Seven Tips and Techniques to Ace the International Baccalaureate (IB) Extended Essay

Contributed by three economics teachers, specially for JC Economics Essays

If you are an International Baccalaureate (IB) student preparing to craft your Extended Essay (EE), this post is just for you. 

In this JC Economics Essays article, this essay will share the tips, techniques, and tricks to get you get an A grade.  

Just to recap, the IB Extended Essay (often referred to as the EE) is a 4,000 word structured mini-thesis you write under the supervision of an advisor, an IB teacher at your school, which counts towards your IB Diploma.

For the Extended Essay, you choose a research question and this topic needs to be approved. You can do a standard economics research paper, conduct an economic experiment, or solve a economic problem. Usually, the IB Extended Essay includes a cover page, a one-page synopsis of your Extended Essay, a contents page, the 4,000-word essay itself, and a bibliography.

Here are seven effective tips and techniques that you will need to write a Grade A Extended Essay!

First, Write About Something You Find Interesting

The Extended Essay requirement of the Diploma Programme is actually one of the enjoyable and challenging parts of the course. Students write a mini-thesis on an original topic, based on a subject of their choice. 

What have you found interesting in your economics studies, and what makes you curious to find out more? 

What makes you think, and what makes you puzzled and intellectually curious? 

Ask yourself these questions.

Second, Choose a Specific Topic Involving Your Home Country

Singapore economics students often successfully pick Extended Essay topics related to Singapore, or a country they call home. 

Taking Singapore for example, Singapore has plenty of original topics relating to government intervention in the free market and the larger macroeconomy.

Some of the possible research questions from economics students include:

To what extent has the recent economic recession affected demerit good consumption in Singapore?

Is the cinema industry in Singapore recession-proof?

To what extent has price changes in COE affected the demand for private transport in Singapore?

How affordable are the Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats compared to private condominiums in Singapore?

How effective are Singapore’s road congestion policies such as the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) policies in reducing traffic congestion?

Some of these economics research questions for the Extended Essay are good – focused on Singapore, specific and narrow; but some of the other research questions are too broad. 

A good research question is essential to a good Extended Essay. You need to write something specific. Because any economics research question must be answered within the 4,000 word limit, the research question needs to be limited in scope and reach.

The economics content has to be manageable, too. Limiting the number of economic concepts covered is important. A good economics essay will explain one concept in sufficient depth and link to other related economic concepts. For example, an explanation of market failure could link to elasticity concepts but should not examine effects on economic growth.

Third, Choose an Advisor Familiar With Your Extended Essay Topic

Choose an economics teacher as an advisor, or one who is familiar with the topic – enough said. Fundamentally, this is common sense. 

And do note that some IB schools require your IB Extended Essay advisor to sign an Agreement Form, so do ask your IB coordinator for any required paperwork. Handle all the paperwork competently. 

Fourth, Be Like a Pokemon Trainer - Choose an Advisor Who Will Challenge You to be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was

This is related to the earlier tip.

Some economics teachers take on students because they have to as part of their job and duties, and may not be passionate about reading drafts and giving feedback.

Choose an economics teacher who will take the time to read several Extended Essay drafts and give you extensive critique and feedback. Ask an economics teacher you have experience with, either through class or through CCA. 

Do not ask an economics teacher that you are not connected to, or a teacher from another academic field, because the teacher who does not know you or is unfamiliar with economics is unlikely to push you for your Extended Essay, or even unable to do.

Fifth, Have a Clear Essay Structure

All teachers love structure, economics teachers particularly so. Economics is dependent on structure, diagrams, order, and clear, crisp arguments. 

Your Extended Essay needs a clear introduction, economics research question with a strong focus on what you will be investigating, a body of economics research, and a clear conclusion. An Extended Essay with poor structure will be graded poorly.

Also, the abstract for your Extended Essay must be clear and summarise the whole economic argument. An ambiguous abstract will make it challenging for the economics teacher to follow your economics essay’s argument and will impact your Extended Essay grade.

The body of your Extended Essay should include relevant economic diagrams properly labelled and explained, along with real world and relevant examples and economic analyses to support your case.

Sixth, Be Proactive

You should read many economics articles and books, journal articles, and watching economics documentaries. Start the research process as soon as possible so that you can start writing your Extended Essay as early as possible.

