A-Level Economics 15/25 marker structure

I got a C in my Economics year 13 mock, bearing in mind there were a few reasons why this may have happened, this result has made me determined to improve as it is well off my aim of an A. I wanted to know what structure you would advise for use in the 15 and 25 mark essay questions (AQA) as well as any other exam tips you may have. Thanks in advance! :smile:

Reply 1

a gudetama

10

My structure is intro, thesis and anti-thesis (point 1, point 2, point 3, ...) and conclusion (synthesis/ evaluation). (Aka T-A-S structure)

Intro: define concepts and key terms (eg. Define perfect comp/mono/price discrimination etc.)

Thesis (aka “FOR”)
Para 1: point 1 (answer the question) examples explanation link to qn
Para 2: point 2 (PEEL)
...
Anti-thesis (aka “AGAINST”)
Repeat thesis structure
...
Conclusion: your stand, evaluation, key takeaways/ insights (my personal fav is bringing in Tinbergen Theil theory of economic policies and Okun’s leaky bucket theory). Evaluation and insight is apparently v important.

For 15m: you need min 3 points (inclusive of for and against for balanced argument so 2 for 1 against or 2 against 1 for)
For 25m: you need min 6 points to talk about, but 25m requires the first half of your points to explain the concept and the last half is argumentative (eg. If the question is “Evaluate which policy is the best in correcting the above market condition. 25m” I would discuss how FP, MP and supply-side policies solve the said market conditions first, before stating my arguments)

You may be asking why I didn’t include my stand in the intro — most students may be unclear of their stance in the beginning and end up contradicting themselves so it’s safer to write your stand only at the end when you’re clear of what you’ve written.

DISCLAIMER: This is definitely not a model answer but its what I typically use. Hope this helps. You should really clarify with your teacher because they’re marking your internal exams and if your entire school uses the same structure, it wouldn’t really ring an alarm bell for the examiners during the actual exams. Good luck!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 2

username4241818

OP

12

Original post by a gudetama

My structure is intro, thesis and anti-thesis (point 1, point 2, point 3, ...) and conclusion (synthesis/ evaluation). (Aka T-A-S structure)

Intro: define concepts and key terms (eg. Define perfect comp/mono/price discrimination etc.)

Thesis (aka “FOR”)
Para 1: point 1 (answer the question) examples explanation link to qn
Para 2: point 2 (PEEL)
...
Anti-thesis (aka “AGAINST”)
Repeat thesis structure
...
Conclusion: your stand, evaluation, key takeaways/ insights (my personal fav is bringing in Tinbergen Theil theory of economic policies and Okun’s leaky bucket theory). Evaluation and insight is apparently v important.

For 15m: you need min 3 points (inclusive of for and against for balanced argument so 2 for 1 against or 2 against 1 for)
For 25m: you need min 6 points to talk about, but 25m requires the first half of your points to explain the concept and the last half is argumentative (eg. If the question is “Evaluate which policy is the best in correcting the above market condition. 25m” I would discuss how FP, MP and supply-side policies solve the said market conditions first, before stating my arguments)

You may be asking why I didn’t include my stand in the intro — most students may be unclear of their stance in the beginning and end up contradicting themselves so it’s safer to write your stand only at the end when you’re clear of what you’ve written.

DISCLAIMER: This is definitely not a model answer but its what I typically use. Hope this helps. You should really clarify with your teacher because they’re marking your internal exams and if your entire school uses the same structure, it wouldn’t really ring an alarm bell for the examiners during the actual exams. Good luck!

Hi, thanks a lot for the help :biggrin:

, how are you coping with A-Level Economics in general?

Reply 3

a gudetama

10

Original post by AnxiousStudent_1

Hi, thanks a lot for the help :biggrin:

, how are you coping with A-Level Economics in general?

I’ve recently completed my A-levels in nov! I take the SIPCAL set by CIE. Economics has been my most hated subject which I took simply because we are required to take a contrasting subject (which is Arts in my case) and econs seems like the least artsy subject >< so the structure really helped me cope! But well I guess Econs is q fun to learn, in general.