economics essay - structuring- under exam conditions

8/13/2019 Economics Essay - Structuring- under Exam Conditions

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ByMsNgSwee ChuHCI(College)

ForHwa ChongNanyang IP

EducationSeminar

2012

Concurrentsession2


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What it

is

Demo Asimpleexample &handson

How itcanbeused

Why

Theoreticalbasis

for

it

AdvantagesofusingSchematicPlanning

Samplesofstudentswork

Feedbackfrom

students

Limitations&LearningPoints

ByNgSweeChuHCI2012 2


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Get

into

groups

of

4

and

introduce

yourselves

toeachother.(5mins)

Randomcallofafewpersonstointroduce

theirgroup

members.



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Manystudentsspendagreatdealoftimememorizing

their

lecture

notes/readings

and

oftenfacedifficultiesinrehashingthecontenttoansweressayquestionsandstructuretheir

essays

especially

under

exam

conditions.

This

concurrentsession

shares

on

the

use

of

an

adaptedversionofthetechnique schematicplanning(whichoriginatedfromMr Malcolm

Frost,aCambridge

Examiner)

as

askills

based

approachtoessaywritingbothasateachingtoolintheclassroomaswellasalearningtoolforstudents.



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Messybadly

organized

examessaysthatdonot

answerthequestiontothe

point.


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My

Journey

with

schematic

planning

started

withthereadingofMalcolmFrostbookyears

back(AHumanitiesTutorwhotaughtat

anotherJC

some

years

back)

Somevariations

Mypersonalizedvariation



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A

simple

concise

visual

outline of

a

skills

basedanswertoanyessayquestion

Blueprintforessay



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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

3 steps in schematic planning , DDWDissect (Interpret Qn,Analyze Requirements)

Design (Organize the answers)Good Time

Management!!!

Write the answer

9


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1.Read

the

question

carefully

and

note

mark

allocation

2.Takenoteof: direction(cue)words tellyouthethinkingskillsthatyoumust

demonstrate

key(content)words helpyouidentifytherelevantcontenttofocuson.

3.

Take

note

of

any

possible

linkages between

the

part

questions

4.Takenoteofanypossibleunstatedassumptions



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Designingmy

response

(5

min)

Howwouldmystructure/frameworklooklike?HowdoIapproachthequestion?What

are

the

content

ideas

that

Ineed

(which

will

formthecolumns/boxesofthebodyofmyplan)?



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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

Introduction: Clarification of key words(could mean definitions but not necessary),Address the question

1 key idea/economicconcept

- elaboration using e.gs& diagrams

1 Key idea/ economicconcept

- elaboration using e.gs& diagrams

Conclusion: Summary of main ideas orlinkages to part b)

A generic framework for schematic

plans for part a) of essays

12


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Explain

the

concepts

of

price

elasticity

of

demand,incomeelasticityofdemandand

crosselasticityofdemand. (12m)



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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

1. Cue words & marks

allocation

Explain - 12m

Simple few sentences

answer is insufficient!

Elaborate with details /

e.gs / reason

A. Dissecting the qn:

2. Key words & content

PED, YED & XED

14


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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

Introduction: Define PED, YED& XED

Development 1-PED

- Formula

- Illustratewith e.gs &diagrams

Development 3: XED- Formula- Illustrate with e.gs& diagrams

Development2: YED- Formula- Illustratewith e.gs &diagrams

Conclusion: Link to part b

15


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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

Introduction: Clarification of keywords, Address The Question

Thesis / Argument Anti thesis/Counterargument

Synthesis: (which normally involvesvalue judgment and overall evaluation)

The Thesis- Antithesis framework-

commonly adopted for part b) for essays

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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

b) In 1998 an airline offered very cheap flights from UKto other parts of Europe. However, the service was notvery frequent, tickets could not be booked at agenciesbut only directly with the airline, and no meals wereoffered on the flights.Discuss whether the different elasticity concepts couldbe useful in explaining this airline s policies for itsflights. [13]

Question: How do we adapt the

generic structure of the schematic

plan for part b)

17


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ByNgSweeChuHCI2012

Introduction: Clarify the key words of thequestion( What exactly were the airline

policies?) , Address the question

PED YED XED

Relevant

(thesis)

Notrelevant

(antithesis)

Relevant

(thesis)

Notrelevant

(antithesis)

Relevant

(thesis)

Notrelevant

(antithesis)

Synthesis: (which normally involvesvalue judgment and overall evaluation)

18


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Ourprospectshaveneverbeenbetter.Thekey

reasonis

globalisation.

Capital,

enterprise

and

talentareflowingtocountrieswherethegovernmentcanbetrusted,wheretheworkforceis

well

educated

and

skilled,

and

where

the

quality

of

lifeishigh.

(BudgetSpeech,2007) To

what

extent

has

globalisation brought

more

benefitsthancoststoSingaporeinrecentyears?