Each school has a slightly different deadline for the Extended Essay so do take timelines and deadlines into consideration. Do not be late. Some schools will give you a timeline of when you need to come up with a topic, when you need to meet your advisor, and when drafts are due. Not all schools do so do ask your advisor and economics teachers to ensure that you are on time and on track.

Because a good Extended Essay includes a range of economic data and evidence, from secondary or primary sources, research and preparation time is needed. Too often economics students rely on surfing the web for their secondary research. Do not do that. Collecting economic data or examining a wide range of economic sources will be important in getting a good grade. Economics students can sometimes compensate in an economics essay with lots of secondary data by showing examples of in-depth economic analysis linking with separate pieces of secondary data to tell an narrative. A survey of cinema attendance during an economic recession, checked against secondary economic or financial data on cinema revenues and consumer incomes will provide appropriate economic analysis.

Seventh, Remember to Ps - Pace Properly, Prepare Properly, and Stay Positive

You have done your best for your Extended Essay and that is all that really matters.

If you pace your preparation and research work properly, prepare and draft solid and rigorous economic analysis, diagrams and economic analysis well, and stay positive and motivated throughout the entire process, you have done well. 

And you will do well for your Extended Essay... ceteris paribus.  

All the best, and thank you for reading! Cheers.

JC Economics Essays. This article was kindly contributed by a team of economics teachers. As IB tutors, D and A have guided many economics students to success. SS, a former economics teacher, compiled and consolidated the research and writing. Recently, SS' mother started teaching IB economics in an international school, sparking off research on this article. In addition to helping IB students, the information here will also be useful for JC economics students attempting economics research too. 

Thank you for reading and cheers. 

A Level H2 Economics Syllabus - Syllabuses 9732 and 9757

At JC Economics Essays, we focus on strong writing skills, clear and direct explanations of core economic concepts, the use of relevant, real-world examples to strengthen arguments, and a generally good understanding of economics for students. That is what JC Economics Essays as an economics blog stands for. 

And the use of good reference examples of varied essay responses and sample economics essays and answers will help economics students level up, improve, and write better economics essays. Tips and techniques will also improve economics students’ approaches and skills in case studies and essay questions too. Students must know what they are doing.

Nonetheless, it is also useful and important to keep updated on the latest A level Economics syllabus. And parents and economics students alike often want to know what is in the syllabus, and what is out – and what they should be focusing on. 

This post will make a quick comparison between the 2015/2016 H2 economics syllabus, and the 2017 (onwards) H2 economics syllabus. The research for this piece come from the Singapore SEAB website as well as references to current economics teachers and tutors in Singapore.  

The H2 Economics (2016) Syllabus 9732 shared that its aims were to develop in examination candidates an understanding of fundamental economic principles, theories, and concepts, and various methods of analysis used by economists; the ability to use economic reasoning to explain, analyse, and resolve economic issues, and evaluate economic policies; read critically, from a wide variety of sources, to gain information about changing economic activities and economic policies; and the ability to use evidence in making rational arguments, in context. 

Examination candidates were expected to demonstrate understanding of the main concepts, principles, and economic theories; methods of economic analysis; and understand and interpret economic information presented in textual, numerical, or graphical forms; apply relevant economic concepts and principles to explain and analyse contemporary events at the micro-economic and macro-economic levels; recognise unstated economic assumptions and make interpretations and valid inferences, and evaluate the reliability of information; evaluate alternative theoretical explanations and perspectives of economic problems, issues, and policy decisions; and organise and communicate economic ideas and arguments in a clear, logical, and appropriate form.  

The first theme of the 9732 H2 Economics syllabus was on the Market System. This theme provided an introduction to economics and examined the operation of markets for goods and services. It also focused on how consumers and producers make decisions in a market economy. Candidates were expected to understand the price mechanism as a means of allocating resources and apply theoretical demand and supply analysis to real world economic situations. 

The second theme of the 9732 syllabus was on Market Failure and Government Intervention. This theme examined market failure, its causes, and possible microeconomic policy remedies. Candidates were expected to understand why free markets may not allocate resources efficiently, and apply economic analysis towards dealing with market failure, and an evaluation of how effective policies, used by the government to deal with market failures, are. 

