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Economics Paper 1 Tips

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Started by Summer Glau, March 10, 2012

economics



Summer Glau Posted March 10, 2012 

Gone with the wind
NOTE: This thread was written based on the syllabus for exams in 2012. A lot of this
stuff is still useful for the 2013 syllabus though 
Ready to own economics? Alright, here we go! We’ll tackle this paper part by part.

For paper 1, you will always have a choice of 4 questions. Each question has 2 parts, part A and part
IBS Alumni B. Each question usually relates to a specific section of the syllabus. For example, there could a
question about price ceilings from microeconomics, a question about unemployment from
macroeconomics, and so on. And you just have to choose ONE out of the four! So, it makes sense to
pick the easiest question! Pick the question that you are most knowledgeable about and could write a
lot about.

999 posts
So during your 5 minute reading time, this is what you should be doing. Read all the questions and
Exams: May 2012
think about which question you want to do. Usually people will really like one question and instantly
know that they found their soul mate question. (OK, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get what I
mean, right? Think through the different things you could say, the diagrams you could draw, etc. )

In the case that you are stuck between two (or more) questions, then think about part B. Remember
that part B is more important since it is worth more marks (15 for part B vs 10 for part A). Which
question do you think you would be able to best evaluate? Go for that question.

Now that we got the basic structure down, let’s move on to the different parts of the question.

Part A

Part A of paper 1 always asks you to explain something. It is worth 10 marks. It may ask something
like “Explain different factors that cause a change in the nation’s exchange rate.”

So what do you do first?

OMG HELP ME I’M GONNA FAIL I’M BLANKING OUT!!!!

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Right, remember to chill out before you start. You’ve prepared for this (or at least I hope you did), so
don’t panic! Even if ideas don’t come to your head right away they will once you start writing! So take
a deep breath before you start and relax your body.

DEFINE any economic terms you see in the question! Show the examiners that you’re not
confused by fancy-shmancy economics terms! Show them that you know what they are
asking you. Plus you really should define them because you get marks for doing so So
define any economic term you see in the question. Always include an example to back up
your definition! Even if your definition is not totally correct but your example is good, you can
still get full marks for your definition.

For example, an exchange rate is one currency expressed in terms of another currency. An example
would be that 1 US dollar is equal to 30 yen.

Sure, this exchange rate may not be the actual exchange rate, but it shows understanding of what an
exchange rate is. It shows that you understand the concept, which is what your examiner is looking
for.

Next, answer the question! Attack the question! If it asks you to explain a concept, do that!

For example, we know that a change in supply or a change in demand could affect the value of an
exchange rate compared to another. Some things that could cause a change in supply are…and then
you ramble on about the different factors. Then state the effects of an increase in supply of a certain
currency...

A picture is worth a thousand words. And the best picture you could draw on your exam
paper is a diagram to SHOW what you are talking about! If you say that there will be a
decrease in the demand for a good/service, show it on a diagram! Make sure that you include
all your labels, like axis labels, equilibrium points, etc. Also MAKE YOUR DIAGRAMS BIG. I
would say to make them at least half a page big. Then, your examiner will be able to see nice
and clearly what you're talking about, and they don't have to strain their eyes to peer into
some tiny corner of your page to get the idea of what's going on. Remember, happy examiner
= better chance of scoring high. Any label that you were taught to include on a specific
diagram, include it! Then you can mention the effects of an increase/decrease in
supply/demand, etc as shown on your diagram.

Time management is key! Don’t spend too long on this question! Remember part B? Part B is
worth 15 marks and part A is only worth 10 marks. Spending too much time on part A means
that you’ll have to rush through part B. You should have a better answer for part B because it
is worth more marks. Since you have 1 hour to write paper 1, I would spend roughly 25
minutes on this section. Once you’ve passed 25 minutes, stop writing for part A and move on
to part B!

Part B

Ok, so we’ve reached the dreaded part B. It will always start with the word Evaluate. Some of you
may be wondering what evaluation is. Evaluation is basically the effects of whatever is happening on
different people. It is very important that you know how to evaluate here!

Example: Evaluate the effect of a lower exchange rate on a nation’s economy.

You might be thinking “What on earth am I supposed to say? That question is sooooo broad!” Yes, it
is a broad question! It’s broad so that it can accommodate many different points of view and many
possible answers. It’s impossible to talk about ALL the possible effects of a lower exchange rate on a
nation’s economy, especially in a time of 35 minutes (given you spend 25 minutes on section 1).

So what do you do then?

Focus on one effect at a time. For example, you could say that a lower exchange rate will
result in inflation due to an increase in demand from foreigners for domestic goods, then write

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about that and show it on a diagram. Now that you’ve explained to your examiner why
inflation would occur, then you can mention all good and bad things that come with inflation
as part of your evaluation. Inflation is usually a sign that an economy is growing and that
people are buying more. Real estate owners would win because the value of their assets
would increase. People who borrow money from a bank would also be positively affected
because the value of the money they borrow is worth more than its value when they repay it.
However, customers would lose because their purchasing power decreases. Lenders would
also lose because they are repaid with money that is worth less now than when it was
borrowed from them.

In evaluation, you can also talk about businesses, the government, etc. Basically just talk about
anyone/anything that could be affected.

See how both sides of the effects of inflation are incorporated? That’s what you have to do when you
evaluate. Talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

After you talk about one point in depth (inflation) then you can move onto another if you have time.
But make sure you’ve covered the important points first.

Prioritize, prioritize, prioritize. IB likes to see people prioritize their points. There really isn’t a
right answer as to which point should be the most important in your discussion. As long as
you can justify your prioritizing, then it should be fine. Start with phrases like “The most
significant effect of this policy is…” to show prioritization.

