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economics essay

i’m doing edexcel igcse economics, and struggling with the 6,9,12 markers question. i don’t really know about the writing structure and how i can start writing. thx for people who answer me.

Reply 1

morgan.is.ded

Okay, so this is how our teacher taught us the structure for the 6,9, and 12 markers :

For the 6 marker: your analysis will be one sided as you will not be looking at the other side of the argument

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Introduction : if possible, define the key term mentioned in the question and then add context

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Body : explain what the question asks of you through the extension of the points made in the case study

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Short One-Sentence Conclusion : just make a reasonable judgement or come to a conclusion (it is to note though that this is just to make your answer more holistic as the examiner's report states "Analyse questions do not require evaluation but the command words ‘assess’ and 'evaluate' do require a two-sided argument in order to achieve full marks. The evaluate question also requires a judgement/conclusion" and since most 6 markers are "analyse" questions it is not necessary to have to have a conclusion but just to be on the safe side, adding one sentence to close the explanation would be more holistic)

for e.g. there was this 6 marker in the January 2020 Paper 1R:
In the UAE, 87% of Dubai’s shopping malls are owned by just five firms. The retail
sector is predicted to reach $71bn in sales by 2021 and employ 25% of Dubai’s
workforce. Each shopping mall offers something different to customers, for example
an indoor ski slope or an indoor aquarium. Dubai’s retailers benefit from its tourism
sector, as the city ranks as one of the busiest shopping destinations in the world
With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, analyse why
the shopping malls in Dubai are considered to be an oligopoly.

Introduction :
An oligopoly refers to a market structure in which a few large firms dominate the industry with each firm having significant market power (definition). In the case of the shopping malls in Dubai, they can be considered an oligopoly due to various different reasons (context).

Body:
Firstly, since 5 firms own most of the shopping malls in Dubai (use the data and information from the case study and explain it), this makes the market oligopolistic, considering that only a few firms are dominating the market, a key characteristic of oligopolistic markets. Moreover, the shopping malls in Dubai are engaging in non-price competition, which is heavily relied on in oligopolistic markets, considering that they are making constant attempts to differentiate their services and products from their competitors, as some offer an indoor ski slope while others offer an indoor aquarium. One major reason as to why there might be a lot of differentiation is so that they can perhaps attract the tourists as Dubai is one of the busiest shopping destinations in the world, which therefore also generates a huge sum of money in sales, predicted to be around $71 billion ; also increasing the barriers to entry as a large sum of money will be required to enter the market, which is another feature of an oligopolistic market.

Short One-sentence conclusion:
Overall, with market domination of a few firms, increased product differentiation, and extremely high barriers to entry, the shopping malls of Dubai can be considered an oligopoly.

For the 9 markers: your analysis this time will be two-sided, as you will explain both the negatives and positives of the phenomenon

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Introduction: definition with context

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Body 1 : advantages (at least 3 and they are fully developed)

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Body 2 : disadvantages (at least 3 and they are fully developed)

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Short One-Sentence Conclusion : 9 markers usually use the command word "assess", which again does not require the need for you to write a conclusion (but I would suggest you put it in anyway)

for e.g. there was this 9 marker in the June 2021 Paper 1:
Fast food restaurants around the world use division of labour during the production of food
and drinks. Employees are given different tasks. Burgers are fried before being placed in a
bread ‘bun’. Chopped lettuce and tomatoes are then added. Potatoes are also peeled and
sliced in order to make fries. With reference to the data above and your knowledge of economics, assess whether a
firm, such as a fast food restaurant, always benefits from using division of labour.

Introduction:
Division of labour refers to the breaking down of the production process into smaller processes, for each worker to complete a different task and specialise in it. In the case of fast food restaurants, indeed they benefit from using DOL to a great extent however there are some drawbacks to it as well.

Body 1:
Why DOL is good

Body 2:
Why DOL is bad

Conclusion: note that this is an "assess" question which means that a conclusion isn't really necessary
Overall, fast food chains always tend to benefit from the DOL as it enables them to operate more efficiently.

For the 12 markers:

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Introduction: definition with context and you could also try to mention the extent of support

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Body 1 : advantages (at least 3-4 fully developed points)

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Body 2 : disadvantages (at least 3-4 fully developed points)

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Conclusion : this needs to be thorough and fully-developed, as you should make your judgement and you could also suggest some policies to support your judgement, and mention things that would work in the short term and long term.

for e.g. there is this 12 marker in the Sample Assessment Material of 2019:
External costs in T-shirt production
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it takes 2700 litres of water to produce
one T-shirt. Water is used not only to grow cotton but also to dye clothing. Cotton
growers use pesticides and chemicals that pollute the water. The pesticides and
chemicals that remain in the environment harm animals and plant life. The WWF
has been working with governments to help reduce this pollution. It advises
them to introduce more regulation and to fine companies that pollute. Clothing
manufacturers argue that this will add to their costs and mean they will supply less.
This may mean they employ fewer people and will help reduce water pollution as
less clothing is being manufactured. Fines will punish those that pollute while also
earning the government revenue it can use to clean up the pollution. The fines must
also be large enough to persuade firms to stop polluting. With reference to the information given in ‘External costs in T-shirt production’ and your knowledge of economics, evaluate the impact of the government introducing regulation and fines to reduce the external costs of clothing production in its country.

Introduction:
Government intervention refers to the interference of the government in the economy due to several different reasons such as to curb the negative external costs or protect the environment. With the introduction of regulation, which are laws introduced by the government as well as the introduction of fines, financial penalties, the government can reduce the external costs of clothing to a vast extent, however this will also have various drawbacks. (note that you can choose to define regulations and fines in your answer rather than government interference (I wrote this answer a year back and now looking back at it, it would be more reasonable to either define regulations or fines, or even external costs))

Body 1:
How is this advantageous

Body 2:
How is this disadvantageous

Conclusion: these are "evaluate" questions so a fully-developed conclusion is necessary
Overall, the government's introduction of fines and regulations on firms producing cotton t-shirts can prove to be quite beneficial , depending (you can always argue that it 'depends' on what action is taken for or against it) on how they are regulated. If the regulations are strictly monitored and are large enough to impact both small and large firms to the extent that they can still operate, then these fines and regulations will prove to be advantageous, however if the fines are too large, it is also highly likely that unemployment will rise and firms will need to sack a lot of their labour in order to keep making a profit while producing a large output, hence it's impact can be rather harmful to the country. Moreover, the government can employ a myriad of different policies (these suggestions are usually present in Level 9 answers) along with the introduction of regulations and fines such as subsidizing water filtration and setting up water recycling plants to further restrain the negative external costs.
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