Basic Examination Techniques for 9708/02
What do you need to know?
11. Usually have 5-7 questions
22. The last question will always be 6 marks
and the instruction is ‘Discuss’. This implies that candidates will have to
provide analysis points, evaluations and finally a conclusion
33. Recommended time is not more than 45
minutes
44. More inclined to macroeconomic issues
rather than microeconomic
55. Will most likely have ‘Table’ and
‘Figure’
66. 1 mark per explained element, unless
stated otherwise
What
do you need to do?
11. Invest a quality 3 or 4 minutes to run
through the extract. Read analytically from line to line and from one paragraph
to another. Ask more of ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘what’ questions. Relate/ string all
the information together to see if they are interconnected
22. Analyse the ‘Table’ or/ and ‘Figure’
carefully. Watch out for any trend (before and after), the direction (increase
or decrease), rate of changes (faster or slower rate) and years under
consideration (from when to when)
33. Provide very short answers if the
instruction is:
·
a. Identify
·
b. Outline
·
c. State/
suggest
·
d. Give
e. What
other information
44. Remember TRY (Trend, Rate of change and
Year) and DRY (Direction, Rate and Year) if the question requires reference to
‘Table/ Figure’
55. Candidates need to express their views
with great clarity if the instruction is ‘Analyse’ and ‘Explain’
66. Provide definition(s) and diagram(s)
wherever appropriate, even when the question does not ask for it
77. The’ Discuss’ question will require
candidates to provide evaluative comments. A maximum of 4 marks will be awarded
if the answer is one-sided. In the event where candidates run out of time, they
can choose to list down the answers and if this is correctly done, they are
still entitled to a max of 2 marks. Answers do not have to be symmetrical. It
can be in the form of (3+3) or (2+4) or (4+2). However, it is compulsory to
provide a conclusion. Candidates have three options, either to pick a more
dominant side or reject both sides/ policies and suggest an alternative outcome
or claim that a conclusion cannot be made unless certain information is made
available
88. Popular microeconomic questions:
a. Reason for an outward shift of PPC and
its outcome
bb. Costs and benefits from the division of
labour at international level
cc. Factors that can affect demand or supply
dd. Impact on equilibrium price and output
when there is a change in demand/ supply condition
ee. Whether a particular good is suitable to
be classified as public/ private/ merit good
f f. Economic effects of maximum price/ minimum
price policy
g. Economic effects of an indirect tax/
subsidy
99. Popular macroeconomic questions:
aa. Characteristics of a monetary union
bb. Difference between customs union and
free trade area
cc. Costs and benefits of an international
trade
dd. Costs and benefits of tariffs
ee. Comparative advantage and reasons why
some countries are able to specialise in the production of certain goods
f f. Productivity and how it is calculated
gg Measurement of inflation and problems
involved in the construction of CPI
hh. Demand-pull, monetary, cost-push and
imported inflation
i i. Importance of having an inflation target/
a low inflation
j j. Factors that can influence the value of
an exchange rate in a free market
kk. Costs and benefits of a floating
exchange rate system
l. l. Costs and benefits of a fixed exchange
rate system
m. Information other than those in the
extract which will be needed to judge the position of current account/ national
economy/ productivity
What do you need to know?
11. Candidates will have to choose one pair
of essays from a given option of three
22. Essay (a) will be 8 marks while (b) 12
marks. Recommended time is a maximum of 20 minutes for (a) and 30 minutes for
(b)
What do you need to do?
11. Upon deciding a particular question,
candidates need to be able to identify the structure of both essays:
aa. 8 marks – ‘1 part’
·
Introduction
+ 2 points (with diagram)/ 3 or 4 points (without diagram)
bb. 8 marks – ‘2 parts’
·
Introduction
+ 2 points (issue 1) + 2 points (issue 2)
cc. 12 marks – ‘1 part’
·
Introduction
+ 3 analysis points + 3 evaluation points + conclusion
dd. 12 marks – ‘2 parts’
·
Introduction
+ 2 analysis points + 2 evaluation points (issue 1) + 2 analysis points + 2
evaluation points (issue 2) + Conclusion
22. Candidates are highly recommended to
provide a detailed introduction. Upon defining an economic term, try to look
into the key words within each definition. Elaborate on them. Alternatively,
one can also make good use of their general knowledge to impress the examiners
33 A good essay is one that has the
following features:
aa. Written in simple English
bb. Has many short sentences
c. Proper use of connectives
dd. Clearly labelled and explained diagrams
ee. Wide economic vocabularies
f f. Impressive application of real world
examples into their essay
44. Popular microeconomic essays:
aa. PPC and how it can be used to illustrate
any two economic ideas
bb. Whether free market/ mixed economy is
the most desirable form of economic system
cc. Whether division of labour or money
contributes more to an economy
dd. How PED can be used to determine the
total revenue of a set of goods
ee. How XED can be used to identify a
complement and substitute
f f. How YED can be used to tell whether a
good is inferior or normal
gg. Whether PED can be changed and whether
it is beneficial to do so
hh. How equilibrium price and output change
when there is a change in demand/ supply condition
i i. Positive/ negative externalities of
production
jj. Positive/ negative externalities of
consumption
kk. Costs and benefits of maximum price/
minimum price/ an indirect tax/ subsidies. May be asked to compared any two of
them simultaneously
aa. Comparative advantage and the
limitations of theories of international trade
bb. Costs and benefits of an international
trade
cc. Costs and benefits of trade barriers.
dd. Whether having a current account deficit
is always a cause of concern
ee. Whether an improvement in terms of trade
is always beneficial
f f. Measurement of inflation/ unemployment
and the problems involved
gg. Difference between demand-pull and
cost-push inflation
hh. Comparison between domestic and external
consequences of inflation
i i. Anticipated and unanticipated inflation
and its impacts
jj. Advantages and disadvantages of
floating/ fixed exchange rate
kk. Factors that may influence the value of
an exchange rate in the money market
l l. How government can maintain a stable/
fixed/ managed-float exchange rate, using the demand and supply analysis
m. Interrelatedness between exchange rate,
inflation and balance of payments
nn. Whether expenditure-dampening/ switching
policies or currency devaluation/ tariffs is more effective in reducing a
current account deficit