Edexcel Economics and Business Unit 4B: The Wider Economic Environment and Business

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Reply 120

ecobiz

I have attached the January paper and markscheme - although I am sure you have already seen it.

jan 2012 unit 4b.pdf91.5KB

jan 2012 unit4b.pdf134.4KB

Reply 121

mujahid_e3

anyone got the gerald material some people have been talking about? if so anyone care to share it, i hear its very useful

Reply 122

mujahid_e3

@ al_miller you might aswell just post the questions on the thread save your self the trouble of pm everybody,

Reply 123

Tommysiu0

Hey, I'm wondering if you guys have the examiners report for januray 2012? The one which shows sample answers? Thanks!

Reply 124

Cabyo

I hope this paper won't be as difficult as U3!

Has anyone got any notes that I could trade with via PM?

Reply 125

mujahid_e3

Original post by Cabyo

I hope this paper won't be as difficult as U3!

Has anyone got any notes that I could trade with via PM?

could you post your notes here to help everybody if you dont mind. or can you pm me your notes they could be very helpful.. i need all the help i can get

Reply 126

Manisha93

I remember reading on the student rooms the other day about a resource pack about Toyota and that everyone should have copies? We were not given these, does anyone have the pack I am on about? It will take days to arrive and it costs like £50! so those who do have it, do you mind emailing it to me please?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 127

Perseverance

Original post by al_miller

Made a thread just for Edexcel Economics & Business Studies Unit 4B: Wider Environment and Change since the other thread 'Edexcel unit 4 economics and unit 4 business' was confusing :smile:

So for those who did the exam in January, how did you find it and how did you prepare for it?

I attempted to do the January paper but Section B didn't go very well :s-smilie:

Was about to make a thread like this myself :smile:

There should be more people doing this exam - the last year thread was 6 pages long - although nothing compared to the 250 page thread for the biology exam I just took (and still going strong).

Anyway I shall start posting some revision notes to make this thread more active, please if anyone has any concerns/notes/techniques they want to share please do. It could be good if we plan essays that may come up

Reply 128

Perseverance

Original post by Manisha93

I saw that thread, pretty sure it's not for our exam

Reply 129

Manisha93

Original post by Perseverance

I saw that thread, pretty sure it's not for our exam

I have just realised I have written on the wrong thread...again! and this is why I will not get into Uni aha :')

Thanks anyways :smile:

Reply 130

Perseverance

I'll have a go at exam technique, although this is pretty general:

2 Markers - (Definition questions) Definition but to guarantee two marks - use an example to show the examiner you understand - evidence should be in context (transport industry)
4 Markers - 2 marks available for your own knowledge (definitions) in context! Then expand to answer the question - completely in context - 2 marks
5 Markers - Again 4 marks for knowledge and application in context. This time the extra mark is for analysis - for example you could say a positive and a negative/agree and disagree
7-8-9 Markers - So it starts getting more difficult here, the first word of the question is often 'examine' or 'assess' - 2 marks for knowledge (definitions)- 3 marks for application (context) - 2 more marks for analysis (the consequences in context) and the last two marks are for evaluation. Again you could use advantages/disadvantages or consider short term/long term - depends on the question.

Section B
20 marker - Same as before - Knowledge/application/analysis (advantages and disadvantages + lots of terminology + Evaluation is key here for the last five marks - a supported conclusion/'However it could be argued...' - three or more well explained reasons - both sides of argument
30 marker - Weigh up costs/benefits/lots of terminology integrated with the context and relevant to the question/balanced conclusion + weight up alternative solutions/sound analysis of economic situation (if relevant) + reasons/causes/costs/consequences - 3 or more explained reasons excluding the evaluation/using a range of sources and the specification to back up the answer

Someone else posted this:

Introduction:
- Define the key terms
- Bring in some theories and key concepts /examples
e.g. Road pricing could help reduce road congestion by reducing demand for road space. For example, Durham became the first city in the UK to introduce road user charge. As a result, traffic volumes fell significantly which reduced congestion. (1 example will do)
- Types of road pricing (road user charging and congestion charging)

Arguments for and against: (ideally 3 for and against)
- Start the first sentence of each paragraph with a key point e.g. Road pricing is a good way to correct market failure arising from road congestion. (Explain what is meant by market failure) Explain how could road pricing achieve allocative efficiency. Explain how it could internalise negative externalities (examples of negative externalities). Draw a diagram to underpin your explanation.
- In short, each paragraph has to PEE:
P – main point
E – explanation
E – evidence (application to transport)

Conclusion (judgement and evaluation):
- It depends on how well is the road pricing scheme established. Getting the price right is the key.
- An integrated transport policy together with public transport development could lead towards a more sustainable transport system.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 131

politics_student

I've finally found the exam for this thread!

Does anyone know what the grade boundaries for the raw marks are?

Reply 132

Perseverance

Original post by politics_student

I've finally found the exam for this thread!

Does anyone know what the grade boundaries for the raw marks are?

Based on Jan 2012:
A* 80 A 60 B 55 C 50 D 45 E 40

So what are you aiming for?/What do you need?

Reply 133

Cabyo

Original post by mujahid_e3

could you post your notes here to help everybody if you dont mind. or can you pm me your notes they could be very helpful.. i need all the help i can get

If you could share some of your notes haha, we haven't even got a teacher!

