Embracing change
In order to do well in the Economics exam, students need to keep on top of current affairs and should practise answering sample questions, writes Yeats College teacher ShaunaMujic
“Will the Irish economy continue to stay strong, or is it on track for another crash?”
It’s the million euro question. At this stage in your Economics education you will have discovered that there is no end to the conversational questions people will ask you nor to the knowledge that you are required to have for your exam.
Economics is not your average subject. Less than 6,000 Leaving Cert students will sit this paper on the morning of 21 June. Whether you’re excited by the intrinsic diagrams and theories of microeconomics or you have always been interested in what causes economic growth and government policies, this subject is a passion of yours. Don’t waste that passion, don’t think it won’t help you; it’s a vital ingredient in excelling at Economics. However, now is the time to get super organised. Economics is often referred to as a “social science” and, just like any science, there is a system behind studying it.
Economics is all around us and is relevant to everyone’s daily lives. It is a “living subject” that is constantly changing. If you read the weekly newspaper or watch a current affairs programme on television, you are guaranteed to come across some economic issues that you may be asked about in your exam in June. Topical issues are vital in the economics exam and the H1 student is required to have knowledge of a range of topical and current economic issues outside of their textbook.
Breakdown of topics
Leaving Cert Economics is divided into two major categories: microeconomics and macroeconomics.
Microeconomics deals with how individuals decide what goods or services they are willing to buy or not to buy; and how firms try to reduce costs in order to maximise profits.
Macroeconomics is a study of how governments handle the economy as a whole, and how they decide on policies to achieve their goals
PLUS:
➤ History of Economic Thought ➤ Topical Issues 2019
Paper Structure Higher and Ordinary Levels
Duration of Exam: 2 hours, 30 minutes (150 minutes) Total marks for exam: 400 At the start: 10 minutes should be spent reading, highlighting and picking your questions Section A: Short Questions – 100 marks: 25-30 minutes You must answer six of the nine short questions asked.
Questions 1-5 carry 16 marks. Questions 6-9 carry 17 marks (therefore questions 6-9 must be answered to maximise marks).
Timing: 4-5 minutes per question Questions based on the entire course.
Section B: Long Questions – 300 marks: 1 hour 40 minutes
You must answer four of the eight questions asked. Each question carries 75 marks in total.
Timing: Spend 25 minutes per question Bullet point answers should be used (NEVER use essay-style answers).
Note: Generally, in Section B there are three to four microeconomics questions and four to five macroeconomics questions. However, in recent years many questions have been
mixed with different topics and some have even contained a combination of micro and macro topics. Hence, students cannot “cherry pick” topics or try to take short cuts when preparing for their exam. Ideally, you will be left with 10 minutes at the end of the exam to tidy up your paper.