JC A Level H1 H2 Economics

JC A Level Economics is a highly popular subject in Singapore and so is our JC Economics Tuition.

Most parents & students know that it is a very useful subject and both Arts and Science students are encouraged to pursue it.

If you are still hesitant, do read up more about What is Economics and Why You Should Learn Economics. Also learn more about How to Choose A Level JC Subject Combinations

There will also be a need to decide on H1 or H2 Economics and that article should be very helpful.

A Level Economics Examination Format

For H2 Economics (A Level H2 Economics Syllabus), which is what the majority will choose, there is both an Essay as well as Case Studies paper. For H1 Economics (A Level H1 Economics Syllabus), there will only be 1 Case Studies paper, although there are “essay questions” within that paper as well.

Here, we will first look at the H2 Economics format as H2 is the more popular choice.

H2 Economics Exam Format

Paper 1 Case Studies

Paper 1 consists of 2 compulsory Case Studies worth 30 marks each. (For H1, they are worth 45marks each!) Your score for Paper 1 will contribute towards 40% of the final grade.

Most students will find Paper 1 more challenging and this is usually the decider between a A or B grade. 

Very good comprehension skills are needed to clearly dissect the case studies and very accurate economics knowledge and understanding will be required to correctly apply to answering questions. 

Higher-order thinking and reasoning skills are also needed. 

Very good time management skills are also essential as many students struggle with answering all the questions within time.

In our A Level Economics Tuition, a major focus is on helping students to deeply understand the economics concepts so that they can easily apply, as well as to train them in thinking and reasoning. 

Our students are trained to read the extracts with “economics lenses”. This is crucial and also will highly benefit them in future, beyond the examination. 

Mr Hong’s years of experience as a policy maker and also an entrepreneur besides being an economics tutor is invaluable in imparting all these skills and insights to the students. 

This is especially critical in helping students take “mature” judgments on issues raised and justify them convincingly. Such answers are needed to score Evaluation marks, which are worth about 16% of total 60 marks for Paper 2. It is a deciding factor between a good and mediocre grade.

A lot of experience is actually needed for that and we impart all our years of examination as well real-world experience to our students.

As if that is not challenging enough, students are also time-pressed (just 2hrs 15mins for 2 rather lengthy Case studies and about a total of 12 questions) and have to think quickly on their feet. That is why we have very special training for them in our highly interactive online classes. Students are also taught Mr Hong’s very own time management techniques including a strategy we term DUO.

Paper 2 Essays

Paper 2 consists of 6 Essays, which students must choose 3 and complete within 2h 15mins. At least 1 essay must be from Section A (mainly Microeconomics) and 1 from Section B (mainly Macroeconomics). 

There is usually context given (ie preamble) before the actual question. Hence, students must apply their knowledge to the given context and cannot simply ignore  it and just regurgitate content. (Gone are the days!!! The robots have taken over!) 

Questions can also be rather tricky and require good comprehension skills to interpret requirements correctly. Quite often, students receive NAQ comments from their teachers. NAQ stands for Not Answering Question. So accurate question analysis is really important.

Students must also learn to form arguments – For and Against. This is similar to GP essays except they must be backed up by economic theories and rigorous analysis. Again, this is where our JC A Level Economics tuition lessons come in as well as the many valuable resources provided. Just to show one off. Check out: How to write a good Economics Essay (both JC and IB Economics)?

Finally, just like with Case Studies, there is an Evaluation Component, which requires higher-order thinking and reasoning. Evaluation marks make up 15 out of total 75 marks for Essays. That is a whopping 20%! Some students score zero or almost zero!!! So it does make a very “grade” difference!

Your score for Paper 2 will contribute towards 60% of the final grade. In practical terms, there is no big difference in importance between the 2 papers. Students must work equally hard for both.