The third theme of the 9732 syllabus was on the National and International Economy. This theme provided an introduction to the key economic indicators of macroeconomic performance, AD/AS and AE-Y (Keynesian cross) economic analysis, and the main objectives and instruments of government policy. Candidates were expected to have a good knowledge of recent economic trends and developments in Singapore and the international economy, and to appreciate the possible underlying causes of these economic trends and developments, and evaluate the effectiveness of government policies.  

And now the latest economics syllabus is Economics Higher 2 (2017) (H2 Economics, Syllabus 9757). 

The learning of Economics is aligned with the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) Desired Outcomes of Education. 

Through the application of economic concepts, theories, and principles, examination candidates should assess the role of economic agents in the allocation of scarce resources, and adopt multiple perspectives in understanding real-world economic issues. Examination candidates recognise trade-offs and consequences from decision-making, and arrive at well-reasoned economic decisions. Candidates should develop knowledge, skills, and values, and take an active interest in Singapore's economy and the global economy as contributing and concerned citizens.

There is a greater focus on Disciplinary Thinking in A Level 9757 H2 Economics. 

Globalisation, changing population and demographics, and technological advancements are some of the key driving economic forces of the future, in Singapore, and also in the world. 

To help economics students thrive in a fast-changing VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world, one of the key 21st Century Competencies emphasised in the Economics Curriculum is Sound Reasoning and Decision Making. These are under the domain of Critical and Inventive Thinking. Given the importance of decision-making skills, the decision-making approach through an economic lens will be used to front disciplinary thinking in A Level Economics. 

Under this new economics syllabus, in the light of the central economic problem of scarcity of unlimited wants with limited resources necessitating choice, decision-making is fundamental to a deep understanding of economics as a discipline. Scarcity leads to the inevitability of choices, opportunity cost, and trade-offs. 

In this economics syllabus, decision-making is now framed as a process where economics students analyse how decisions are made from the perspectives of different economic agents (e.g., consumers, producers, and governments), adjusting for changes where appropriate.

Examination candidates will take account of the benefits, constraints, costs, perspectives, and necessary information, while recognising the impact of intended and unintended consequences arising from the decisions made, and corresponding trade-offs. Examination candidates will also recognise that decision-making by economic agents can have multi-faceted, short and long term implications that impact other economic agents. 

The 9757 syllabus is intended to provide the basis for a broad understanding of economics. Specifically, the 9757 H2 Economics syllabus aims to develop in candidates an understanding of fundamental economic concepts, theories, and principles, and the tools and methods of analysis used by economists; the ability to use the tools and methods of economic reasoning to explain and analyse economic issues, and evaluate perspectives and decisions of economic agents; the habit of reading critically, from a variety of sources, to gain information about changing economic activities and policies at the national and international levels; and the ability to use evidence in making well-reasoned economic arguments, arriving at rational and considered decisions. 

Economics Assessment

The updated 9757 economics assessment comprises two compulsory written examination papers: Paper 1 (on Case Studies) and Paper 2 (on Essays), similar to the previous syllabus and not fundamentally different. Taken as a whole, both Paper 1 and 2 will incorporate a balance of microeconomics and macroeconomics questions. 

Examination candidates are required to answer all questions for each case study, which carries 30 marks and constitutes 20% of the total marks. About 12 marks of each set of case study questions will be for data response questions, and about 18 marks will be for higher-order thinking questions. 

Examination candidates are required to answer a total of three economics essay questions; one must be from Section A, one from Section B, and the final question from either Section A or B. 

Economic Themes

Theme 1 introduces candidates to the central economic problem of unlimited wants and limited resources. 

Scarcity of the factors of production of land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship necessitates choice, and leads to economic decision-making. Through examining how the concepts of scarcity, rational choice, and opportunity cost are faced by economic agents (such as consumers, producers, and governments), examination candidates will be able to understand the central problem of economics facing all societies, and how economic agents use available information, consider perspectives, constraints, costs, and benefits in their rational decision-making processes. Examination candidates will also understand that decisions made by economic agents often have both intended and, more importantly, unintended consequences. 

In Theme 2, candidates examine how markets deal with the central problem of economics, and how decisions are made by economic agents in free markets. 

Theme 2 aims to provide candidates with a microeconomic analysis of how free markets function and how these markets may fail to achieve efficient and equitable outcomes, because of market failure and its various sources. 

