9708_s24_er — 2024 May-June Economics 9708 Examiner Report · Cambridge CAIE AS & A Level

Asserting points without explanation — stating facts without explaining WHY or HOW

“Answers that simply state facts without any explanation are very unlikely to gain credit.”— Paper 2, May/June 2023

How to fix: Every point must answer WHY or HOW. Use cause-and-effect chains: 'X happens because... which leads to... resulting in...'. A stated fact is AO1 at best; an explained chain is AO2.

Weak or absent evaluation — summaries mistaken for evaluation, no concluding judgement

“Effective evaluation was rare, and this is a skill most candidates need to acquire — they need to be able to use preceding analysis effectively to balance the respective arguments to form a balanced judgement.”— Paper 2, March 2023

How to fix: Evaluation is NOT a summary. You must: (1) analyse BOTH sides of the argument, (2) compare the strength of each side, (3) reach a justified conclusion that directly answers the question. One-sided answers cannot earn evaluation marks.

Not answering the specific question asked — writing pre-learned material instead of addressing the question

“The key weakness in some of the answers was that some candidates did not direct their response precisely to the question asked.”— Paper 4, May/June 2023

How to fix: Read the question twice before writing. Identify the specific command word, the specific context, and any qualifiers ('always', 'alone', 'to what extent'). Your answer must directly address what is asked — not what you have memorised.