How to Plan Your Time for Your A Level Economics Exam

As students, there is nothing scarier than the exams. Bigger than the fear of homework or strict teachers is the prospect of sitting down to complete a paper that will determine the outcome of one’s grades. It is inevitable for even the most studious of students to dread taking an exam, since it not only tests their accumulated knowledge, but also their answering skills – and to those less prepared to ace their papers, their luck as well.

For JC students, one of the most dreaded papers to sit for is the Econs exam.
Aside from the difficulty of the subject, a common complaint from students is that they usually run short of time when they attempt to answer all the given questions. And unfortunately, not being able to finish the questions can be as detrimental as not knowing how to answer them.

Luckily however, the issue of lack of time is easily solved once you learn how to plan your time wisely! Once students have gotten a firm grasp of time management, they will find it unlikely to lose marks over such a trifling reason ever again. Keep reading for some useful tips on how you can fully utilise your exam’s time limit!  

1) Determine how much time you should spend on each question

One of the most efficient and useful techniques for your Econs exam is to pre-plan how you will tackle each question in paper 1 and 2. Though it may seem excessive to detail exactly how much time to allocate for each individual case study or essay question, it is absolutely beneficial for your overall time management.

Following a strict guideline will not only make it easier for you to estimate how much time you have left, but it will also mentally prepare to answer as effectively as possible. By giving yourself a time limit, you won’t waste precious time hemming and hawing, wasting the time you could have spent on your next question.  

A good rule of thumb is to allocate more time to the questions that will award you with higher marks. For example, after spending five minutes unpacking a case study question, you can allocate fifteen minutes to answer the question that gives you 8 marks, while another question with 10 marks gets twenty minutes. 

By utilising this method, you won’t dwell excessively on questions with low marks and can move on when necessary.   

2) Prioritize the questions you can answer

Given the sheer scope of content tested for the exam, it is understandable for students to need ample time to formulate sufficient answers. And, although some students have already strategised the amount of time they need to spend on each question, their time management could be put at risk if they are unlucky enough to encounter a particularly difficult question.

If you’re running low on time and still unable to answer the question as well as you hoped, consider moving on to the next one. Keep in mind that you’re working against the clock. In the overall scenario, leaving the rest of the paper blank will lose you more marks than if you left one question incomplete.

3) Outline your essays

When grappling with a time limit, paper 2 of the A Level Econs exam is undoubtedly the biggest hurdle for most students. The requirement of writing three full essays within two hours and fifteen minutes is definitely enough to make one break out in cold sweat. Students are usually advised to complete each question within 45 minutes, and even then, three quarters of an hour can still seem too short. 

However, this is where writing essay outlines will come in handy! While thinking fast and writing faster is necessary to score, spending five minutes to craft an essay outline will be extremely useful in helping you write as clearly and concisely as possible. 

By planning out the content points in your essay and keeping them in mind, you will have an easier time crafting your essay, as opposed to coming up with the points as you go. By giving yourself the benefit of knowing you have planned out a solid essay, you can maximise those forty minutes to write as much as you can. In addition, you will be able to focus on your next essay question more easily since you were able to write a good essay! 

4) Be more familiar with your subject matter

Of course, planning your time and structuring your exam experience is crucial, but out of the box, the best way to achieve significant time savings to be so familiar and practised with your Economics knowledge that answers come in a flash, saving you the time agonising over what to answer, and how to answer them. In the best case scenario, you may even be able to hit the ground running and begin writing the instant you see the question, simply because you already know the steps of the answers so well.

If you want that level of familiarity and speed, and you’re not sure you can achieve it by yourself, why not get the best Econs tuition at  JC Economics Tuition Centre to level up your knowledge? 

Headed by our principal economics tutor, Mr. Anthony Fok, you can be rest assured that we will deliver our best Econs tuition lessons to ensure you get plenty of practice for Econs. Ready to learn how to ace your exam? Click here to find out more about our economics tuition today!

Headed by our best economics tutor, Mr. Anthony Fok, rest assured that you are in good hands – as he is extremely passionate about the subject and believes in making lessons enjoyable and effective for students’ learning at the same time.