Also on a side note the AS courses this year are different to previous years so I will be updating them all!

I will also be adding A2 course tips!

One of the most important aspects of Economics AS is definitions, on the exam there are a number of questions (usually 3 or 4) each for two marks. Often you can just quickly write an answer and move on to the ‘more important’ questions, the thing is that if your definition is sloppy then you may only get 1 mark per question. This could mean you missing out on 3-4 marks, not including the marks dropped for poor definitions within larger questions. Always try to give a good, concise definition and then a quick example either from your own knowledge or from the source - with this method you are covering yourself and are much more likely to get those vital extra marks which could make the difference between grades.

Another revision point to remember is that you need to practice your exam technique. You may have excellent knowledge but if you cannot get that knowledge down onto paper in the time frame or talk about the wrong things - you could be throwing a good grade away. Practice with past papers under timed conditions, ask your teacher for a mark scheme and see what the examiners are looking for.

The guides below are useful for revision:

The first thing to do is to write out a basic outline of the course - when you see it on paper you will see how simple it really is.

You basically have to revise an theory (E.g. STM) and the associated studies (APFCC). 

There is no easy way to learn the theories so just go with the copying out and reading aloud technique.

With the APFCCs (Aims, Procedures, Findings, Conclusion, Criticism/Evaluation) you can try and condense them to around 5-7 line of regular A4.

When you condense it down like this you will see that you only need to know a certain amount per study, don’t revise it like other subjects by remembering whole detailed arguments. For example Peterson and Peterson’s study on duration in STM, for Criticisms/Evaluation just remember ‘Sample + Ecological’. From those two words you can expand out to talk about how the sample was biased (used students) and that it lacked ecological validity - trigrams do not appear in everyday life.

Just do this with each study and you will find it much easier than trying to revise a whole A4 page study.

Another great way to revise is to time yourself doing 6-mark questions, remember in the exam you only have 5 minutes per 6 marker (20 minutes for 18 marker). Doing these gets you used to thinking quickly and getting a good answer down within the time frame.

One important point to remember is make sure you learn the evaluation points well. For an 18 marker - 6 marks on knowledge e.g. outlining the study, and 12 marks on evaluation. As you are writing an 18 marker keep in mind that 2/3 of what you are writing should be evaluation - you can drop a lot of marks even if your knowledge of the studies is perfect.

If you haven’t already then I 100% recommend getting the mini revision guide below. It has condensed the studies down to just what you need to know and has all the definitions you could need!
 

Here is a quick General Revision guide (See below for more detail) -

1. Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour - break (10-15mins) in between blocks
2. Past Papers - Helps you learn the information + Practice exam technique
3. Condense existing notes (Hand-Write Them)
4. Test Yourself Daily On - Key Terms/Words/Phrases/Themes
5. Use post-it notes like cue cards - Put important chunks of information on them, Put around room

This site is being updated daily so check back soon!