For learners taking the
qualification in 2014 or after, you will take two exam papers.
1. How will you be
tested?
Paper 01: Multiple
Choice
·
Paper Duration: 45 Minutes (Previously 60 Minutes)
·
Answer 30 multiple choice questions.
·
Each question has four possible answers, A, B, C and D.
·
Each question is worth one mark.
·
Paper 1 is worth 30% of the total marks of your Cambridge O
Level in Economics.
Paper 02: Structured
Questions
·
Paper Duration: 02 Hours 15 Minutes (Previously 02 Hours)
·
Answer the compulsory question (Question 1) in Section A.
·
Information and data will be given for the interpretation and analysis
of a real economic situation.
·
Question 1 is worth a total of 30 marks.
·
Answer three questions in Section B from a choice of six.
·
Each question in Section B is worth a total of 20 marks.
·
Paper 2 is worth 70% of the total marks of your Cambridge O Level in
Economics.
Post by Oscar Maldives.
2. Exam Tips
This section gives you
advice to help you do as well as you can. Some of the tips are general advice
and some are based on the common mistakes that learners make in exams.
·
Read each question carefully
and make sure you know what it is asking, and what you have to do, before you
begin your answer. Focus your answer on the question – do not write
about something else.
a)
You may answer a question about inflation and write all you know about
its causes and consequences, but the actual question asked wanted you to write
simply about how it is measured.
b)
You could be told that ‘Low unemployment is one of the aims of
government policy. Choose two other macro-economic aims of the government and
explain what they mean.’ Some candidates may ignore the word other and explain
low unemployment as one of their two aims. No marks would be given for that
part of the explanation.
c)
For longer questions, check every so often to make sure that you are
answering the question correctly.
·
Look at the command (directive) words in the question. These tell you what we are looking for.
a)
Identify or state
means you do not need to write very much – just show the examiner that you know
the answer.
b)
Define means you need to show
you understand the meaning of an economic term or topic and distinguish means
you need to show you understand the differences between two or more terms.
c)
Describe or explain
means you need to go into more detail, clearly showing you understand what something
is or how something happens – ideally giving a relevant example, or using a
diagram, to help your description or explanation.
d)
Analyze, discuss and to
what extent require you to go into much more detail and your answer should be
longer and include relevant examples and/or diagrams. You will usually be
expected to look at something from two contrasting points of view and then come
to a reasoned and well supported conclusion. Full sentences and paragraphs
should be used – avoid bullet points.
·
Look at the number of marks for each part of a question. This
should guide you as to how long you should spend on it. Some questions will
only gain you two or three marks while others may be worth as many as ten
marks.
·
Wherever possible, use a diagram to aid your explanations and
make sure that it is accurately drawn and correctly labelled.
Ensure that you refer to it in your answer and demonstrate to the
examiner that you know what it shows.
a)
Sometimes questions require you to include a diagram to score full
marks. Phrases in the question, such as, ‘with the help of a demand and supply
diagram’ will tell you when you have to do this.
·
Use appropriate and relevant economic examples wherever possible
to support the points you are making.
a)
Sometimes, a question will require you to include specific examples
of something, e.g. ‘Distinguish between direct and indirect taxes with the use
of examples.’ If you don’t include any examples of these different types of
taxes, you would lose marks.
b)
Some parts of Question 1 in Paper 2 will require you to include an example
from the extract provided. You may be asked, for instance, to ‘Identify and
explain one example of opportunity cost from the above extract’. If you
identify and explain one that was not in the extract provided, you would
not gain any marks.
·
Don’t write out the question;
this is a waste of time. Just make sure that you write the number of the question,
and the sub-part, so that the examiner knows which question you have answered.
·
Manage your time carefully.
Don’t spend too long on some questions and leave yourself without enough time
to finish the paper. You should also try to leave time to read through your
answer and correct any mistakes and/or add anything that you feel is
missing.
·
Make sure you know how many questions you have to answer. On
Paper 2 you are required to answer:
a)
Question 1 in Section A
b)
and any three from the six questions in Section B
So you should do four
questions in total. Each year, however, there are always some candidates who answer
more than four questions. There are even some candidates each year who answer
all seven questions. This will have been a waste of their exam time as no more
than four answers can be accepted.
3. What will be tested?
The syllabus sets out the
three assessment objectives in Cambridge O Level Economics.
Assessment Objective
|
Particulars
|
1.
Knowledge with understanding
|
Demonstrate
your knowledge and understanding of economic:
•
facts
•
definitions
•
concepts
•
principles
•
theories
•
vocabulary and terminology
|
2.
Analysis
|
You should be able to:
• select data
• organize data
• interpret data
Apply economic knowledge
and understanding in:
• writing
• numbers and calculations
• diagrams
• graphs
Use economic data to:
• recognize patterns
• find and show economic relationships
|
3.
Critical evaluation and decision-making
|
You
should be able to:
• distinguish between evidence
and opinion
• make reasoned
• communicate judgements accurately and logically
• recognize that economic theory
has various limitations and uncertainties
• evaluate the social and
environmental implications of particular courses of economic action
• draw conclusions from economic
information and critically evaluate economic data
• communicate conclusions in a
logical and concise manner
|
The following table shows
the relationship between the assessment objectives and the different examination
papers.
Assessment Objective
|
Paper
1 (%)
|
Paper
2 (%)
|
Overall
(%)
|
1.
Knowledge with understanding
|
45 ± 5
|
20 ± 5
|
28 ± 5
|
2.
Analysis
|
55 ± 5
|
35 ± 5
|
41 ± 5
|
3.
Critical evaluation and decision-making
|
00
|
45 ± 5
|
31 ± 5
|
The assessment objectives
are weighted to give an indication of their relative importance. They are not
intended to provide a precise statement of the number of marks allocated to
particular assessment objectives.
Post by Oscar Maldives.
