Economics • Exam technique

IGCSE Exam Coach

IGCSE Exam Coach — Explanation

Practice for Cambridge IGCSE Economics (0455) Paper 2, in its 2027 form: 2 hours, 80 marks. Section A is one compulsory question on a real economy, with data (20 marks); in Section B you answer three of four questions, each worth 20 marks: (a) 2, (b) 4, (c) 6, (d) 8.

Choose a question and work through its parts. For each part:

  1. Decode it. What does the command word ask for, and what do the marks tell you? Define wants two parts of a definition; Explain two wants two points, each identified and explained; Analyse wants chains of reasoning (naming points earns at most half the marks); Discuss wants both sides.
  2. Build your answer from sentences, in order. Some don’t belong: they’re the mistakes examiners see most, such as reversing an argument instead of giving the other side, or a conclusion that only summarises.
  3. Check it against the mark scheme’s points. The 8-mark Discuss is marked in levels: both sides developed reach Level 3.
  4. See a model answer and what the examiners advise.
  5. If you like, write it in your own words and mark it yourself against the same points or levels: the computer doesn’t mark what you type.

Your first check of each part is your mark; you can check again as often as you like. Past-paper questions are Cambridge’s own, with answers built from their published mark schemes; the others are original questions in the same style, with illustrative figures.

Objective: Cambridge IGCSE Economics 0455 (2027–2029), Paper 2, structured and data response questions: the command words (define, identify, calculate, explain, analyse, discuss) and how each is marked, demand and supply diagrams, analysing relationships in data, and two-sided discussion.

Where this fits

  • Cambridge: Cambridge IGCSE Economics (0455): 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2.1–1.2.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.4.1, 1.4.4, 2.2.3, 2.3.4, 2.5.1, 2.6.1, 2.7.3–2.7.5, 2.8.1, 2.10.1, 2.10.2, 2.11.2, 3.1.2, 3.2.1, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.4, 3.4.3, 3.5.4, 3.5.5, 3.6.3, 3.7.1, 3.8.1, 3.8.2, 4.3.6, 4.4.2, 4.4.3, 4.5.3, 4.6.2, 4.6.5, 4.7.3, 4.7.5, 4.7.6, 4.8.1, 4.8.3, 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 5.3.1, 5.3.3, 5.4.1, 6.1.2, 6.2.2, 6.2.4–6.2.6, 6.3.4, 6.4.1, 6.4.3, 6.4.4

IGCSE Exam Coach — Key Terms

Key concepts in English, with te reo Māori, Chinese (Simplified) and Korean.

EnglishTe reo Māori中文（简体）한국어What it means on this page
Command Wordno attested term——The word in an exam question that tells you what kind of answer is needed, such as define, explain, analyse or discuss; each is marked in its own way.
Levels-Based Mark Schemeno attested term——A way of marking a longer answer by matching the whole answer to a level’s description, such as balanced, developed analysis for the top level, rather than counting points.
Mark schemeno attested term评分标准채점 기준The official Cambridge document that gives the accepted answers this page’s trace tables are transcribed from.
Price Elasticity of Demand (PED)no attested term需求价格弹性 (xūqiú jiàgé tánxìng)수요의 가격탄력성 (suyoui gagyeok tallyeokseong)A measure of how responsive quantity demanded is to a change in price.
Production Possibility Curve (PPC)no attested term生产可能性曲线 (shēngchǎn kěnéngxìng qūxiàn)생산가능곡선 (saengsan ganeung gokseon)The boundary showing the maximum combinations of two goods an economy can produce with its existing resources and technology, assuming full and efficient use.
Subsidypūtea āwhina补贴 (bǔtiē)보조금 (bojogeum)A payment by government to a producer, used to lower costs and increase output of a good.
Opportunity Costno attested term机会成本 (jīhuì chéngběn)기회비용 (gihoe biyong)The value of the next best alternative given up when resources are reallocated from producing one good to producing another — shown as a movement along the curve.
Market Equilibriumno attested term市场均衡 (shìchǎng jūnhéng)시장 균형 (sijang gyunhyeong)Where the quantity demanded equals the quantity supplied, so the price has no reason to change.
Specialisationno attested term专业化 (zhuānyèhuà)특화 (teukhwa)Concentrating on producing a limited range of goods or services. A country specialises in the goods it has a comparative advantage in, and trades for the rest.
Factors of Productionno attested term生产要素 (shēngchǎn yàosù)생산 요소 (saengsan yoso)The resources used to produce goods and services: land, labour, capital and enterprise. Their rewards are rent, wages, interest and profit.
Economies of Scaleno attested term规模经济 (guīmó jīngjì)규모의 경제 (gyumoui gyeongje)The fall in long-run average cost as a firm increases its scale of production, from advantages such as bulk buying, better technology and cheaper finance.
Taxationno attested term税收 (shuìshōu)조세 (jose)Money the government takes from households and firms, such as income tax and GST. In the circular flow it is a withdrawal.

On the te reo Māori column. Terms marked as gaps have no attested equivalent in the sources checked — Karaitiana Taiuru's Dictionary of Māori Computer and Social Media Terms, Paekupu, the Reserve Bank's te reo financial glossary, NZQA and Te Aka. No coinage is printed as though it were established; where a class needs one, commission it from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and credit the translator. Te reo Māori is not italicised and takes no plural "s".