period of time on one topic or on one part
of a topic. If you get stuck on something, it will probably help to come
back to it at a later time.
Go through the assignments and essays that you Read through the assignments and essays that you have completed and
have completed during the course. reflect upon the feedback that has been given and the mark that has
been awarded. Think how the mark could have been improved.
Give yourself a short test. It is probably a good idea to give yourself a short test every so often to
evaluate how well your revision is going.
Sometimes study in a group. It is probably the case that most students prefer to study on their own,
but it may be a good idea from time to time to carry out the revision in a
group so that ideas can be shared.
Summarise information. The key information needs to be summarised and this could be in the
form of spider diagrams or revision cards.
Use mnemonics. You could think up mnemonics to help you remember certain parts of the
syllabus. For example, COLD in relation to internal diseconomies of scale
(the letters represent Communication, Overheads, Loss of morale and
Decision-making problems).
Set realistic targets. You need to set realistic realistic targets so that you feel a sense of
accomplishment when certain sections of the revision timetable are
completed.

On the day
Table 3 provides a Top Ten of suggestions to help you in an
examination itself.
Table 3 Top Ten suggestions to help in an examination q
Make sure that you know when and You need to ensure that you are not rushing at the last minute to get to the examination.
where the examination is.
Ensure that you have with you all that Make sure that you take to the examination not only pens and pencils, but also other
you will need in the examination. equipment that you may need, such as a ruler and a calculator.
Don’t panic! Stay calm! The examiners want to give you the chance to show what you know
Read each of the examination This would seem a very obvious statement, but examiners frequently read answers by
questions very carefully. candidates who have clearly misread or misunderstood the question.
Answer all parts of a question. You need to make sure that you answer all parts of a question as well as you can.
Some candidates do not attempt to answer a question if they are unsure about the
answer, but it is always better to attempt an answer, as you may be able to gain some
marks for your response. If you do not write anything, it is clear that you will definitely
not be awarded any marks.

Continued . . . 2
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 Exam preparation

Use the marks allocated to each part
of a question as a guide to how long
you should spend on each section.
Time management is crucial.
Use diagrams to aid your
explanations and discussions.
Examples of current issues and
problems in Economics.
Look very carefully at the directive
or command words that are used in
questions.
You need to focus on the number of marks that are allocated to each part of a question.
For example, some parts might only gain you 2 or 3 marks, while some parts may be
worth as many as 8, 12, 13 or even 25 marks.
There is a lot that will need to be done in the time, but you should try to leave time to
read through your answer and correct any mistakes and/or add anything that you feel is
missing.
Wherever possible, you should use appropriate diagrams to support the points being
made in your answers, but make sure that the diagrams are accurately and clearly
drawn and correctly labelled.
You should try to bring in appropriate and relevant examples of current economic issues
and problems to support the points that you are making. These need to be as up to
date as possible.
You need to make sure that you look very closely at the directive or command words
that are used in particular questions, such as state, identify, calculate, describe,
compare, distinguish between, explain, consider, analyse, discuss, evaluate, how far or
to what extent. These words indicate exactly what the examiners want you to do in your
answer to the question (Table 4 contains the meanings of some of the key directive or
command words that could be used in the examinations).

The meaning of key directive or command words

Table 4 gives the meaning of particular key directive or command words
that could be used in Economics examinations.
Table 4 The meaning of key directive or command words q
Directive or command The meaning of the directive or command word
word
Analyse Explain the main points in detail, examine closely, separate
into parts and show how all the parts connect and link.
Assess Show how important something is; give your judgement.
Calculate Work out, using the information provided.
Comment upon Give your reasoned opinion on, with explanations.
Compare Explain the similarities and differences between.
Consider Give your thoughts about, with some justification.
Criticise Give an opinion, but support it with evidence.
Define Give the exact meaning of.
Describe Give a description of, explain the main features of.
Discuss Give the important arguments for and against, often
requires a conclusion. This command word requires
“analysis” and “evaluation”.
Evaluate Discuss the importance of, judge the overall worth of,
make an attempt to weigh up your opinions and come to
a conclusion.
Explain Give clear reasons or make clear the meaning of, use
examples and explain the theory behind the question. This
command word requires “knowledge and understanding”
as well as “application”.
Identify Name the key knowledge point.
Illustrate Give examples – use a diagram.
Justify Explain why the arguments for an opinion are stronger than
the arguments against.
Outline Describe the key points without detail.
Continued . . . 3
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 Exam preparation

State Give a concise answer with little or no supporting

argument required.
To what extent Give reasons for and against, come to a conclusion with a
justification of which arguments are strongest and which
are weakest.