Examination candidates will understand how the market forces of demand and supply interact to bring about market equilibrium (i.e., the economic concepts of the price mechanism, invisible hand, and coordination of the allocation of resources). Examination candidates will also examine the strategies of firms to achieve their varied objectives – and profit maximisation is not the only goal or aim of firms. 

In addition, candidates understand that while rational decisions made by consumers and producers are necessary for the functioning of markets, these individual decisions may lead to inefficient and inequitable outcomes. And in response, governments may intervene through public policy measures to improve efficiency and equity, while recognising limitations, unintended consequences, and possible trade-offs of government intervention. This theme provides insights into real-world microeconomic issues and opportunities to deepen economic reasoning, analysis and application of microeconomic concepts to both Singapore, and the global economy.

Theme 3 provides examination candidates with an overview of the workings and linkages of the national and international economy. 

The key focus for this theme is on governments as economic agents, while recognising that the extent of government intervention differs among economies. Examination candidates will examine macroeconomic aims, issues, and policies relating to economic growth, inflation, unemployment, exchange rate determination, balance of payments, and income distribution. There will be a strong emphasis and reference to the Singapore context and current examples worldwide. Examination candidates will be able to examine Singapore’s position in the global economy, and the impact of globalisation on the Singapore economy. In this theme, examination candidates will use economic concepts, theories, and principles from Themes 1 and 2 to examine the problem of scarcity of resources and the concept of trade-offs at the broader level of the national and international economy. 

Conclusions

In conclusion, it is quite evident that there are many similarities between the economics syllabi (i.e., focus on Singapore and on markets and market failure, for example) and there are a few differences (i.e., no AE-Y or Keynesian cross diagram is mentioned in the 9757 syllabus, for example). 

However, as long as economics students focus on learning and developing their economics writing skills, practising writing solid explanations of core economic concepts, using real world and relevant examples to strengthen arguments, and developing a generally a good understanding of economics, they will do well in any syllabus. Focus on making real improvements in writing strong economics essays. 

As I said before, that is what JC Economics Essays contributors and I as the editor of this economics blog believe in. 

And the use of good examples of economics essay and sample answers will help economics students learn, grow, and eventually write better economics essays. 

Thank you for reading and cheers. 

JC Economics Essays – This post is a simple reference and summary of the A Level Economics Syllabi/Syllabuses for H2 Economics. Special thanks to WWT for her kind request to write this post, and hopefully it is useful for providing a quick understanding of the new MOE A level economics syllabus. 

Writing economics essays became much simpler and effective when I discovered ...

This post shares effective economics writing tips for A level economics students and is based off an earlier article on economics essays. For more useful resources on how to write economics essays, do use the links and labels on JC Economics Essays.  

Writing is an important life-skill for students and workers, in addition to understanding mathematics and being able to read and interpret data. There are many strong reasons why effective essay writing is a critical life skill. Nowadays, jobs often require strong writing skills and critical thinking for career success; writing is an important aspect of communication; and excellent writing skills are needed for attaining excellent results in essay examinations, particularly for economics, especially since essays are one common assessment method for economics examinations before university (which is more quantitative in nature). 

My post focuses on economics essays, and it shares a simple mnemonic device to remembering simple yet effective tips on how to write effectively in economics essays:

The AIMS model for writing economics essays

What does "AIMS" stand for?

'A' stands for - Accuracy

'I' stands for- Impact, Importance, and Implication

'M' stands for- the "Mother Test"

'S' stands for- Substance

A

First and foremost, accuracy is important in all forms of writing, not just economics essays. 

Vague arguments, unspecified terms, and generic arguments make it difficult for readers to understand the writer's intentions and logical flow. Inaccurate writing also certainly makes it difficult for the examiner to give a good grade. 

For instance, when an economics student writes about "economic policy" or "macroeconomic policy" in his economics essay, does this refer to fiscal policy, or monetary policy? 

Does this term refer to expansionary or contractionary policies? 

Does this term refer to Keynesian or monetarist or Neoclassical economic policies? 

At once, it becomes clear that accuracy is important.

Accuracy makes economics writing stronger and better, and much more simple yet effective. 

I

The letter I can stand for impact, or importance, or implication. All three aspects are important when writing economics essays.  