[25]



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TypeBstructure


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Globalizationdisadvantagestheless

developedeconomiesintheworld. Discuss.



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TypeBstructure


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Standardthesisantithesisapproachjustone

oftheapproaches.

Needtoteachstudentstoadaptaccordingly

The

key

lies

in

identifying

the

key

words

and

clarifyingthem



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Itcouldbeaseasyastheelasticityquestion

wherethedifferentelasticities formthedifferentcolumnsofthequestion

Or

less

obvious

like

the

globalization

question Askcriticalquestionsregardingthekeywords

toguidestudentstodesigntheirschematic

plan.



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GP: Assesstheimpactofforeignfilmsor

foreignprogramsonthecultureofyoursociety.

Economics:

Discuss

the

impact

of

a

bilateral

freetradeagreementbetweenVietnamand

USAontheparticipatingeconomies.



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Benefits Costs


Introduction:

Synthesis=>weightthebenefits

and

costs

&

come

to

a

weighed

conclusion (Conclusion)


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Schematicplanshelpyoutoprovidebetter

andmoreorganizedanswers

510minsofplanningwouldmean3540

mins

of

continuous

writing

rather

than

long

pausesinbetweenwritingthinkingofwhatto

write.



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Planningforanessayduringanexam (quick

5minsketch)

Asaformofoutlinesinpreparationfor

tutorials

instead

of

the

linear

essay

outlines.

Forthetutor,asawaytodissectanddesignthe

anessayquestionduringclasswhilecalling

forresponses

(you

can

see

aphoto

of

myself

inactioninclassinthenextslide)



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Insteadofwriting3fullessaystopreparefor

theexamsOrsimplytryingtomemorise theirlecturenotes, theycanpractise comingup

with

3

schematic

plans

for

different

JC

prelim

papers.



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SampleA

SampleB

SampleC



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Inmindmaps/schematicplans,informationis

structuredin

away

that

mirrors

how

the

brain

functions inaradiantratherthanlinear

manner



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Researchshowsthatthebrainlikestoworkon

the

basis

of

association

and

it

will

connecteveryidea,memoryorpieceofinformationtotens,hundredsandeven

thousandsof

other

ideas

and

concepts.

Anokhin P.K.(1973).Theformingofnaturalandartificialintelligence.ImpactofScienceinSociety,

Vol.

XXIII

3.



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Schematicplansarebasedonassociations

andconnections.

Once

ideas

are

displayed

in

schematicplanform,patternsofthoughtcan

be

easily

examined

revealing

similarities

and

linkagesbetweeninformationindifferent

partsoftheplans



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Facilitatestutor/peerassessmentasitiseasy

tospot

amissing

key

point

from

avisual

outline. (refertothestudentsamples)

Strikes

a

balance

between

just

reading

lecturenotes(toopassiveonitsown)&

writingfullessayswhichcouldbetime

consuming



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Feedbackfrom10S61,10S65&10S76was

collectedafter

1term

in

2010.

(only

took

over10S74whentheywereinJC2)

89.5%

respondents

find

schematic

planning

usefulinplanningforessayanswers

94.8%respondentsunderstandwhatit

meansto

dissect

and

design

an

essay

plan



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Learningschematicplanningisauseful

becauseit

lets

me

see

the

general

approach

towritingessaysandthusIwouldbebetter

able

to

handle

any

kind

of

question

that

ispresentedtome.

Schematicplanningwouldbeusefulin

exams



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Weshoulddotimeplanningaswell.

MsNg,

could

you

advise

us

on

better

time

management?Therewaslittletimetowrite,

and

much

less

to

plan

during

the

essay

test

:X

somedidnotmanagetocompletethe

essay...



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SchematicPlanningnotasubstituteforcontent

mastery Canbeuseful(borrowingthewordsofastudent)

seeingthegeneralapproachtoanessay,avoidstheblunderbussapproachtoanessayand

helps

one

to

see

all

the

different

requirementsofanessayallatonce Itrequiresconsistentpracticeifoneistomaster

and

use

the

technique

under

examination

purposes=>

awayofthinkingandplanningfor

essays



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HowdoIknowmystudentsareadaptingwell

tothis

method?

Whentheyshowtheirschematicplansand

ask

questions

like:



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Thepointisnotaperfectschematicplanbut

halfthe

battle

is

won

when

students

start

thinkingaboutthekeyideasintheiressays

and

the

way

they

organize

them



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Mind contentknowledge(notsoapplicable

forthis

concurrent

session)

Heart

How

does

the

heart

feel

?

(emotional)

HandWhat

can

Iapply

(practical)



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DevelopingEssayWritingSkillsinGCEA

LevelEconomics

(Macroeconomics)

By

MalcolmFrost

Developing

Essay

Writing

Skills

in

GCE

A

LevelEconomics(Microeconomics)By

MalcolmFrost



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Thankyouforyourtime


economics essay - structuring- under exam conditions

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