YEAR 12 MOCK EXAMINATIONS Revision Information

You will have two mock examinations in Economics: Paper 1 Markets in Action (microeconomics) Paper 2 The National and International Economy (macroeconomics)

The times when each group will sit each paper are shown below: Session Monday 1 Paper 1: B12/EC2 2 3 Paper 1: A12/EC1 Paper 1: D12/EC5 & D12/EC6 Tuesday Paper 1: C12/EC3 & C12/EC4 BREAK Paper 2: B12/EC2 LUNCH Paper 2: A12/EC1 Wednesday Paper 2: D12/EC5 & D12/EC6 Paper 2: C12/EC3 & C12/EC4

Each paper will last for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Calculators are allowed.

Paper 1: Markets in Action The paper will consist of a series of short answer questions and one longer essay based on an unseen case study. There are a total of 60 marks available. In preparation for the examination, you will need to study: Chapter 1: Chapter 2: ALL PAGES, including the economic problem; factors of production; specialisation; the role of markets; opportunity cost; production possibility curves ALL PAGES, including demand and consumer surplus; supply and producer surplus; price, income and cross elasticities of demand and price elasticity of supply, including the business relevance of such estimates; allocative efficiency and the conditions under which it is achieved market failure, including information failure, negative and positive externalities, merit and demerit goods and public goods; policies to correct market failure, to include indirect taxes, subsidies, regulation and the provision of information. Tradable permits will NOT be examined in this mock examination.

Chapter 3:

Approximately three-fifths of the paper will be based on topics in Chapters 1 and 2 of the textbook, with the remaining two-fifths (including the essay) focusing on Chapter 3. The essay will ask you to discuss how a particular form of market failure may be addressed by one or more policies. General answers on the pros and cons of a particular policy, with no attempt to apply this knowledge to the scenario given, will be penalised. There will be two questions that ask you to comment. These questions, as well as the essay, carry marks for both analysis and evaluation of your arguments, and you should frame your answers accordingly.

Paper 2: The National and International Economy The paper will consist of a series of short answer questions and one longer essay based on an unseen case study. There are a total of 60 marks available. In preparation for the examination, you will need to study: Chapter 4: ALL PAGES, including aggregate demand and its components and determinants; aggregate supply and its determinants; macroeconomic equilibrium; the circular flow of income, leakages and injections; the multiplier effects; output gaps; effects of changes in AD and AS on output, unemployment and inflation ALL PAGES, including the measurement (including difficulties), causes and consequences of: economic growth, unemployment and inflation; the structure of the current account of the balance of payments and the causes and consequences of a deficit or surplus on the current account; the determination of exchange rates and the effects of changes in exchange rates on the macroeconomy (including on export prices, import prices and aggregate demand) the reasons for and consequences of possible conflicts between policy objectives; the meaning of international trade and the advantages that may be gained from it; methods of restricting international trade (tariff and non-tariff methods of protection) The material from pages 138 to 157 (inclusive) of Chapter 6 will NOT be examined.

Chapter 5:

Chapter 6:

Questions will be drawn from across these areas and may ask you to make links between them (e.g. by asking you how an increase in interest rates might increase unemployment). The essay will either ask you to discuss how a change in the macroeconomy may affect one or more macroeconomic indicator or to discuss the consequences of meeting or not meeting a particular macroeconomic objective. There will be two questions that ask you to comment. These questions, as well as the essay, carry marks for both analysis and evaluation of your arguments, and you should frame your answers accordingly.

Good luck!

The Economics Department

EXAMINATION TECHNIQUE: COMMAND WORDS Assuming you have revised thoroughly and your knowledge is sound, the most likely reason for losing marks is a failure to understand and do what is required in each question. The following advice should help you recognise what each command work signals: Identify/State Write down Define Provide a precise statement about the meaning. Definitions must be short but accurate, so learn them well. Describe Give a description of. Differs from explain in that the underlying reasons are not usually required. Calculate Use the data provided to work out an economic statistic. (Since there is no formula sheet, you will need to know the definition of each concept in order to calculate it. Also, you are likely to need a calculator.) Explain Say what will happen, and give reasons to support your answer. Analyse Present a clear economic argument which makes use of relevant theoretical concepts, justifying your answer either by reference to a suitable diagram or by providing the underlying reasons for each stage of your argument. Comment on Requires an analysis (see analyse) followed by a reasoned account of the overall validity of the argument. For example, if asked to comment on whether taxation is the most effective policy for correcting market failure, you should first analyse how taxation would correct market failure, then comment on whether it is the most effective way. Or, if asked to comment on whether a table of data supports a given theory, you should first analyse what the data shows (X decreased throughout the period, Y was negative for every country shown) and then comment on whether most of the data is supportive and also on any limitations of the data. Easy when you know how Discuss Reserved for the final question at AS (and on these assessments), discuss signals a longer response in which you should include an analysis, examine its limitations and perhaps (depending on the wording of the question) present an overall judgment. If there is no clear analysis of the issue central to the question, you will receive very low marks on this type of question. Quality of analysis and focus on the wording of the question are therefore key. The Data Question There will usually be a table of data or chart provided and one or more questions which refer to it. You could be asked to identify something from the data, describe its main features, compare two or more sets of data, or comment on whether the data supports a particular theory or point of view. The advice above stands: just remember that there are generally no marks for reproducing the data or trawling through it.