Impact or importance in terms of significance is important in writing. Why is a sentence or an argument useful or relevant to the reader? Why should the examiner reward you for writing this particular sentence? 

An example for demand and supply is always instructive. Some economics students write that demand rises, and stop there. Well, it might be a stronger economics essay if one wrote about the impact and significance - what happens to the price? What happens to the quantity? What is the likely outcome? These are the important implications that need to be drawn out, rather than a simple mention of rising demand or increasing demand. Remember, use the letter "I" to guide you to write much better, and more effectively. 

Once again, for example, when an economics student writes about expansionary fiscal policy and explains the details of how it works, that is great - but go beyond that: what is the impact or implication of the economic policy? What is the importance or significance of this particular policy? If the economic argument goes on to demonstrate that expansionary fiscal policy can ameliorate demand-deficient unemployment in theory or practice, with perhaps real life examples to show that this is indeed the case, then this particular argument has real impact and importance, and really shows the examiner the full implication of the theory. 

To take another example, or rather a simple question: What is the impact of contractionary monetary policy in China? Does this particular policy lower AD and thus reduce demand-pull inflation in China? What is the significance on real Chinese examples? To what extent does this policy successfully achieve the aims, or what are the limitations? 

In other words, a good economics writer has to focus on the economic impact, importance, implication. 

Make your economics writing impactful by drawing out the impacts, importance, and implications.

M

This is an interesting one. 

M stands for the "Mother Test". 

First, what on earth is the Mother Test? What does your mother have to do with economics writing? 

Basically, the idea is this:

Can your mother understand what you are writing in your paper? 

Some writers call this the "grandmother test", but in this case M is for mothers and that carries the same idea here too - because mothers are memorable, and this fits the mnemonic. 

Quite naturally, the hidden assumption here is that your mother is not actually an economics teacher or professor. 

Write simply, clearly, and directly enough so that your mother can understand your writing, especially if she is not an economics teacher or professor. 

If your economics writing is easily comprehensible to your mother, then that is good. 

If your economics essay cannot be easily understood, because of bad spelling, punctuation issues, faulty grammar, long arguments that somehow do not hit the point, and unclear sentences, then you should practise harder. 

Write simply and to the point. That is the whole idea here. 

Write simply, and write to the point - that is all. 

In other words, help make your mother understand. 

S

S stands for substance. 

Basically, the idea here is that you need to have strong knowledge of what you are talking about. 

In economics, you need to have a strong knowledge of your theory and real world economic examples, which means that you need to have studied the subject properly and put some real heart into it. 

Do you really know what you are writing about? 

Are you answering the question, and all its various component parts? 

Do you have detailed knowledge of the economics topic, and is what you know relevant to this particular economics question? 

Do you know and fully comprehend, for instance, the  economic policies that you are claiming to analyse?  

For economics students, the relevant questions are: have you really mastered your economics material?

Studying hard for economics will provide you with a strong theoretical background to answer economics essay questions accurately, in simple language, and demonstrating the significance and importance and implications of your economic arguments. 

In other words, the title of this post really should have read: 

Writing economics essays became much simpler and more effective when I discovered the AIMS of writing. 

In conclusion, for effective writing, always remember the AIMS of good writing. Writing economics essays became much simpler and more effective when you discovered the AIMS of good economics writing. 

Good luck! 

JC Economics Essays - Special thanks to M S for building on an earlier contribution on this economics site. This post featured simple and effective advice on how to write and craft a strong and effective economics essay. The advice given by the economics tutor is based off a simple and effective framework for writing essays. Do visit the links all over this economics blog for model A level economics essays and other economics resources for your learning (for H1, H2, H3, A, AS, and GCE A level economics and undergraduate and postgraduate economics essays). Thank you for reading, and cheers. 

The AIMS model for writing essays - simple but effective tips on how to write effectively

This post is about effective writing in general, and effective economics writing for A level economics students in particular. 

Writing essays effectively is an important skill for students and workers in the knowledge economy.

There are many good reasons why this is the case. Jobs often require good writing skills for career success; writing is also clearly an important part of communication in daily life; and excellent writing skills are needed for attaining excellent results in essay examinations. 

