Essays for U1 and U3

Some of you are really making progress in writing your essays others are finding this key skill more difficult to acquire.  There is not just one way of doing this, but I suggest the following pattern as a starting point. 

Paragraph one:

This should define the key term(s) in the essay, and set the context for the essay.  So of you may use this for a mini essay outline (The golden rule - be brief, few marks are directly available for this!).

Paragraphs 2 and 3:

These follow the same pattern; identify an issue relevant to the essay title, provide a relevant example, or a contrasting pair of examples (count double, for A2 particularly) and  analyse it with direct reference to the essay title.  Then evaluate the extent to which the analysis answers the question.

Generally, if you are stuck, consider the implications from the following viewpoints:

• Equilibrium and stability
• Welfare: consumer surplus, producer surplus
• Merit goods are chosen my governments
• The extent of any market failure
• Responsiveness of supply / demand to other factors - elasticity
• The specific way(s) that government intervention could make things better
• The specific way(s) that government intervention could make things worse
• Static efficiency (allocative and productive) and dynamic efficiency
• Market v non-market solutions - e.g. queuing!
• Long Term and short term views

Paragraph 4

This is an overall evaluation: which part of your analysis is most convincing and why? This should directly answer the question and backward reference but not repeat your analysis.

Paragraph 5 - Twist factors

What could turn the answer on its head, that is to say twist the evaluation so that it was different.

E.g.s

• The state of the economy: issues of affordability
• Does the situation change in the long run?
• Can governments afford to allow markets to "adjust"
• The "law of unintended consequences"
• Political policy: economic solutions may not be v socially acceptable solutions

Good luck 

Nb. for practice redo evaluation on past essays - try to evaluate each paragraph as well as at the end.