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!