This post shares a simple mnemonic device to remembering simple yet effective tips on how to write effectively:

The AIMS model for writing essays

A - Accuracy

I - Impact, Importance, and Implication

M - the "Mother Test"

S - Substance

A

Accuracy is very important in writing. Vague allusions and unspecific arguments make it difficult for readers to really understand the author's intentions. Using economics essays as an example, when an economics student writes about "economic policy" or "macroeconomic policy" in his essay, does this term refer to fiscal policy, or monetary policy? At once, it becomes clear that accuracy is important.

Or even better still, is the student making an argument about "expansionary fiscal policy" or "contractionary monetary policy"? Accuracy makes writing stronger and better, and much more effective. 

I

I can stand for impact, or importance, or implication. 

It can stand for a lot of things - but what is the core idea here about impact, importance, or implication? 

Impact or importance is very important in writing. Why is a sentence or an argument useful or relevant to the reader?

For instance, when an economics student writes about expansionary fiscal policy and the details of how it works or functions, that is great - but what is the impact or implication of the policy? What is the importance of this particular policy? If the argument goes on to say that expansionary fiscal policy can reduce demand-deficient unemployment in theory, then the argument has a real impact and importance, and tells the reader the full implication of the theory. 

What is the impact of contractionary monetary policy? Does it lower AD and thus reduce demand-pull inflation in a particular economy? To what extent does it successfully achieve this aim? 

In other words - impact, importance, implication. 

Make your writing impactful by drawing out the importance of what you are saying, and often this is done because you have told the reader about the implications of your reasoning.

M

M stands for the Mother Test. 

Can your mother understand what you are writing? 

Some people call this the grandmother test, but I wanted to write a post that was neat and memorable, and so I chose M for mothers - because mothers are particularly memorable (mine is). 

If your writing is comprehensible to your mother, then that is a good piece of writing. If your essay cannot be easily understood, because of one reason or another (bad spelling, bad punctuation, bad grammar, meandering arguments, unclear sentences) then you should practise harder. Strive to make your writing as clear and powerful as possible.  

Make your mother understand. 

S

S stands for substance. Do you really know what you are writing about? Do you have detailed knowledge of the field, or the topic for that matter? For instance, in economics, do you really understand the  economic policies that you are analysing? Do you understand the intricacies of the arguments that you are making? 

For economics students, the relevant questions are: have you really mastered your economics material?

Studying hard for economics will provide you with a strong theoretical background to answer essay questions accurately and properly, detailing the importance and implications of your arguments. 

In conclusion, for effective writing, always remember the AIMS of good writing. 

Thank you for reading, and cheers. 

***

For more specific articles on various economics essays topics, please refer to the following useful links:

How to write excellently in economics case studies

How to write a good economics paragraph

How to write economics essays (self help guide)

How to write a good macroeconomics essay

JC Economics Essays - While this is an economics essay website for A level economics (mainly H1, H2, H3, AS, AO, GCE, GCSE, A level economics), it is also important for students (beyond just economics students) to learn how to write effectively. The editor of JC Economics Essays strongly and firmly believes that writing effectively is an important skill. Writing effectively will help all students with their written examinations, not just for economics, but also for General Paper and other examination papers that require excellent essays written in English. Students can always get better and writing, and make steady improvements if they are willing to learn.

Thank you for reading this article, and cheers. 

E-Book: Success in Macroeconomics - A Concise Companion to Core Concepts

Hi my dear readers, 

Allow me to introduce the next economics e-book in my series, "Success in Macroeconomics: A Concise Companion to Core Concepts". 

Written by myself (the editor) of the popular, useful, and relevant economics blog, JC Economics Essays, "Success in Macroeconomics" is a clear cut, concise companion to core economic concepts and theories for success in understanding Macroeconomics simply and effectively, which will help students gain an edge to excel academically in their economics examinations. 

Often, students want a clear and simple guide or effective lecture notes that provide the main arguments and explanations of key economics concepts, rather than a long, verbose textbook. They often lament that their school economics notes sometimes give a deluge of information, or an overload of economics case studies, and they are unsure of what the core economics content is, or what economics theories and concepts they should be focusing on for their studies. 

Since 2012, I have heard this common comment over and over (and as well as the reverse comment, incidentally, that some other junior college's economics lecture notes are totally in point form and need students to fill in the blanks, so as to keep them awake during econs lectures - such clever teachers). 