Don’t forget about structure! The IB doesn’t have a set rule on whether you should write in
point form or in sentences. However I would say that writing in full sentences looks a lot more
professional. You want your examiner to have a good impression of you right? Not the
impression that you’re cutting corners…

It’s also good, wherever possible, to organize your thoughts into paragraphs so that you can clearly
distinguish between different ideas. This being said, this is not an essay. Do not waste time writing an
introduction and concluding paragraph. At most you could write a sentence or two, but it’s better to
spend your time writing about things that can actually gain you marks.

Well that's it for now...if anyone has any more tips to add, feel free to add on =D

21 people like this

Wide Eyed Wanderer Posted March 14, 2012 

Hakuna Matata
How about we change the topic to Econs Exam Tackling Thread, and accommodate tips for paper 1,
2 and 3, all in one place?

1 person likes this

Members

118 posts
Exams: May 2012

Summer Glau Posted March 14, 2012 

Gone with the wind
I'm actually working on tips for paper 2 SL (same as paper 3 HL) so I will get those up as soon as I
finish! I didn't take econ HL though so I know very little about paper 2 HL :/ If anyone has tips for that
you're more than welcome to share (same for the other papers).

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Hmm if you guys want I could put all the papers in one thread...

1 person likes this

IBS Alumni

999 posts
Exams: May 2012

Wide Eyed Wanderer Posted March 15, 2012 

Hakuna Matata
I have mocks going on right now so I'm a bit pressed for time, but once they're done I'll put up tips
for Paper 2. It'll be good to have all the tips in one place. Or maybe we can have a thread for HL and
one for SL ( I don't know if the assessment criteria is different for both - Is it? Sorry, no one in my
school takes SL econs so..).

Members

118 posts
Exams: May 2012

Sunny2505 Posted March 26, 2012 

 On 3/15/2012 at 0:42 AM, Summer Glau said: 

I'm actually working on tips for paper 2 SL (same as paper 3 HL) so I will get those up as soon
as I finish! I didn't take econ HL though so I know very little about paper 2 HL :/ If anyone has
Members tips for that you're more than welcome to share (same for the other papers).

Hmm if you guys want I could put all the papers in one thread...
1 post
Exams: May 2012
You dont have any latest eco HL papers(2011)? my exams are in may so i really need to solve some
latest papers.

halocheese Posted April 29, 2012 

Mnemonic for determinants of demand/supply.

P-Price T-Taste

I-Industry I-Income
Members
T-Technology P-Population

2 posts T-Taxes (Subsidies) P-Price of other products (Substitutes/Compliments)

Exams: May 2013
S-ExpectationSSS S-ExpectationSSS

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pedro123dfs Posted November 2, 2014 

Hi,

Members

15 posts i've uploaded my notes and summaries for History and Economics for IB and A-Level examinations
Exams: Nov 2008 here:

aibnotes.blogspot.com

Among other topics, you'll find "Government macroeconomic policy objectives and indicators of
national economic performance"

Hope you find them useful

tezzah Posted April 30, 2015 

Hi, quick question but I always get confused over whether to use the LRAS or SRAS diagram when
they ask for the macro part in paper 1. Would you only use SRAS hen showing increases in the
costs of production?

Members 1 person likes this

2 posts
Exams: May 2015

turtle turtle Posted May 11, 2015 

Good advice, thanks

for some reason I thought we had 15 minutes each part lol

VIP

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245 posts
Exams: Nov 2016

avnish Posted December 6, 2015 

does the mark scheme for the part a questions in paper 1 always mention to include 1 diagram or
could there be instances when the mark scheme in the top band marks says to include 2 or more
than 1 diagrams? Because my teacher said that once you put a diagram you're good but my friend
told me that his teacher marked him down for putting only 1 diagram, and we both had the same
Members question for practise.

12 posts
Exams: May 2017

tw85246 Posted March 25, 2017 

Hello, can you give any advice on using real world examples for answering paper 1 questions? It
seems pretty difficult to me to use real world examples for macroeconomics.

Members

2 posts
Exams: May 2017

NarcisPoloRos Posted May 22, 2017 

Hey could someone send me a good link to some past papers, I would really appreciate it.

Members

1 post
Exams: May 2018

IB`NOT`ez Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) 

 On 3/25/2017 at 9:16 PM, tw85246 said: 

Hello, can you give any advice on using real world examples for answering paper 1 questions?
It seems pretty difficult to me to use real world examples for macroeconomics.
VIP

Don't sweat about real life examples, especially for macro. There's really not many examples apart
from common ones e.g. inflation in japan/venezuela, unemployment in spain etc. etc.
475 posts
Exams: May 2017

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Students generally aren't expected to excel in Paper 1, as can be discerned by the boundaries: 36-
38/50 is enough for a 7. That means you only need to score 18-19/25 per question, which isn't easy,
but not overtly difficult either – and can definitely be achieved even without examples. Such an
element imo is too stressed upon – the amount of effort needed to know all specific examples for
each micro and macro subtopic and then being able to apply them is time better spent elsewhere as
the usual difference between a good response without an example and a good response with an
example is about ~4/25 marks. That means with perfect understanding of the theory, you can
achieve 42/50, more than you need for a 7, without even knowing examples.

It's better simply to master the theory and your diagrams rather than wasting precious time learning
specific real life examples and applying them – it's needed for the highest of mark bands, but even
to get a 7 you don't need to do so.

Also worth noting that a lot of the Paper 1 questions nowadays have a built-in premise that you can
simply extrapolate upon to whatever country you live in e.g. question about monopoly power
regarding supermarkets you can simply use a real life supermarket name/brand from your country.

Edited May 23, 2017 by IB`NOT`ez

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