An Introduction to Economics at GCSE and Advanced Level
At its core, the study of economics focuses on the ways in which finite resources such as labour and capital are put to use. Its scope is vast - from the most meagre goods exchanges to the workings of the stock market to the use of Government and international policies to influence the economic lanscape. Compared with many subjects, economics is a relatively recent discipline. Many candidates setting out on an A Level economics course quickly become spooked by the wealth of jargon they seem to have to learn (credit multiplier, price elasticity, imperfect markets etc). The language of economics is often over-complicated by those in the field and economists have a tendency for using daft phrases for simple phenomena..But if you can persevere and come to grips with such frequent convolution, economics quickly becomes an enjoyable and in many ways a simple subject to study at GCSE and advanced level.
Economics is one of those peculiar subjects often studied by both those of a scientific and literary bent. Economics students also studying traditional arts disciplines, such as history or English Literature, often show greater skill at writing excellent economics essays, while those with a more mathematical background tend to pick up the numerical aspects of economics more easily. Economics is equallly approachable from both areas.
One of the great things about economics as an exam subject is that most of the subject matter is simple common sense and can be "reasoned through" without a vast amount of background knowledge. Some would argue that being able to do this, requires an "economist's mind". Most people, whether they know it or not, have such a mind because most people have to consider how they use their own resources - time, money, interest, energy - to best desired effect on a daily basis.
Those wanting to excel at A Level would be wise to approach economics as a discpiline and read beyond the often weighty textbooks from which an entire course can be plucked. Reading Adam Smith's Weath of Nations, for example, not only outlines prinicples which are still as relavant today as they were ground-breaking in the 18th Century, but will enable you to get a feel for where economics as a subject stems from. Reading Malthus, Marx's Das Kapital or the works of John Maynard Keynes offer similar breadth of knowledge.
At GCSE, candidates are essentially required to get a handle on the key terms and concepts and be able to put them to use in analysing real world scenarios. At A/AS Level, the scope of expected conceptual knowledge expands significantly, as is the way such knowledge and insight is applied to given problems.
To achieve the top marks in economics, students need to show the following:
- An exemplary understanding of the vocabulary of economics
- An ability to apply that thorough understanding to a series of questions often presented in graphical or statistical form.
- The ability to write in a cogent, relevant and insightful manner in response to set questions.