It's a legitimate issue: what learning resource provides a clear and simple economics guide that summarises key concepts and theories needed for the A levels? 

My e-book provides an effective solution - how? 

My concise guide provides simple yet effective explanations of key economics concepts, and entire arguments in paragraph form, for easy learning and retention. 

With this targeted solution, writing argumentative paragraphs or economic analysis in essays becomes simply more effective and efficient. 

Without long wordy paragraphs and additional filler information, this concise companion to core macroeconomic theories provides clear definitions, word-for-word explanations, and effective theoretical analyses of various macroeconomic issues. 

What will you learn?

In this effective yet concise guide to core A level macro-economic theories and concepts, students will learn:  

(1) Clear, concise, easy-to-memorise definitions to highly important macroeconomic concepts and theories often tested in economics tests and examinations

(2) Clear, accurate, step-by-step arguments to make a convincing economic case, either for or against an economic position, on a diverse range of macroeconomic questions and issues 

(3) Theories on major macroeconomic problems and how governments theoretically could implement impactful economic policies to address these macroeconomic problems and pursue their macroeconomic objectives

(4) The clear, step-by-step arguments to make to explain the mechanisms of the economic policies and the analysis of their limitations, with specific arguments to make for specific policies

(5) Commonly used economics diagrams, with detailed yet simple explanations, that you can draw and utilise to analyse questions 

(6) Useful and relevant, yet simple to understand, concise economic information for economic analysis on a variety of common macroeconomic issues

How a book helps students is often dependent on how it is used, so let me share some useful suggestions for your consideration. (Don't worry, I have also included a small section in the e-book to remind readers of how best to utilise the resource to reach their fullest potential.)

First, this book is an excellent complementary companion to supplement a traditional economics education, because it focuses students' attention on core macroeconomic issues and useful concepts. 

It can be used for additional reading. Usually, strong economics students already have a good understanding of the subject, so they can just read this book from cover to cover. It will still help them, a lot! 

Secondly, Success in Macroeconomics can be alternatively used effectively as a set of simple yet clear-cut notes for easy memorisation for quick success in economics examinations. 

This would make this guide more significant as a revision toolkit for examination preparation. 

With concise yet incisive arguments that are easy to understand, yet pack an impactful, powerful punch, with relevant theories and concepts, this economics book can be used for effective examination preparation. 

If you want to learn A level Macroeconomics more effectively, do click on the link and get this useful guide now. 

In Success in Macroeconomics - A Concise Companion to Core Concepts - you will be receiving: 

Pages: 68 pages including cover pages 

Chapters: 28 chapters 

Edition: 1st Edition, 2015

Details: Full colour; high resolution; with varied economics diagrams

***

JC Economics Essays supports social enterprise! 

This book was kindly contributed by JC Economics Essays to Sallyforth Enterprise, and some proceeds from the book will be given to support and build up less privileged communities. Sallyforth Enterprise is a social enterprise that strongly supports social enterprises, volunteerism, and charity work. Part of the proceeds from this book will be given to charity, to build up less privileged communities, especially in less developed economies and rural communities. In particular, women and children are supported by such funding. Social enterprise can and should be a force for good. 

Thank you for your kind and invaluable support, which will definitely go a long way to greatly supporting the needy and vulnerable.  

JC Economics Essays - Here on this economics learning site, you will find economics education and learning resources for "A" levels, especially H1, H2, H3 A level Economics, and also many economics essays, also including undergraduate, and post-graduate and master's economics essays. Fundamentally, JC Economics Essays is mainly an economics essays blog that shares contributions and economics articles to help students learn economics and how to write excellent essays. Thank you for reading, and cheers. 

Update Post! E-Book on How to Study Economics (3rd Ed.) by JC Economics Essays

[This is an updated post replacing the earlier post on the e-book How To Learn Economics. Thank you once again to kind supporters!]

***

Hi my dear readers, 

E-Book on How to Study Economics (3rd Ed.) by JC Economics Essays

As you know, JC Economics Essays is an economics blog collection of sample model essays from former students, teachers, and National Institute of Education (NIE) trainee teachers, and some economics articles written by myself, for reference and reading.

Basically, this blog is about economics essays, of all sorts and from a variety of sources. I edit some of the essays and comment on some of them, and they all demonstrate different perspectives on how to approach economics essays. 

