How to write essays for Edexcel A-level Economics

In this post I outline the key requirements for each section (mainly B and C) in papers 1 and 2 for Edexcel A-level Economics A. This is the advice I give to my tuition students to help them achieve improved grades.

From years as an economics tutor and from reading through the examiner’s reports, I have picked up students’ typical mistakes and good general approaches for A-level Economics students.

For an online course on economics exam technique, check out this link here:

Economics A Level Exam Technique Course | For Edexcel Economics A Students

For sample answers to 25 mark questions, check out the link below:

24 model answers to 25 mark questions | Edexcel Economics A style

Section A

Here the total marks – 25

So ideal timing – ideally you would get this section done the quickest, for example around 15 minutes or even quicker.

Note there is no need to say much about the structure here. It is important to be succinct with short answer questions.

Also with questions asking to draw a graph, make sure to label axes, lines and equilibria correctly.

Section B

Now this section requires the knowledge, application and analysis (KAA) skills as well as the evaluation skills.

Total marks – 50. Note this is half the marks of the paper for papers 1 and 2.

Here the ideal timing – 60-70 minutes. Note you may want to spend some time reading here.

Below, this table shows the mark allocation for each question.

To summarise, the more marks allocated to analysis or evaluation, the more you need to write. You should remember this table when doing exam questions.

Mark allocation between KAA (knowledge, application, analysis) and evaluation for each question in section B in Edexcel Economics. Note sometimes the order of questions will vary in the actual exam.

Breakdown of Section B by question

First the 5 mark question. Answer the question quickly and use the extract to support your answer. Keep it succinct, at most an extended paragraph. No evaluation required.

Next the 8 mark question. Here 6 marks for KAA, 2 for evaluation. A good general structure is 2 KAA paragraphs and 2 short evaluative comments (or 1 evaluative comment well developed). See page 24-25 of this examiner’s report for a good example, though the evaluation could be even shorter as the examiner’s report notes: here.

Now for the 10 mark question, 6 marks for KAA, 4 for evaluation. The difference between the 8 and the 10 mark question is the extra marks for evaluation. Again 2 KAA paragraphs but now 2 developed evaluative comments.

For the 12 mark question, 8 marks are for KAA and 4 for evaluation. For the 12 mark question, we need 2 more detailed KAA paragraphs, ideally one where a diagram is being used and explained, and 2 developed evaluative comments. To find a response that received full marks, see pages 27 to 28 on the examiner’s report here.

Finally for the 15 mark question, there are 9 marks for KAA, 6 for evaluation. For this we need 2 KAA paragraphs, ideally with at least one diagram where possible. Note these explanations should be deep with more than one chain of analysis per paragraph. The two evaluation paragraphs should be well explained.

Typical Mistakes in Section B

From students essays I have observed, typical mistakes in section B include:

Often overwriting;
Specifically spending too much time on 8 and 10 mark questions. This is often to the detriment of 12, 15 mark questions and the 25 mark question in section C;
Conversely leaving parts or whole questions blank due to not understanding the question or time constraints;
Also missing one or more of the criteria – application, analysis or evaluation.

Section C – 25 Mark Essay

Finally for the section C essay, total marks – 25

Here the ideal timing – 35-40 minutes.

So for the 25 mark essay, the mark allocation is 16 marks for KAA, 9 for evaluation.

Now regarding the structure different teachers have different recommendations on the structure of this question. The simplest way is to:

First, have a short introduction with one/two key definitions;
Then two extended KAA paragraphs each with multiple chains of analysis, at least one (if not two) graphs in the analysis;
Between these KAA paragraphs, two extended evaluation paragraphs with extended chains of analysis;
Finally there should be a conclusion that directly answers the question, justifies the answer and relates back to the context.

In addition for an example essay that scored in the top bands is on pages 56-60 in this examiner’s report here.

Any spare time you should use to make your answers more complete, filling in any gaps left. This exam is often quite tight for time. So please do practise in timed conditions.