ESSAY WRITING SKILLS

As an economics teacher and tutor, my goal is to impart two things to the students: what to write and how to write. Based on my experience in school teaching and providing economics tuition, I find that the aspect of what to write is relatively easier to tackle as this can be done by first explaining economic concepts to students and then applying them in essay discussions. Although this process can be arduous for some, most will get the hang of it after sufficient practice. Teaching students what to write is like teaching students in a swimming class the strokes of swimming and then practising them in the pool. Here, I would like to emphasise that the final stage of this process is practising the strokes in the pool (i.e. applying economic concepts in essay discussions) and not learning the strokes of swimming from a manual (i.e. learning economic concepts from lecture notes). The aspect of how to write is a more difficult and challenging one to tackle. My quest for the best way to impart this skill has led me back to the traditional and possibly the simplest method; to show students the model answers. I have written many economics model essays with the objective of showing students what economic concepts to apply in answering various theoretical and topical questions (i.e. the aspect of what to write). In addition, they also show students how to explain economic concepts in responding to various questions (i.e. the aspect of how to write).

CASE STUDY ANSWERING SKILLS

The case study paper requires a great deal of practice to excel in. I give the students in my economics tuition classes ample case study questions to practise. The questions include those in past-year JC preliminary economics examination papers and A level economics examination papers. I work through the questions with the students with reference to the answer schemes given by the examiners. More importantly, I value-add by improving on the answers, some substantially, particularly the evaluations, in which some teachers seem to have difficulty. I teach the students in my economics tuition classes the skills to answer case study questions such as drawing reference to the text and the data and using supplementary knowledge. The students will also learn the skills of interpreting and describing economic data. I will also highlight to them the common errors made by economics students such as confusion about the difference between change and rate of change. The avoidance of these common errors can improve the grade substantially.

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD ECONOMICS ESSAY

In GCE A Level H2 Economics, the essay paper accounts for 60 per cent of the total marks. Therefore, good essay writing skills are essential for obtaining a good grade in the subject. Although there is no one best way to tackle an essay question, students can use The 8-Step Approach to construct a good answer.

The 8-Step Approach

Step 1: Read the question carefully. Step 2: For a two-part question, look at the mark that each part carries as it indicates the length of the answer expected. Further, consider part (b) before attempting part (a) to prevent any overlap between the answers. Step 3: Pay particular attention to key words as they indicate the content areas on which you are required to focus.

Step 4: Pay particular attention to command words as they indicate what you are asked to do. A list of command words commonly used in the GCE A Level Economics paper together with their explanations is provided below. Step 5: Make a note of the relevant economic theories and concepts that come to your mind without paying attention to their degree of relevance. Step 6: Prioritise the relevant economic theories and concepts in accordance with their degree of relevance. Step 7: If the list of relevant economic theories and concepts is too long, consider ways to merge some of them. Otherwise, what you did in Step 6 should help you decide which of them to apply and which of them to ignore. Step 8: Organise the relevant economic theories and concepts that you have decided to apply in such a way that there is a structure to the answer. The answer should comprise an introduction, body and conclusion. It should be about four pages in length, excluding diagrams. Refer to the sample answer below. Question: Discuss whether the growth of the Chinese economy would be detrimental to the Singapore economy. The Introduction The introduction should define the economic terms in the question. It should also give an overview of the approach in a clear and concise manner. For structured questions, however, an overview of the approach may not be necessary. You should not form a judgment in the introduction. In other words, you should not use the conclusion as the introduction. Example Economic growth is an increase in real national income or real national output. The effects of the growth of the Chinese economy on the Singapore economy can be discussed in terms of the effects on the balance of payments, the national income, the unemployment, the general price level, the efficiency and the income equity. The Body The body should contain the thrust of the answer, usually comprising a few paragraphs, with each paragraph containing only one main idea. The main idea in each paragraph should be succinctly conveyed in the topic sentence, with the rest of the paragraph elaborating the topic sentence by giving details, examples, facts and statistics. The topic sentence is usually, but not always, the first sentence in the paragraph. Sometimes, the topic sentence can be the only sentence in the paragraph if it is self-explanatory. Example (A Paragraph of the Body) The growth of the Chinese economy may lead to a deterioration in the balance of payments of Singapore. The balance of payments is a record of all the transactions between the residents of the economy and the rest of the world over a period of time and is made up of the current account and the capital and financial account. Due to its larger pool of low-skilled labour, China has a comparative advantage over Singapore in producing low value-added goods, which include consumer, capital and intermediate goods. Therefore, the growth of the Chinese economy will lead to a fall in Singapores exports of low value-added goods. Other things being equal, the current account and hence the balance of payments ofSingapore will deteriorate. When the Chinese economy grows, China will attract some foreign direct investments from Singapore due to its lower labour cost and larger consumer market. Further, due to the same reasons, firms in Singapore will be induced to increase investments in China. Other things being equal, the capital and financial account and hence the balance of payments of Singapore will deteriorate. The Conclusion For part (a) questions, the conclusion can be a summary or a recommendation. For full-length and part (b) questions, the conclusion should be an evaluation. Example In the final analysis, the benefits of the growth of the Chinese economy to the Singapore economy are likely to outweigh the costs. Singapores exports are made up of mainly high value-added goods.