However, the main focus of this entire economics blog is mainly on essays. 

There have of course been a few economics articles on this site on how to write a good economics paragraph and how to craft good macroeconomics essays, but generally speaking this economics blog has a lot of material on economics, essay writing, and essays in general and much less in the way of how to study economics. 

In the link below (yes, this is a plug, a shout out, a sharing! :)) I have an updated (June 2015) e-book called How to Study Economics, which is about effective studying skills, useful methods of learning, and means of how to learn Economics effectively. 

Do visit it and if you're interested you could buy the book, and thus contribute to Sallyforth Enterprise, which is a social enterprise dedicated to sharing profits to help underprivileged communities in less developed economies, women, and widows. 

So, what will you learn from How to Study Economics (3rd Ed.)?

In this new and updated e-book on How to Study Economics, you will learn:

1. the secrets of how to study Economics effectively, directly, and relevantly

2. the secrets of how to craft excellent Economics essays that will score high marks reliably and consistently in tests and examinations  

3. the secrets to successfully ace your Case Study Questions 

4. additional useful economics content and material above and beyond what you learn in school

5. and how to make strong analytical comments about the Singapore macroeconomy 

Hope you can support this e-book, and concomitantly support social enterprise and charity, while at the same time learning relevant and useful  material. Thank you very much! 

Also, all the very best for studying economics! Just do your best and apply what you have learnt. Hopefully this economics blog and the ebook might help you ace the subject :)

Thank you very much for reading and cheers!

Editor of JC Economics Essays

Reading economics articles for real world examples

This post is about reading economics articles for real world examples; it recommends some good resources that you may be interested in utilising for your economics education. 

When writing economics essays, the issue of theory versus practice often comes up. 

Many economics students tend to either write essays that are full of economic models, theories, diagrams, and technical arguments, that do not really address the question; or they tend to write essays that are full of real world news, or economic news such as Bitcoin that also do not really answer the question, and do not link the theories to these events. 

Quite naturally, the issue is that to write a really good economics essay for the A levels, or for any economics examination in general, students should have a balance between economic theories and models, as well as real world economics examples or real life events that validate or discredit those models. 

This article is thus specially written for economics students who have a strong grounding in economic theory, but need that special difference in their essays. To provide something extra, that special X factor, students have to include relevant, real world, current economic examples. 

The question that follows is, what economics articles should be read to provide relevant, real world economics examples?

The following are some very good resources to read or to follow:

1. For Singapore & International News: The Straits Times

The broadsheet The Straits Times is a good area to start with, because it reports on news and current affairs, and has forum letters on all sorts of economic issues. The money section on Sundays is often quite well written and would be a good start for learning about investment and finance. For Mondays to Fridays, there is a section in the newspaper on economics news and related events, about mergers and acquisitions, businesses and companies, and macroeconomic news. All these provide good information and background knowledge for a good student of economics. 

2. For good economics writing: The Economist

I tend to like The Economist a lot. (Oh, by the way, if you are reading for General Paper I would strongly recommend Readers' Digest. But I digress.)

The Economist provides a range of economic articles that are directed towards people who may or may not have an economics education, and as such it is very readable. It provides a good overview of many current news events and also provides sound economic analysis, without mathematics or econometric models. One economics tutor friend of mine remarked to me that perhaps students could have a The Economist-centred education, where they would read articles and discuss them as the mainstay of a tutorial. You can access this really good magazine either in hardcopy, but it is also available online. 

3. The use of Info-Comm Technology - On Twitter: https://twitter.com/realworldecons 

@realworldecons helps economics students to think about real world examples of economics, to see economics applied to the real world context to complement their education. It basically has news on economic events, news, current affairs, and articles on finance, investment, and economics in general. 

I would strongly recommend that you follow @realworldecons because it might be really useful to keep updated on news events, economics articles, and a whole range of economics examples that you could use in your essays. When you follow it, you will see what I mean - economics is a really interesting subject because of its connections and relevance to the real world. 

In summary, remember to read economics articles and learn more about real world news, events, and knowledge, so that you can include these in your economics essays.

Thanks for reading and cheers :) 

JC Economics Essays - Always remember that good, well-crafted economics essays should have relevant, real world economics examples