Page 13 - Griffenomics

SPRING ISSUE GRIFFENOMICS
13
AS EXAMS
FACT: THE AS ECONOMICS EXAMS FOR 2014 ARE ON THE 13TH AND 21ST OF MAY
Personally, revising for my Econ 1 and 2 last year was a chal-
lenge, since I was also taking two science subjects and
art. Economics was the only time I developed any essay
writing style, and I learned how to answer very quickly through
a paper. It was important to create a personal, yet e¢cient way
of ‘mastering’ all the knowledge, facts and evaluations from the
year of Micro and Macroeconomics.
As such, when I was studying for AS, I remember taking
two aspects of the exam into account: multiple choice and the
more extended answers. Well in truth, the revision for multi-
ple choice, as well as the 5 and 12 mark questions, will fall un-
der notemaking, memorising and understanding key concepts.
Do this first, either in the early stages of the Easter holiday, or
beforehand. Using one coloured ink will leave you with pages
of endless passages that will make the task of learning much
harder. Instead break up your notes with diagrams, colours and
make mind maps for each chapter as an essential ‘summary
page.’ By all means, download the free popplet app that the Eco-
nomics department has trained you to use throughout the year.
So by the Easter ‘break’, it’s a good idea to have already high-
lighted your handouts, and made your own revision notes, so
that you can learn from them and summarise them further. Af-
ter each essay you do, it’s vital to make a page of essay feedback
once your work is returned, with notes on what you got wrong
and what to improve on next time. This is especially important
if your grades were disappointing. The worst you can do is bin a
poor piece of work, thinking you’ll be fine for the exam, because
the teachers are testing you on REAL past questions that stu-
dents have actually seen in front of them in the exam hall. It’s
possible you’ll see that same question, perhaps phrased diƒer-
ently, come the Summer AS exams.
Once you know your chains of reason and understand key
definitions, you can start to argue against your own ideas. This
is where evaluation comes into play, and it’s a good idea to get
used to seeing situations in two opposite views, as this concept
only gets more important and worth more marks as you move
onto A2.
If there’s anyone who’s keen enough to write out a full 25
mark essay for every question that’s ever existed, you’re wast-
ing your time. The best thing to do is to go to the AQA Econom-
ics website and search past AS papers, and paste all the avail-
able 25 mark questions into one word document (the list only
starts at about 2007). It’s also possible that your teachers have
already handed you one of these sheets and they are very im-
portant during your revision sessions. Next, go through each
essay, make notes and plan what you would write in the actual
essay. Make it neat and put in more eƒort than the plans you’ll
make in the AS exams. Write out the chains of reasoning you’d
use and evaluative points under each chain. This way you will
have answered every single past paper question that exists for
AQA without having to cramp up your hand.
Finally, on the day before your exam, the best thing to do is
some final light revision in the morning/afternoon. Don’t even
bother looking at your books in the evening, and especially not
outside the exam hall the next morning. If you’re still finishing
revision notes the night before, you’ve left it too late. The best
you can do on the day is walk into the hall with a clear mind and
knowing that you’ve prepared for it.
Good luck in the Summer!
REVISING FOR THE AS
Nothing is out of reach if you are willing to work for it.
Revise
By Easter break, ensure that your hand-
outs are highlighted and your revision
notes are finished.
Self-check
Make feedback sheets once your work is
returned and note what you got wrong
and what you can improve on.
Evaluate
Always consider a viewpoint from two
opposite sides. This concept gets more
important in A2.
Practise
Use past papers and mark schemes to
master exam technique. You don’t need
to write out full essays, just plan them.
IN SUMMARY…
“The best you can do on the
day is walk into the hall
with a clear mind.
WHAT TO
EXPECT
FROM
THE AS
Paper One and Two
75 minutes
75 total marks
Multiple Choice
25 questions,
one mark each.
Data Response (choice of two)
4 parts;
5, 8, 12, 25 marks respectively.