Reply 134

politics_student

Original post by Perseverance

Based on Jan 2012:
A* 80 A 60 B 55 C 50 D 45 E 40

So what are you aiming for?/What do you need?

Thanks. Was that from the Edexcel website?

I achieved 76 UMS marks (a mid B) in January. I need AAB for university, so I am aiming for an A in this paper.

Although Economics & Business is a moderate subject in terms of content, I'm not very good at the exams as I'm too slow in the questions and tend to over-think the answer (I do essay based subjects).

I've just realised you posted exam tips, they're really helpful! What's the best way to show the examiner you've contextualised? I need to work on clarity etc.

Reply 135

Perseverance

Original post by politics_student

Yes it was.
I'm exactly the same as you and kinda struggled with the first few units in that I'd write a lot more than what was needed/complicate the answers more than they actually are. My main target has actually been to be more concise, less detailed and get straight to the point which I did find hard, although I managed to do it quite well for unit 3.
I also used to always run out of the time, in the first unit I missed two of the big markers out because of this. So I tend now to start from the last question/highest marker and go reverse order - that way if I run out of time I'll only be missing a low mark question.

Best way to write in context is to have this lead everything. What I mean by this is every point/economic concept is used when talked about a specific detail about transport. So no generalisations, for example, if the question was about supply side policies (which doesn't seem so relevant to transport and thus makes it more important to link it to context)

I'd say: Supply side policies have been used both in the deregulation of buses as in the case of outside London, the privatisation of British Rail brought about by Thatcher's government in the 1980s and in the form of subsidies with the Bus Service Operators Grant'
This would be instead of saying - 'the government uses supply side policies such as deregulation, privatisation and subsidies in the transport industry'

Reply 136

al_miller

Original post by Tommysiu0

Hey, I'm wondering if you guys have the examiners report for januray 2012? The one which shows sample answers? Thanks!

http://www.mediafire.com/?i502059thfguj

Original post by mujahid_e3

anyone got the gerald material some people have been talking about? if so anyone care to share it, i hear its very useful

Our college purchased it but I don't think we're allowed to share it due to license reasons. I'd highly recommend you to persuade your teachers to get it and give you a copy because it's very detailed.

Reply 137

al_miller

Original post by Cabyo

This is going to be silly, but could you PM me too? I'd really appreciate it :colondollar:

Our school is really unorganised, we've had to self-study 4B for the past 4 months as we have no bloody teacher!

Original post by mujahid_e3

@ al_miller you might aswell just post the questions on the thread save your self the trouble of pm everybody,

Evidence A
What external costs are associated with road transport and why might they be difficult to measure? (2)
With the aid of a diagram, show how the imposition of fuel excise duty will affect the market for petrol. (6)
To what extent does the imposition of fuel duty meet the governments' varying objectives? (8)
What is PED and how is it calculated? (4)
What is the likely price elasticity of demand for fuel? To what extent do you expect this to change over time? (10)

Evidence C
What is meant by the term equity? (2)
Identify 2 positive externalities of the pensioners' bus pass.
Explain one possible negative externality of the pensioners' bus pass.
Analyse the likely impact on bus companies of withdrawing the pensioners' bus pass.
Assess the case for means testing the winter fuel allowance. (20)
Evaluate the case for scrapping the bus pass. (30)

Evidence D
What do you understand by the term subsidy? (2)
What do you understand by the term externality? (2)
Briefly explain one likely reason why Luxembourg charges lower fuel duty than surrounding EU countries. (4)
Briefly explain the likely impact of high fuel duties on UK GDP. (4)
Analyse two likely reasons that UK motorists in rural areas pay higher motoring taxes than those in urban areas. (8)
Briefly assess the UK decision to tax diesel fuel almost as highly as unleaded petrol. (10)
Assess the case for the UK charging higher fuel tax than other EU states. (20)
Evaluate the case for reducing UK fuel duty (30)

Evidence E+F
What is the difference between absolute and relative poverty? (2)
What is the difference between income and wealth? (2)
What is meant by 'fuel poverty'? (4)
What is 'social exclusion'? (4)
What is the ‘unemployment trap’? To what extent do rising fuel prices contribute to the unemployment trap? (6)
What is the difference between a progressive tax and a regressive tax? (6)
To what extent are taxes on fuel regressive? (6)
Outline and evaluate the effectiveness of two transport policies which the government could implement to increase redistribution in the UK. (12)

For everyone who's been asking for the questions. I do not have a mark scheme for these so please do share your answers :smile:

Reply 138

al_miller

Original post by Perseverance

I'll have a go at exam technique, although this is pretty general:

Thanks so much for sharing your exam technique. It's much more detailed than mine :biggrin:

How does everyone manage their time during the exam? I've always ran out of time to check over my answers and in some cases to even complete the questions :confused:

Reply 139

Perseverance

Original post by al_miller

Thanks so much for sharing your exam technique. It's much more detailed than mine :biggrin:

How does everyone manage their time during the exam? I've always ran out of time to check over my answers and in some cases to even complete the questions :confused:

No worries, I always run out of time so I will start the exam doing the 30 marker, then 20 marker and in high to low order, that way I would only miss out on a low mark question if it is the case.