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Author Topic: 8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics  (Read 19362 times)  Share 

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hermansia12

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8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics
« on: July 22, 2016, 12:14:19 am »
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Hi Everybody :) :) :)

These are a few tricks to help with studying and answering questions in the exam.

1. Your Economics syllabus is your best friend. The syllabus details all the potential questions they could ask, especially for short and extended response questions. More often than not, the extended response questions are usually extremely similar to any dot point listed under the sub-heading “Examines Economic Issues” in the syllabus.

2. Even in short answer responses, try to give examples of current affairs which relate to the question. Band 6 students can analyse the effectiveness of economic policies and their effects to economic activity. Having these examples impress markers because it shows solid understanding beyond what is required which leads to band 6s.

3. Memorising statistics: Don’t memorise these the night before! These will become your downfall if you do cram. The trick to memorising statistics is reading/watching the news daily (weekly at the very least). When you’re watching the news, use the psychological trick by noting down key points and statistics as interesting. TRENDS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPECIFIC STATISTICS!!! Your data should always reflect the effects/impacts of policies and economic issues relevant to the question.

4. A good overview of economic statistics in Australia can be found in the RBA Snapshots. Throughout the HSC I kept a copy of the data released each month so that I could see the recent trends in Economic Activity in Australia. This allows you to back up your evaluation on the effectiveness of policies. Another great website is Trading Economics, although I’m pretty sure everyone should be familiar with this website at this point in time.

5. DO NOT MEMORISE ESSAYS. THEY WILL BE THE DEATH OF YOU. Yes, economics sounds like a lot to memorise. Officially there are 4 content heavy topics. But only 3 key things you need to study for in the exam but still be covered for anything they throw at you (This is assuming you have strong general knowledge of economic graphs and preliminary content):
  •   Globalisation and Australia’s part in it (ie trade blocs, change in the economy due to globalisation etc.)
  •   Your case study country’s policies and statistics with regards to globalisation and economic issues
  •   Economics Issues and Policies: These should be integrated together in order to make study more effective. To do this, list the issue and then find macro (usually fiscal and the budget) and micro (regarding industry) policies that are relevant and their effects on economic activity.

6. Stimulus essays is BOSTES giving you cheat notes. These essays definitely look intimidating but they’re gifts in disguise. When you look at these questions, breathe first, keep calm and follow these steps:
  a)   In the reading time, choose the question that least intimidates you.
  b)   Figure out what aspect of Economic Activity and economic issues they want you to address. Remember everything usually relates back to policies and their effects on inflation, economic growth, unemployment and CAD.
  c)   Revolve your essay around the stimulus- You need to refer to the given stimulus AT LEAST ONCE.
  d)   Before writing, PLAN. This may seem like a waste of time but it will probably be the saving grace to the flow of your essay. Planned essays are band 6 material and markers can tell!

7. When in doubt- SUPPLY AND DEMAND; All economic issues can be stripped back to your supply and demand curves. Draw these diagrams and refer to them! Especially in essays!!

8. Multiple choice is the biggest black hole of marks for the hurried and stressed. Read the question carefully and note the direction of shift in demand /supply. Take your time and read over them. Losing one stupid mark here is not worth it!

Economics is a hard subject, not going to lie and this is coming from someone who got band 6. Its content heavy, lots of statistics and its very flexible depending on the current affairs of the economy. Hopefully this helps a bit. Good Luck!!

 Keep calm and supply and demand!
 
Economics: 91
English Advanced: 90
Studies of Religion 1: 46
Mathematics Extension 1: 88
Mathematics Extension 2: 73

ATAR: 96.05

Currently studying: Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (Hons)/Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW

conic curve

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Re: 8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2016, 12:22:14 am »
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Thanks for the contribution  ;D

I'm just generally curious but how do you prepare for curveballs in economics?

Also does the structure of an economics essay matter as much as an english essay?

How do you adapt your economics content to certain stimulus (short response and long response) that you have never seen before

Thanks  :D
« Last Edit: July 22, 2016, 12:26:41 am by conic curve »

jamonwindeyer

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Re: 8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2016, 12:24:07 am »
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Hi Everybody :) :) :)
These are a few tricks to help with studying and answering questions in the exam.
Keep calm and supply and demand!

Thanks for the contribution hermansia12!! Welcome to the forums, super happy to have you (and I bet lots of Economics students will be very happy to have you around as well)  ;D

hermansia12

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Re: 8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2016, 01:52:51 am »
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Thanks for the contribution  ;D

I'm just generally curious but how do you prepare for curveballs in economics?

Also does the structure of an economics essay matter as much as an english essay?

