EXAM TECHNIQUE FOR THE AQA AS
ECONOMICS PAPERS
Definition Questions (5 marks)
In part (a) questions on the new AQA AS micro and macro papers, students are required to
provide a short definition of a term - the question carries 5 marks.
But do students have to write at greater length to obtain full marks?
The answer is no.
A reading of the examiners' report from the January 2009 papers finds that
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"To achieve full marks for part (a), a short but accurate definition is all that is required.
As long as the candidate shows that they understand the term, full marks will be
awarded."
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"Perhaps the main weakness when answering the early parts of the questions lay in
writing too much and wrongly believing that, because the marks available were roughly
double than had been the case in the legacy examinations, more needed to be written."

"An accurate one or two sentence definition is sufficient for full marks. A whole
paragraph is not required."
One of the macro questions asked candidates to define 'labour productivity'.
A simple statement such as ‘Labour productivity is a measure of the amount of output produced
per person employed’ was sufficient to earn the marks.
A clear, concise and accurate definition is all that is required to gain full marks for part (a) of the
data response question for the new specification.
It is not necessary to write at length, but some candidates wasted valuable time by doing so.
This is important advice and will help students to minimise time spent on the early questions
allowing more time for the longer analysis and evaluation questions.
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Data description questions (8 marks)
The second question on the AQA units 1 and 2 papers asks students to identify features of
selected economic data - usually in the form of a chart and/or table. The question carries 8 marks.
I produced a quick revision exercise on this aspect of the new paper a few weeks ago.
The January 2009 Examiners’ reports make for important reading once again
“For part (b), the candidate only needed to identify two distinct features of the data and
use figures to support their description. Many candidates understood this but some of the
answers were far too long.”
“Some candidates did not appear to realise that figures must be quoted. Also, despite the
instruction to ‘identify two main features’, there were a few candidates who just provided
a chronological description of the chart in words.”
“Numerous candidates adopted the familiar trawl approach instead of taking an overview and
providing broad points of comparison, backed up by some illustrative statistical data. Maybe the
fact that 8 marks are now available for this question led many candidates to the view that a lot of
writing was necessary. This is not the case.”
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Explanation questions (12 marks)
Part (c) explanation questions in the new AQA AS papers score 12 marks. For example in the
January 2009 macro paper students were faced with this question:
“Extract B suggests that international studies ‘provide explanations for differences in
labour productivity’. Explain two determinants of labour productivity.”
On the other question
“Explain two determinants of saving by households”
The examiners’ report gives some important clues as to how to approach these questions and
achieve high marks with the minimum of fuss.
(i)
Avoid a scatter-gun approach - pick two determinants and explain / develop them do not leave it to the examiner to determine the best two explanations within your
answer
(ii)
Use two separate paragraphs. In the first paragraph, the first determinant should be
stated in the first sentence and the rest of the paragraph should be used to develop the
explanation. This process should then be repeated for the second determinant.
(iii)
Go back to the data in the stimulus materials to help your answer. The most
commonly quoted determinants of labour productivity were: training (or skills),
incentives, job insecurity, investment in capital goods and improvements in
technology.
(iv)
Succinct definitions still count - some marks are available for relevant definitions
but not for repeating the definition that was required in part (a). If there are technical
terms in your answer e.g. savings ratio, disposable income, human capital - then offer
a brief and accurate definition - this will help achieve maximum marks for part (c)
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(v)
In micro questions a diagram is nearly always called for explicitly in the
question and should form the centre piece of the answer - but once drawn, avoid
laborious descriptions of it. Focus instead on explaining relationships.
Analysis and evaluation questions (25 marks)
The 25 mark questions make or break your grade and uniform mark on this paper. You have a choice
and care should be taken before committing yourself to an answer - read through all of the questions
first. That said - the direction of the question looks similar with each. Take the Jan 2009 paper as an
example

Using the data and your own economic knowledge, evaluate the significance of household
savings for UK macroeconomic performance (25 marks)

Using the data and your own economic knowledge, evaluate the significance of higher labour
productivity in bringing about improvements in UK macroeconomic performance (25 marks)
The 25 mark questions can often be quite daunting - but here are some simple but important tips:
1) Analysis diagrams: In my view, making effective use of AD-AS diagrams is absolutely crucial to
scoring well on these questions. There should always be at least one AD-AS diagram and sometimes
more, especially when you are making a distinction between short run and long run changes and their
effect on macro performance. “Diagrams were sometimes used to support explanations and it is
strongly recommended that teachers encourage their students to use them whenever it is appropriate.”
2) Macroeconomic performance: This phrase comes up all of the time. It is open to interpretation but in your revision, always try to consider what a change in this or that economic variable might mean
for
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
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The control of inflation / avoidance of deflation
Maintaining high employment / job opportunities / low unemployment rates
Achieving sustainable economic growth in the short and long run
Improving a country’s international competitiveness and trade performance
Contributing to increased social welfare / rising standards of living /quality of life
Improving the state of public (government) finances - i.e. a sustainable fiscal position.
3) Consider both demand and supply-side effects: This is important! Take the two variables chosen
for the Jan 2009 paper, namely household savings and productivity. A rising savings ratio or an
improvement in productivity can have significant effects both on the level of aggregate demand and
the short run business cycle and also influence long run aggregate supply - which has implications for
trend growth and trade.
4) Make good use of the stimulus material: Note the question says “using the data” ....the extracts
and charts are there for a reason - make good use of them e.g. going back to the data to support an
answer - but avoid slavishly repeating the material ... this is data response, not data ignore or data
drown!
5) Using your own knowledge: Often the difference between a good answer and a superb one. The
best students will demonstrate an awareness of what is happening both in the UK and the international
economy. Bring that knowledge into play especially when evaluating arguments. The most recent
examiners’ report makes this clear:
“Candidates are advised to use the media to gain a greater awareness of recent and current economic
events.”
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6) Make good use of evaluative phrases - such as
However
In the long run, the most effective policy is likely to be X because ….
The arguments are finely balanced but I believe that recent evidence for the UK supports X …
A possible disadvantage of this policy is that …
This policy is likely to have some effect but it depends on
Phrases to avoid! Please do not use these!
In summary
To conclude
As I said before
To repeat
All in all
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