IntroductionThis Module has been designed to help you revise what you have learned across the IGCSE Economics course and is an important tool in the preparation for your external examinations. Your tutors have carefully selected past and specimen papers from both the Cambridge and other examination boards which will help you to:
- Revise key topics.
- Gain valuable experience of answering exam questions – you will become familiar with the style and format of different types of exam questions.
- Practise completing exam papers under timed conditions.
Please make sure that you use the Assignments, the comments from your tutor and the Mark Schemes as part of the revision process.
Finally, we recommend that you prepare a Revision Plan with weekly topics from now until the exam itself and use whatever other sources, such as Crash Course Economics on YouTube or others that you have found work for you, to help commit what you have studied to memory.
In terms of the exams themselves, you will be sitting two papers as follows:
Paper 1: 30 multiple choice questions to be sat in 45 minutes that represents 30% of the qualification.
Paper 2: One compulsory (4-6 paragraphs) data response question and a choice of three from four much shorter (one paragraph) data response questions. This paper lasts two hours and 15 minutes and represents 70% of the qualification.
Please prepare a Revision Plan giving you topics for each week until the date of the exam.
TopicsTopic One (10.1): Key Skills to Prepare for Paper 1Topic Two (10.2): Key Skills to Prepare for Paper 2Exam Preparation Materials & Past PapersOptional Mock Exam ServiceTopic One (10.1): Key Skills to Prepare for Paper 1
IntroductionMultiple choice questions allow the examiner to cover all the syllabus in one paper, and often students find them problematic. This should not be the case if students use past papers and mark schemes to practise and, in fact they are a very good marker as to how your revision is progressing. The number of questions that come up over a series of papers is limited, so the more that you can practise, the better!
Each question is worth one mark and may include diagrams, tables of data or involve simple calculations. Make sure that you read the questions carefully, as in most cases two of the four options provided will be clearly incorrect and can be discarded immediately.
If you are finding a question difficult, move on and come back later. Marks are NOT deducted for incorrect answers so, as a last resort, guess!
ReadingPlease read pages 20-22 of the Learner Guide (link below) for ideas on how to revise efficiently. Specific Paper 1 advice is on page 22.
Please reread each assignment, the mark scheme and tutor comments, and use the revision exercises from course book as part of your revision process.
DownloadThe following resource will help you revise for Paper 1:
READ - Learner GuideDownload READ - Learner Guide ActivitiesNow it is time to practise some past papers. Work through the most recent past papers for paper 1 using the mark schemes to check your answers. Make sure to go through all three available regional variants (i.e. Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3).
COMPLETE - Exam Past Papers Continuing your RevisionWhen you have finished revising the most recent past papers for Paper 1, it is time to look at the key skills you will need to prepare for Paper 2 in the next topic.
Topic Two (10.2): Key Skills to Prepare for Paper 2
IntroductionPaper 2 covers the whole syllabus. You must answer the first question, which is worth 30 marks and is based on source material. It is useful to read the approximately six to eight question parts first and then read the source material so that you know what you are looking for from the text. It is also best to answer the question parts in order, as they tend to increase in terms of learning objectives.
If you are asked to carry out a calculation, please show your workings because, if more than one mark is awarded for the correct answer, you may be able to gain a mark for the right working even if you make a miscalculation.
Pay careful attention to the command words and the marks awarded. For example, if a question part asks you to identify two economic goods from the stimulus material, and awards two marks, just state them. Do not waste time explaining them; you will not gain any more marks
The second part of the paper gives you a choice of three from four questions. To decide which three to choose, read ALL four of the questions first before the data. Remember to choose the questions to answer based on how easily you can answer ALL questions, and especially the ones that carry the most marks (usually the last couple of questions).
It is advisable to spend 45 minutes answering the first question and half an hour on each of the three optional questions, you select. Choose your optional questions carefully. You might think that you can write strong answers to question 2(a) and question 2(b) but are unsure how to answer question 2(c) and question 2(d). In contrast, you may not know the answer to question 3(a) and might only be able to explain one rather than two reasons in question 3(b). Nevertheless, if you think you could provide strong answers to 3(c) and 3(d), it would be better to select question 3 than question 2.
ReadingPlease read pages 20-22 of the Learner Guide (link below) for ideas on how to revise efficiently. Specific Paper 2 advice is on page 22.
Please reread each assignment, the mark scheme and tutor comments, and use the revision exercises from course book as part of your revision process.
DownloadThe following resource will help you revise for Paper 2:
READ - Learner GuideDownload READ - Learner Guide ActivitiesNow it is time to practise some past papers. Work through the most recent past papers for paper 2 using the mark schemes to check your answers. Make sure to go through all three available regional variants (i.e. Set 1, Set 2 and Set 3).
COMPLETE - Exam Past Papers Optional Mock Exam ServiceAt this point in your studies, you now can work through the most recent past papers for this course that are not yet available to the general public. You should sit these papers as a mock examination under timed, exam conditions.
Please note that this is an
optional service for Wolsey Hall students, for exam practice, and for which there is an
extra charge. The papers will be marked and you will be given feedback on your submissions, which you will find invaluable as part of your revision and exam preparation.
For further information please read the following:
EXPLORE - Optional Mock Exam ServiceExam Preparation Materials & Past PapersUseful documents for exam preparationHow to Revise for Your ExamsDownload How to Revise for Your ExamsHow to Sit ExamsDownload How to Sit ExamsLearner GuideDownload Learner GuideOptional Mock Exam ServiceExam past papers2021 Papers & Marking Schemes2020 Papers & Marking Schemes2019 Papers & Marking Schemes2018 Papers & Marking Schemes2017 Papers & Marking SchemesOptional Mock Exam Service IntroductionWelcome to the Wolsey Hall Mock Exam Service. You will have the opportunity to complete a full set of recent past papers for this course in exam conditions. This will provide an invaluable opportunity for you to test your revision and practise your exam technique.
Your mock exam will be marked by an experienced tutor and detailed feedback will be provided, including information about where you may have lost marks and what you can do to improve your examination technique.
ApplicationPlease note that this is an
optional service for Wolsey Hall students, for exam practice, and for which there is an
extra charge. If you would like to make use of this service please complete the application form:
COMPLETE - Optional Mock Exam Service Application 