How do you adapt your economics content to certain stimulus (short response and long response) that you have never seen before

Thanks  :D

Hey Conic Curve! Happy to help :)

The biggest trap when facing curve balls is Panic. A key thing to remember is that If you think this question is difficult, then a lot of other students are feeling the same. These questions are usually in there to determine which student can acutally apply their knowledge effectively and not just memorised the textbook. Panic only hinders your ability to access the knowledge effectilvely so the first step is to calm down and breathe.   

First off, economics makes simple concepts extremely complicated so the best thing to do in curve balls is strip it back to basics. Economics always breaks down to supply/demand and economic activity (CAD, unemployment, growth, inflation).

Terminology can throw you off so try to figure out what key economic concepts/issues are being conveyed and what trends are important in the given stimulus. Remember: Economic statistics are meaningless without trends.

I cannot stress this enough but as a hsc economics student, its very important to keep up with current affairs in the economic world. Keep an eye out for practical applications of economics in the real world and their effects with regards to economic activity.  Doing this will help you immensely when answering tricky questions.

HSC is just exposure to questions. There are alot of standard questions they give you in economics such as the effects of monetary policy so know how to answer those effectively. Generally curve balls are just variations of common questions. I remember during my prep for HSC, question 21 (a) in the 2013 short response was:

"A highway currently passes through a country town. The government is proposing to build a bypass that diverts highway traffic away from the town.
Discuss the costs and benefits of this proposal."

 
Its a bizzare question, where do the effect of roads come into the syllabus?!? But if we take it back to basics, its basically asking about externalities and infrastructure spending by the government. First list off all economic concepts and issues you think are relevant to the question, it will usually make how you would answer the question much clearer
 
Structure matters!! Even if its a sentence, include a conclusion in the last 5 seconds. Writing structure and planned responses goes under "communicates concepts clearly" which is a band 6 attribute.
 
Also, economics usually gives you a second question for extended response so put the curve ball question at the back of your head first and see if the second question is easier to tackle. Always answer the easier question, it makes no difference to the marker if it is a popular question, just the way you address it.

Hope this helps :)

Economics: 91
English Advanced: 90
Studies of Religion 1: 46
Mathematics Extension 1: 88
Mathematics Extension 2: 73

ATAR: 96.05

Currently studying: Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (Hons)/Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW

hermansia12

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Re: 8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2016, 02:00:00 am »
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Quote
Thanks for the contribution hermansia12!! Welcome to the forums, super happy to have you (and I bet lots of Economics students will be very happy to have you around as well)  ;D

Thanks for the welcome Jamon!!!  :D :) :)
Economics: 91
English Advanced: 90
Studies of Religion 1: 46
Mathematics Extension 1: 88
Mathematics Extension 2: 73

ATAR: 96.05

Currently studying: Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (Hons)/Bachelor of Commerce at UNSW

conic curve

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Re: 8 Tips to Band 6 in HSC Economics
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2016, 10:58:29 am »
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Hey Conic Curve! Happy to help :)

The biggest trap when facing curve balls is Panic. A key thing to remember is that If you think this question is difficult, then a lot of other students are feeling the same. These questions are usually in there to determine which student can acutally apply their knowledge effectively and not just memorised the textbook. Panic only hinders your ability to access the knowledge effectilvely so the first step is to calm down and breathe.   

First off, economics makes simple concepts extremely complicated so the best thing to do in curve balls is strip it back to basics. Economics always breaks down to supply/demand and economic activity (CAD, unemployment, growth, inflation).

Terminology can throw you off so try to figure out what key economic concepts/issues are being conveyed and what trends are important in the given stimulus. Remember: Economic statistics are meaningless without trends.

I cannot stress this enough but as a hsc economics student, its very important to keep up with current affairs in the economic world. Keep an eye out for practical applications of economics in the real world and their effects with regards to economic activity.  Doing this will help you immensely when answering tricky questions.

HSC is just exposure to questions. There are alot of standard questions they give you in economics such as the effects of monetary policy so know how to answer those effectively. Generally curve balls are just variations of common questions. I remember during my prep for HSC, question 21 (a) in the 2013 short response was:

"A highway currently passes through a country town. The government is proposing to build a bypass that diverts highway traffic away from the town.
Discuss the costs and benefits of this proposal."

 
Its a bizzare question, where do the effect of roads come into the syllabus?!? But if we take it back to basics, its basically asking about externalities and infrastructure spending by the government. First list off all economic concepts and issues you think are relevant to the question, it will usually make how you would answer the question much clearer
 
Structure matters!! Even if its a sentence, include a conclusion in the last 5 seconds. Writing structure and planned responses goes under "communicates concepts clearly" which is a band 6 attribute.
 
Also, economics usually gives you a second question for extended response so put the curve ball question at the back of your head first and see if the second question is easier to tackle. Always answer the easier question, it makes no difference to the marker if it is a popular question, just the way you address it.

Hope this helps :)

Thanks so much  ;D

You should be the next future moderator on this forum  ;)