Therefore, the increase in exports of high value-added goods in Singapore is likely to more than offset the decrease in exports of low value-added goods. Further, Singapore has a small domestic sector and hence is rather export-dependent. Therefore, the increase in exports in Singapore will lead to a substantial increase in the aggregate demand. Due to its lack of factor endowments, Singapore imports a lot of intermediate goods. Therefore, the growth of the Chinese economy which will allow Singapore to obtain intermediate goods at lower prices will substantially reduce the cost of production in Singapore. You are given only 45 minutes to plan and write the answer to an essay question. Since you need about 35 to 40 minutes to write the answer, you have only about 5 to 10 minutes to plan the answer. When planning the answer to an essay question, you should not be too concerned with with producing the standard answer because it does not exist. What is required of you is to show evidence that you have understood the question and that you have the ability to apply relevant economic theories and concepts to answer the question in a coherent manner that demonstrates the five core thinking skills: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis and synthesis, and evaluation. Knowledge and comprehension are often considered the lower-order thinking skills. Application, analysis and synthesis, and evaluation are often considered the higher-order thinking skills. An explanation of these thinking skills is given below. When writing the answer to an essay question, you are encouraged to use diagrams that are correctly labelled to illustrate understanding of the relevant economic concepts. However, you need to take note that diagrams that are incorrectly explained or incorrectly labelled may do more harm than good. Further, although examples are not compulsory, in many instances, they illustrate understanding of the relevant economic concepts and substantiate explanations. You should NOT write everything that you know about a given content area. In other words, you should answer the essay question DIRECTLY, with the help of the key words and the command words, taking into consideration the marks allocated. Indirect answers and irrelevant answers will gain no marks. You should avoid a one-sided answer. In other words, you should provide an evaluation or evaluations in the answer as far as possible. An explanation of this thinking skill is given below. You should refer back to the essay question occasionally to stay focussed on what is required of you to do. This is to avoid writing out of point. Last but not least, legible handwriting is crucial to obtaining a good grade in the subject. Although you will not get bonus marks for legible handwriting, you will not get any marks with illegible handwriting. Good grammar will enhance the quality of the answer. Command Words Command Word Explanation Students are asked to provide an explanation of how an event or situation came about. Students are asked to break down an argument or information into its component parts and identify ways in which the parts are related. Students are required to recognize the underlying assumptions. If this command word is augmented by the extent to which, then a judgment is also sought. Students are asked to make a judgment about the magnitude or the relative importance of the issue raised in the essay question, taking into account the influence of other factors or events on the issue. Students are asked to describe two or more situations or economic concepts and show the similarities and the differences between them. Students are asked to present a view on an argument, point of view or theory, based on the evidence available.

Account for

Analyse

Assess

Compare

Criticise

Define

Students are asked to provide the meaning of an economic concept, using examples and formulas to illustrate understanding where appropriate. Students are asked to give a portrayal of an event or situation. This command word does not have any undertone and hence a critical review is not expected. Students are asked to offer a considered review of the issue raised in the essay question, giving the arguments for and against. Students are asked to make clear an understanding of similar economic concepts, showing both the similarities and the differences. Students are asked to make an appraisal of an argument or statement, making a reasoned judgment about the validity of the argument or statement with evidence as far as possible. Students are asked to unravel the events that lead to a particular set of circumstances or the validity of the reasoning that underlies a particular point of view, stressing the relative importance of the different arguments and their relevance to the issue raised in the question. Students are asked to make plain an economic concept, using examples to illustrate understanding where appropriate. Students are asked to provide a brief description. This may be the case due to a follow-up to the second part of the essay question. Students are asked to present both sides of the argument and make a judgment by stressing the strength of some arguments over others. Thinking Skills

Describe Discuss

Distinguish

Evaluate

Examine

Explain

Outline

To what extent

Thinking Skill Evaluation

Explanation Ability to detect fallacies in arguments. Ability to question underlying assumptions. Ability to consider the arguments for and against to reach a reasoned conclusion. Ability to recognize the limitations of economic theories and concepts in the analysis of economic questions in particular applications. Ability to break down an argument or information into its component parts, identify ways in which the parts are related, and reorganise them into a new entity using economic analysis. Ability to distinguish between statements of fact, value judgments and hypothetical statements. Ability to apply economic theories and concepts to explain economic questions presented in a novel way. Ability to apply economic theories and concepts to explain contemporary events. Ability to apply economic theories and concepts to explain economic questions of a routine nature. Knowledge of economic theories and concepts. Knowledge of the Singapore economy. Some knowledge of the major trading partners of Singapore such as the United States and China.

Analysis And Synthesis Application Comprehension Knowledge

Some knowledge of international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.