Before you decide whether your economics essay is “good”, you must first check whether your essay is “correct”. Many essays look impressive and contain plenty of Economics, but still score badly because they fail the most basic test: they do not answer the question properly.
So the first thing to check is whether you fully understood the requirements of the economics essay question. For example, if the question says “discuss”, your essay must cover both sides and show balanced analysis. If it says “evaluate” or “to what extent”, your essay must go beyond explanation and include judgement.
Also check whether you identified the correct context and scope. For example, if the question is on Singapore, your entire essay should be anchored in Singapore’s policy context and structural constraints, not generic textbook writing. If the question is asking about one policy instrument, you must not drift into writing about all policies you can remember.
After every paragraph, ask yourself whether you clearly linked that paragraph back to the question. If you cannot do so, the paragraph is likely irrelevant, or at least under applied.
Check whether you met the thinking or evaluative requirements of the essay. Economics essays are not merely memory exercises. They are also thinking exercises. This means you must show analysis, and if required, evaluation. If your essay reads like notes, where you list points without building chains of reasoning, you are not meeting the thinking requirements.
Check whether you defined terms and explained your points logically and clearly. For every major argument, check whether you included a correct economic mechanism. You should be able to trace a clean chain of reasoning from cause to effect, and from effect back to the question requirements. Also check your use of key terms. Economics is strict with language, and the examiner will penalise conceptual imprecision. For example, “increase in demand” is not the same as “increase in quantity demanded”.
Next, check whether the points you raised are contextual. This is where average economics essays become excellent economics essays. Many essays contain the correct frameworks, such as AD-AS, elasticity, market failure, or policy analysis, but they are written in a generic way that could apply to any country. If the question is clearly situated in Singapore, then generic writing will be penalised because it shows weak application. You must check whether you have anchored your points in Singapore’s context. Singapore is a small and open economy, with high import dependence and leakages, strong exposure to external demand shocks, and a distinct macro policy framework where the exchange rate is the key monetary policy lever. If you do not integrate these points when appropriate, your essay will sound like a template. A high scoring essay must sound like it was written for that question, in that context, and not recycled from past papers.
After that, check whether you provided adequate, relevant, clear examples to illustrate your points. Examples proof of application. A real example is specific and functional, meaning it strengthens the argument and makes the explanation more convincing. You must check whether your examples match your points. Do not give examples that merely mention a policy without connecting it to the mechanism you are explaining. Also check whether your examples are realistic and factually defensible.
Check whether you made use of relevant diagrams to explain your points, and whether your diagrams were actually used properly. A diagram is only useful if it is integrated into the explanation. If you draw a diagram and then write paragraphs that do not refer to it, you are wasting your time. Check whether your diagram is correctly labelled and reflects the correct economic mechanism. Your axes must be correct, your curves must be correctly labelled, and the direction of shifts must be right. More importantly, you must check whether you explained what the diagram shows, including what happens to the key variables and why.
Check whether you analysed the issue from a variety of perspectives. This is what often distinguishes the top band scripts. Many students only analyse from one direction. A strong economics essay deliberately considers stakeholders, time horizons, limitations of the policies. You should check whether you examined the issue from consumer versus producer perspectives when relevant, or domestic versus foreign sector impacts, or short term versus long term effects. You should also check whether you looked at internal versus external outcomes. For example, a policy may improve domestic welfare but harm export competitiveness. Or a policy may work in the short run but create inefficiencies in the long run. Top students show that they can analyse trade offs.
Check whether your paragraphs are well structured and adequately developed. Every paragraph must be complete. It should contain a point, explanation, analysis, and application. The examiner must be able to see what your point is and how you developed it. You should also check whether your essay has a strong logical flow. Do the paragraphs build on one another? Or do they feel like separate mini essays?
Finally, check whether you wrote a well-reasoned, evaluative conclusion. Signpost your conclusion with "In the final analysis" or "In conclusion". Your evaluative conclusion is not meant to repeat your essay. It is meant to provide judgement. A strong conclusion answers the question directly, weighs the arguments, and states the conditions under which one argument outweighs another. If you are writing “it depends”, then you must specify exactly what it depends on. If you are giving a judgement, then you must justify why. A good conclusion also avoids introducing new points.
If you use this checklist properly, you will notice something important.
When you write more relevantly, more clearly, more contextually, and more evaluatively, your score rises naturally.
The goal is to write better. And then the marks will follow.
Thank you for reading and cheers.
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JC Economics Essays is my popular economics blog where I write about how to write better economics essays for the A levels, as well as other academic levels. To date, more than 120,000 readers have visited this blog. Thank you for reading, and I hope these useful materials help you.