Explanation and discussion

Produce a plan or outline answer to the following two questions:
1 Explain the meaning of privatisation.
2 Discuss whether the privatisation of an industry is always
desirable.
It should be clear from your outline answers that there is a lot of
difference in what is required in these two questions.
Using different key directives or command words
The use of different key directive or command words can be seen in this
case study on the New Zealand economy, starting with “calculate” and
“define questions” and ending with “discuss” and “evaluate” questions.
This demonstrates the idea of a hierarchy of skills from lower order
skills, such as “define” or “describe”, through a range of middle order
skills, such as “explain” or “analyse”, to higher order skills, such as
“discuss” or “evaluate”.

Case Study in real GDP averaging just 0.8 per cent

The New Zealand
economy
The New Zealand economy is a
market economy. It is very dependent
on international trade, particularly with
China, Japan, South Korea, Australia,
the United States and the European
Union. The World Bank has described
it, along with Singapore, as one
of the most business-friendly
countries in the world.
Its Human Development Index, at
91.9, is one of the highest in the world.
Despite this relatively high figure, its
GDP per capita is less than that of
Spain and only about 63 per cent
of that of the USA. Agriculture and
mining produce 5 per cent of GDP
and manufacturing and construction
24 per cent of GDP.
Concern has been expressed over its
relatively low rate of economic growth
over the last ten years, annual growth
during this period.
Questions
1 Calculate the proportion of the
GDP that comes from the tertiary or
services sector.
2 Define the term “real GDP”.
3 Describe the composition of the
Human Development Index.
4 Consider how New Zealand can
have a higher Human Development
Index figure than Spain, but a lower
GDP per capita figure.
5 Explain what is meant by a “market
economy”.
6 Explain what is meant by a
“business-friendly country”.
7 Analyse whether the European
Union is a free trade area or a
customs union.
8 Discuss how a government
could encourage a higher rate of
economic growth.
9 Evaluate whether a higher rate
of economic growth is always
desirable.

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 Exam preparation

Some common errors in examinations

The importance of reading the examination questions very carefully has
already been stressed but, as has already been stated, candidates do not
always fully understand what is required in a question.
Table 5 lists possible areas of confusion
Table 5 Terms commonly confused q
Microeconomics Macroeconomics
Normative statements Positive statements
Market economy Mixed economy
Capital in the sense of a factor of Capital in the sense of a means of finance
production
A movement along a demand curve A shift of a demand curve
A movement along a supply curve A shift of a supply curve
An economist’s definition of costs and An accountant’s definition of costs and profits
profits
Social costs External costs
Social benefits External benefits
Merit goods Public goods
Public goods Free goods
Taxes Subsidies
Efficiency Equity
Income Wealth
Absolute advantage Comparative advantage
Tariffs Quotas
Terms of trade Balance of trade
Economic union Free trade area
Output Productivity
Nominal value of money Real value of money
Economic growth Economic development
Autonomous investment Induced investment
Gross domestic product Gross national product
Actual growth Potential growth
Fiscal policy Monetary policy
Progressive taxation Regressive taxation
Government budget Balance of payments

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 Exam preparation

Activity
Spot the errors
Read the following and identify the five errors made by Hira.
Hira had drawn up her revision strategy and, as part of this,
was checking that she understood the meaning of some
of the key terms and concepts that could come up in the
Economics examination.
She understood that when a person expressed an opinion
about what ought to happen with the allocation of scarce
resources, this was a positive statement and she also
understood that a mixed economy contained elements of
both the public sector and the private sector.
She had understood the meaning of ceteris paribus, i.e.
all other things being equal, and recognised that in terms
of demand, changes in price and income would cause
a movement along a demand curve, but that changes in
anything else would cause a shift of the demand curve.
She understood that a merit good was the same as a free
good and that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for
a public good to be provided in a market economy because
of the existence of the free rider problem.
She had been revising international trade and had
understood that a tariff was a tax on imported goods
whereas a quota was a physical limit on imported goods.
She also understood that the balance of trade showed
changes in the relative prices of exports and imports.
She had appreciated that money had a number of important
functions, including a medium of exchange, unit of account,
a store of value and a standard for deferred payments, and
she also understood that the nominal value of a given sum
of money was important because this meant that the effect
of inflation had been taken into account.

You need to look through this list of terms and concepts that are often
confused by students and make sure that you are absolutely clear about
the precise meaning of the terms and concepts.
There is a glossary of key terms on the CD-ROM to help you
understand the exact meaning of the terms and concepts that you are
likely to need and to ensure that you do not confuse any of them.
Good luck!

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