Markets and the national economy, the shared backbone
CAIE and Edexcel International both cover how markets work and how the wider economy functions at IGCSE. CAIE splits this across a multiple-choice paper and a structured-questions paper, while Edexcel International organises its papers a little differently. Both want economic concepts and diagrams applied to specific scenarios and data, not theory recited on its own.
Diagrams as a form of answer, not decoration
Supply and demand diagrams and similar models are themselves a way of answering a question. A correctly drawn, labelled diagram, referenced explicitly in your written explanation, earns marks independently of your prose. Practise drawing diagrams accurately and quickly, and refer back to them by name in your written answer.
Multiple-choice technique (CAIE)
Where your board includes a multiple-choice paper, practising under timed conditions matters. Work through process of elimination on questions you're unsure of, and manage your time so no single difficult question eats time you need for others, since every question on this paper carries equal weight regardless of difficulty.
Structured and data-response questions
- Use the actual data given, figures, extracts, or graphs, to support your points, rather than writing generic economic theory disconnected from the source material.
- Use economic terminology precisely in context, not as inserted buzzwords.
- Reach a genuine conclusion on evaluation questions, weighing the points made rather than just listing them.
Where marks go missing
- Drawing a diagram and never referencing it in the written explanation.
- Mixing up commonly paired terms: inflation versus deflation, direct versus indirect tax.
- One-sided evaluation where the question explicitly asks for balance.
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