Exam Technique: An examiners perspective

Some really useful pointers as to what constitutes a good exam answer and what the common mistakes might be....written by a UK examiner.

I marked twenty AS macro essays this morning – and many of the answers were tremendously revealing in terms of where students are in their exam preparation. Along the way I tweeted some thoughts – hopefully they might be of some use
There is no mystery to doing well in exams – no mystery at all – it is good subject knowledge, clear writing, evaluative thinking …. And hard work ….. the rest is mere detai

• Here is essay title - Evaluate the likely impact of inward labour migration on 3 macroeconomic objectives #econ2 good essay for evaluation!

• Best answers so far stay totally clear of politics and focus on both demand and supply side effects. Evaluation focus on productivity/trade

• Exam tip: Please avoid words such as incredibly, extremely, clearly .... be more cautious ... might instead of will, possible impacts etc.

• "Clearly" usually means "possibly" i.e. "not clear at all but I'd like it to be so"

• Note the time ... 0851 and the first student to confuse a trade deficit with a fiscal deficit

• Some of my students need to work on a much stronger final judgement and say something different

• "Economic growth is the annual change in real GDP" ...if you start an answer with an incomplete / inaccurate definition the answer suffers!

• A diagram is simply basic knowledge, with written support it can be analytical or even used for evaluation!

• 8 essays into the marathon ... students who show contextual knowledge of the UK or other economies ALWAYS get higher marks #econ2

• Interesting / worrying to see good students drifting back to vague/superficial GCSE writing just as key AS exams come into view - defensive?

• Lower corporation tax might cut costs and increase jobs in industries such as hairdressing" a fringe answer at best! #econ2

• Iron law of exam scripts? The worse the legibility of an exam script, the less the student thinks that it matters?

• I understand a lot of teachers are BIG on exam technique ... rightly so ... but awareness / knowledge is the decisive factor for me

• Knowledge of what is actually happening in an economy opens the door for strong evaluation .. it provides a sense of context

• My latest complaint? Students starting an evaluative paragraph with "It depends on..." WHAT IS "IT"?

• "Investment in schemes is very costly and involves an opportunity cost" why do students think they can get away with such superficial drivel

• "Investment in education / training schemes might take a generation to have an effect" nonsense from students with no real world context

• Putting AD/AS diagram into answer with NO explanation is the equivalent of dancing on your own on a crowded dance-floor - make connections!

• "However, Mal-investment can prove useless and the government needs to investment carefully" no wonder that students under-perform in exams!

• "The UK within both a EU and global context is seen as an attractive country to live in and work for migrants." Opening to a superb answer

• Really good answers this morning appreciate different schools of thought - Keynesian, Austrian perspectives, free market v interventionist

• I was struck by what Ha Joon Chang said on Thurs at RSA - the numbers matter, students need to be aware of the data to deepen understanding

• Students often peddle superficial evaluation arguments without thinking them through - they might have been told to include certain points!

• Education / training interventions can have a significant short term effect on the labour market - "long term effect only" point is strange