Every year there are tens of thousands of entries to economics essay competitions.
However very few essays are successful.
As an economics tutor who has given students advice on their essay competition entries, here are 5 tactics to improve your essay.
For the complete personal statement guide, click the blue button here (paid resource):
Break down the question
Consider if there are any key terms that need defining. This will help keep your essay focussed on this term.
Often the scope of the question could be quite broad. For example no country may be specified. Maybe you want to focus on a particular country or group of countries.
There is usually a word limit. So you will have to make choices about what you do and don’t include.
Use literature!
Literature includes reports, books and academic papers.
For reports, think about which agencies may have written about this area. Books
One key differentiator is the use of academic papers. For example, search your topic in Google Scholar https://scholar.google.co.uk/ and see if you can find any relevant papers.
Academic papers can be very hard to understand. Consider reading the introduction and conclusion to get a general idea.
Focus on trying to understand the key takeaways rather than the details of complicated mathematics.
If you find difficulty in understanding, you could ask another student or teacher to help with understanding a particular paper or concept. Or leave the paper out and move on to another piece of literature.
One tricky thing about academic papers is being able to explain their ideas. Explanations should be succinct and easy to understand. There’s no point regurgitating what the paper says without at least expressing the ideas in your own words.
Find key statistics
First, statistics can be used to motivate the research. For example mentioning a statistic about the extent of income inequality may help introduce the topic and give reasons why intervention may be needed.
Statistics can come in handy for what I call “parameter estimates”. These are estimates of key variables in economic models. The best example of this is the price elasticity of demand. If you can find estimates of this, you can discuss the burden of a tax for example – do consumers or producers face a greater burden?
If you are looking at the harm caused by smoking, you may want to find monetary estimates for the size of the externality (at the margin).
Optional: include diagrams (if it helps explain your point)
Diagrams allow you to show off your knowledge of economic theory and simplify complex ideas.
Maybe you can use a diagram from A-level Economics, such as an externality diagram or aggregate supply / aggregate demand diagram. Maybe there is another diagram you have found from your reading that may be helpful. Make sure the diagram does not stand alone, but that you refer to it in your text.
But you do not have to include a diagram, particularly if it does not add any value to the overall piece of work.
An example diagram is below. It shows how utility changes with a change in money. The key point is that the agent is hurt more by losses than the extent to which they enjoy gains. This can explain all sorts of phenomena, for example behaviour in financial markets or how businesses frame purchases.
Can you approach the question differently?
Think about what other students might do to answer the question.
This would likely be a standard set of arguments for and against based on their A-level economics understanding.
Consider a different way of answering the question.
Is there a unique approach you could take? Is it worth focussing explicitly on particular issues in the problem?
Maybe some mathematics would help explain the problem. Maybe the standard economic argument has serious flaws. Or you may find a paper with a key idea on which to base your essay.
Other Questions
Why should you enter an essay competition?
- Learn research/writing skills
- Look into an area that you find interesting
- Use in your personal statement
These are notoriously difficult to win because of the number of entrants. Receiving a commendation is also very tough. So a more practical mindset is to see what you can learn about the topic.
A good time to enter one of these is in year 12 when there are fewer exams.
Which economics essay competitions are there?
Some examples of economics essay competitions are:
Others include Minds Underground, LSE, Marshall Society and there are many others.
Pick competition(s) based on which titles that you find intriguing. Also bear in mind any deadlines and how much time you have.
Related Posts
For A-level economics advice, including exam technique tips (application, analysis and evaluation), click here.